W Shumaker wrote:
On bracketing exposure, I'm a firm believer in Rod Planck's advice, to
get the exposure right first time and forget exposure bracketing.
Sometimes you don't get a second chance. Better to bracket
composition, angle of view, the moment, etc. than wasting shots with
incorrect exposure. Here are some reasons for not bracketing exposure,
and there are probably others:
- The best composition or framing (especially for a moving subject or
macro shots) or moment will not have the best exposure.
This makes absolutely no sense to me. There is a 'best' exposure for any
given composition, at least as much as there is one for any other
composition.
- It is better to be consistent with your approach to exposure so you
know what works. You learn more about correct exposure by knowing
what you did wrong.
Unless, of course, you pay attention and are, as you recommend,
consistent. Again, I don't quite get it. Taking only one exposure when I
am inexperienced or am unsure about a particular shot and then losing
the shot seems sort of masochistic. Why is it that I am to be hard on
myself? Some kind of moral fiber building?
If you employ different ways to get exposure, or bracket, and don't
document what you did, you won't remember what worked.
Being consistent when bracketing, such as a shot at what I believe to be
the correct exposure, then a +1/2, then a -1/2, or any consistent
scheme, means knowing what gave the results without specific
documentation. Then I can learn from my mistakes and still get the
pictures I want.
Be consistent. (and use slide film :-)
There's that masochistic streak again :-) (Little smiley face means I'm
joking!) But seriously, shouldn't the choice of film be primarily based
on something other than it's lack of latitude? Like that's a virtue?
- Best to know where you want your tonalities, down to a 1/3 stop,
and then put them there. Generally you expose for the highlights and
let the shadows fall where they will, since blown out highlights
generally make bad compositions. Meter a known tonality whenever
possible.
Or use neg film, expose it properly also, and never lose a highlight.
- Bracket exposure only when the tonal range is outside of film range
and you may want different results. Like sunsets where it is
inevitable that some highlights will blow out. In such cases you want
to determine what should be medium tone in the composition, and
there may be more than one possibility, especially with film
saturation characteristics.
Or use neg film, expose it properly also, and never lose a highlight.
Well, that's my little diatribe on no exposure bracketing. At least
what I hope to live up to.
It all sounds a bit too ascetic for me, but fine for you and many
others. On my own behalf and that of those who may be more interested in
getting the shot than in meeting some rigid standard of behavior, I
respectively disagree. I do in fact, bracket rather seldom, but do so
without flinching in difficult situations.
Moose
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