Ohlarry

I use a Nikon D7200 and one of the things that often confuses me is when to use the exposure compensation. I love to take pictures of birds and often have to correct them in post processing. As with this type of photos sharpness in the details is important. I realize that exposure compensation is used to prevent some highlights from blowing out but when I am looking at a scene before I take the picture I am never sure if this is a plus or minus situation. I sure could use a little guidance with exposure compensation.

JPL

If you are photographing a bird against a bright sky it often helps to use exp. compensation. In that case you would use the plus to exposure the bird correctly. If you are using spot metering and the bird is not too small in the frame this is not needed. Then the camera will meter from the bird.

When you use the plus you make your whole picture brighter than what the camera is suggesting. And minus makes it darker.

Here is an article about this subject to help you get started. Lot of info online if you look for it. http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-use-exposure-compensation-to-take-control-of-your-exposure/

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Welcome,to UHH. This might help you.

http://imaging.nikon.com/support/digitutor/d3300/functions/exposurecomp.html

In general bright sky on bird photography will need compensation.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

You could set the camera to automatically take 3 or 4 shots over and under when you press the shutter. Then via experience evaluate which ones are working better for various situations.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

As step 1, use your histogram and highlight warning (blinkies) to determine the correct exposure. The links / tips above provide ideas on how to quickly determine the 'correct exposure'. Your histogram should fall to the right (positive) of the scale up to the point the 'highlights' of the critical aspects of the images are blinking. Then, adjust slightly back to the left (negative) to remove all blinkies or at least the highlight warnings on the bird being photographed.

If shooting a bird against the sky, it's typical to see in the viewfinder the exposure indicator at / around +2. Say you were shooting in Shutter Priority and took some test exposures of just the empty sky. You would use 'positive' EC to move the exposure to the right of zero, looking at your histrogram of each test image. But, depending on the type of bird, you may find +2 is correct for a dark bird but blows the reflected highlights of a light colored bird. Your highlight warnings will tell you this where negative EC would be the corrective action for a blinking bird.

As you shoot and the overall light or your angle to the light changes, use the Exposure Indicator in the Viewfinder to alert you to needed changes without lowering the camera from your eye or stopping shooting. This takes practice and birds / light presenting opportunities to practice. You might find as you pan from left to right moving toward the sun, a situation I've experienced, you need to adjust the exposure. If you can get the same type of birds moving in roughly the same direction, you can develop a feel for how much and when to adjust the exposure as the bird (plane, etc) moves across the sky. This 'feel' develops over hours and days of practice.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Good links and technical information have already been provided. But to conceptualize, you just need to remember that setting compensation to the + (plus) side means the entire image will be lighter and - (minus) means the entire image will be darker.

Practice will make your actions become second-nature. The amount will vary per each situation (not only the contrast of light, but how much of the frame is filled by your subject), as described by Chg Canon and others here.

Bill_de Loc: US

I mostly shoot birds. The simplest thing to keep in mind is that if the background is brighter than the bird use + compensation. If the background is darker than the bird use - compensation.

The reason is that unless you spot meter on the subject the camera will will try to lighten the dark background and will wind up over exposing the bird. With the same logic, the camera will want to darken the very bright background thus under exposing the bird. If you look at my post from yesterday you will see examples of both. I used + or - two thirds to one stop. All pictures were taken from the same spot at the same time. The dark backgrounds were in the shadow from my house.

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-519968-1.html

Of course if your bird fills the frame [mine seldom do] compensation may not be necessary at all.


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Ohlarry

Thank you for all the help. This has been useful and enlightening.

The Villages Loc: The Villages, Florida

Test, test...and test again. Its a digital camera.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Using exposure comp is not going to reduce the need to post process the birds. You need to "own" the relationship between ISO, shutter speed and aperture - like it needs to become automatic in your brain. Unless you have a camera like a D500, D810, D850 - where you can use Highlight-Weighted Metering with spot metering and auto exposure to ensure against overexposure. You can read about it here:

https://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/a/products-and-innovation/using-the-highlight-weighted-metering-mode.html

I have had my best success using manual exposure, and adjusting on the fly. To avoid blowing out the white plumage I use the camera's spot meter to measure the white areas, then add 1 stop more exposure. This will get the highlights as close as possible to overexposing without actually crossing that threshold. I leave the camera set that way, until the light changes. If you are really comfortable with using automatic exposure, you can set exposure comp to +1 stop, and set AEL to lock on shutter half press (custom setting c1), assuming you have reassigned the AEL Lock button on the back of the camera to focus, and have disabled Focus Activation on shutter half press (custom setting a4), to lock the exposure after measuring the highlight. Exposure lock will reset after the image is taken. The problem with this method is that you will not be able to use this in a burst, which is why I usually use manual exposure.

Using spotmetering alone is not going to do you any good unless you understand how exposure meters work. Regardless of what you are pointing it at - the meter will measure the light and suggest an exposure that will result in a middle gray. You point it at a white gull, it will be gray, the same will happen if you measure a raven - it too will be gray. So for the white bird, adding 1 stop of exposure will make the bird white again, or pretty close.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

I shoot a lot of snow scenes. In order to avoid blue or grey snow, I bracket. often +1 or 2 and or -1 or-2. Depending upon where I spot meter within the scene

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

One of the worst mistakes a beginner can do is to begin to use a camera, any camera, without knowing the basics of photography. A camera is a tool and the chances are excellent that if you do not know your tools you will not be able to do a good job. I am sure that you have heard many times "it is not the camera but the photographer." You could be shooting with a professional D3 series camera, top of the line and still you will have the same issues you have now.

To understand exposure compensation you have to understand metering first. All modern cameras use three different metering modalities, multi pattern, evaluative or matrix, so called by the different manufacturers. This type of meter is computerized and the photographer has control ONLY through the use of the histogram. Companies like Nikon do not say very much about this meter that at least I can understand but they warn the operator to avoid compensation because these meters compensate the exposure on their own. To make this short, when it is used we do not know what the meter is actually doing. We are actually in no control.

The other two metering modalities are center weighted and spot metering. These have been in use for many years and many photographers are well aware of what they do. These exposure meters tend to average the reading of a subject to a middle tonality, previously called 18% gray. If the subject is not gray exposure compensation is in order. More compensation for bright subjects and less for dark ones.

Apertures and shutter speeds work together (reciprocity law) along with the ISO speed to produce the exposure. Several combinations are possible using a set ISO speed to reach the correct exposure. In general high shutter speeds combine with large lens openings and vice versa. This is all basic photography.

Understand the basics of exposure and how to use the exposure meter in your camera for accurate exposures. Understand what apertures and lens openings do so that you can use them creatively.
I bet once you know the facts you will never ask again about exposure compensation.

peterg Loc: Santa Rosa, CA

See: https://digital-photography-school.com/understand-your-cameras-exposure-compensation-feature/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=March-2218

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Light and shadow haunt me as I take photo's of birds in flight. I use aperture priority for my bird photography. I take a shot in a new venue and look at it, if it is too dark, I up the EC, if too light, I turn down my EC, then I know I have the right exposure for the venue I am shooting. If I go to a new venue, I go through the same procedure.
If I am shooting birds on a nest and my EC is 0, and I see a white bird in flight, I know I will need -.07 EC, I have learned to dial that in in about a second, so I quickly adjust the EC and shoot the bird in flight, if it is a darker bird, I use a +.07 to +1, and I will dial that in quickly. After the bird has flown by, I readjust my EC back to where I was shooting.
EC is a personal choice, I use what I like. After using EC for a while, you get the hang of it. My exposures are usually dead on after some trial and error.
This system is a lot easier with digital cause you can see what you are getting right away, not like in the film days.

peterg Loc: Santa Rosa, CA

Regardless of the priority mode (e.g. shutter, aperture, etc.), changing exposure compensation uses the same finger actions. The camera changes the setting(s) that you did NOT fix. It's a no-brainer! Shooting BIFs requires plenty of headwork. Don't waste it on thinking about which knob to twiddle.