StanRP Loc: Ontario Canada

Hi, A similar case - taking pictures in a building with stained glass windows. The dynamic range is far too large for a single exposure.
There is another case where I set the camera to auto-bracket: When in a tour and don't want to be playing around with camera settings, or where watching where my feet are going is more important than watching the camera. ( I am in my 80's)

freedom

I don't get why people get salty or hooked on any technique since the world and all things are suceptible to change. Some embrace the different methods and some won't for worthwhile reasons; neither of the compacts that I carry are capable of RAW and I always have one with me. With my DSLRs I have only one that can shoot RAW+JPEG, the other allows either/or AND at present, I don't have my pc to work with at home.The greats that we learned from and admire used their choice of gear, lab skills, patience, and vision to achieve their goals photographically and I seriously doubt ANY of them were enslaved to any new techniques that appeared in their lifetime.(Personally, I'm thrilled to have a book that includes some of Ansel Adams's Polaroids!)

SteveR Loc: Michigan

That, though, doesn't sound like bracketing.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

9 pages- WOW! That's OK there's also tons of other posts about the "BRACKETING or NOT" kind thing- I know, I did a search of the site. So.., here's my no so scholarly "essay" on the subject:

Why I Bracket- my case for bracketing:

My foremost reason is not too technical. After all everybody else already mentioned HDR, dynamic range and all that good stuff. As a professional photographer (me), there's always the onus to always come back with the shots- no excuses. It's not a matter of just personal disappointment on my part, it's about disappointed clients that don't pay their bill, disgruntled art directors and editors, and they may even file a lawsuit against you for non-performance or missing a vital deadline- BAD! For me it's all in these old adages:

"Prevention is better than cure". A stitch in time saves nine". And.. my own favorite saying: "You can't sell, deliver, fix, enhance or save what you never shot"! Then there is always Murphy's Law that always has to be headed off at the pass at all times!

Please allow me to brag. After many years of successfully shooting and exposing slow, old time, transparency films with little or no latitude, I am pretty good at exposure. Early digital cameras were not all that better. My first boss and mentor in wedding photography insisted on perfect and consistent exposure to facilitate economical and efficient production without massive darkroom remedies. He cheeked our negatives with a transmission densitometer and erratic exposure was not tolerated. He did not want us to have to "re-shoot our jobs in the darkroom"- old habits die hard and I still maintain that philosophy. I like to enhance my images in post-processioning, not salvage them. More bragging- Most of the time, I can just look at a situation and instinctively land the correct exposure. To boot, back in the olden days there were no automatic exposure systems, everything was manual and there was no TTL and auto-flash so we had to estimate distances, use guide numbers and always get the right exposure and we still had to work quickly! You had no choice but to master manual exposure techniques. Besides, nowadays, all my cameras' metering systems are spot on and calibrated and I have a drawer full of exposure meters. Yes' I can usually do it in one shot but why?

Bragging over! Thing is, I don't allow my ego or over-confidence to overpower my judgment. I bracket because I want OPTIONS. After the shoot is done I don't want to find out I should have exposed to the left or the right. If I have already done both I am fully covered. If I choose to go HDR, I can go there. If Murphy's Law sets in and my only most important shot somehow becomes corrupted, I still have usable backups.

The price is right- bracketing costs nothing! I used to bracket 8x10 chromes at $25+ (at cost) or more per each bracketed version,when you consider the Polaroid tests, the film cost, and processing. Even at that cost, bracketing was less expensive than rebuilding a set, rehiring the models, returning to a location or not being able to deliver a technically decent shot at all. If the lighting, contrast, the range is really unfamiliar, bizarre or totally wonky, bracket even more- more increments more f/stop or shutter speeds. You may pleasantly surprise yourself as well, just like with old slide films, a slightly underexposed shot may be more moody or saturated and a slightly overexposed one may be more pastel or ethereal. sometimes the "wrong" exposure is the right exposure! Even we old stick in the mud pros lie to experiment in the midst of serious work and have a bit of fun. By doing this you will also lean new alternative technique for various effects. Oftentimes, things don't fully reveal themselves on the camera's LCD screen or the viewfinder and you will find out some interesting aspects of your shots when they are up on the computer screen.

So my advice- don't join a "cult" about filters, bracketing, post-processing, flash usage or all the other unnecessarily controversial subjects. There is usually a time and a place for all methodologies and techniques in photography. If you can't do it, you won't do it but if you have time, it's a sound concept. So...common sense dictates that there is not always time to bracket, chimp, consult the histogram or anything else except to just gun and run. Even under those circumstances, automatic bracketing can be employed.

If you don't wanna do it, you can live dangerously- different strokes...!

Photocraig

The answer lies in the concept that exposure in a perception. Metering light, gives us a value to start with. However with limited dynamic range of the medium and materials -assuming a print, how that scene renders can vary from the concept of the photo maker. Ansel Adams called it pre-visualization. IF you have an end image concept in mind, Making several exposures gives you a better chance of capturing an image that can be best processed to fulfill YOUR concept or visualized end product.

The multiple images gives you a choice for the best starting point to process your final image. With the tools available to us today, including HDR, bracketing is a great capture method to assure better chances for success.

Bracketing every shot? Nahhh, not when you can chimp and see what the camera captured AND you can capture RAW files and have great processing tools. But for those photographs in challenging circumstances, with particularly unique timing like sunrise/set moon rise/set coincidence, etc. in hard to get to places? Yeah, bracket to your heart's content to give yourself the best file to process to deliver this final image you want. But otherwise extensive bracketing is a holdover from the slide film days with it's very narrow dynamic range and the limited processing alternatives for mere mortals' home darkrooms and sensible budgets.

sr71 Loc: In Col. Juan Seguin Land

Whew!!! excellent tome, I can say all that in just three words (not bragging) Just do it!

StanRP Loc: Ontario Canada

[quote=robertjerl]For those who say bracketing is not needed if you know how to expose properly.

Some scenes just plain have too much dynamic range for any know digital sensor or film type to record without sacrificing either the highlights or the shadows.
If you are experienced you know which you prefer and how to expose for it. If you are a beginner then bracketing is the way you learn how to get your preference.

Hi robertjerl,
There is also the time factor, the assumption that there is time to change camera settings. Personal safety in another - where it is more important to watch were your feet are going than the settings menu on the camera.
There is another application - bracketing two or three with the same exposure: When taking a group photo, wedding or otherwise, there is often someone blinking. Put the two exposures into photoshop as layers and 'erase' the blink.

StanRP Loc: Ontario Canada

In answer to "Personally, I'm thrilled to have a book that includes some of Ansel Adams's Polaroids!"

Adams was a consultant to Polaroid - testing new films and cameras. For his own work - In 1961 he started using Polaroid’s special professional film called Type 55 that made both a positive print and a large-format negative. It was in a special back pack for use on a normal plate camera.

I was using it for some industrial research projects and was amazed at the very low 'noise'. The negative could be directly exposed to light but needed fixing and washing for long term.

Photographer Jim Loc: Rio Vista, CA

A bit harsh (not to mention, arrogant). Do you personally subscribe to that philosophy?

I often bracket a half stop (sometimes a full stop) over and under what I decide is the proper exposure. This allows me, when I go to process a shot to select the exposure which I think will best render the highlights or shadows to my liking. That can sometimes eliminate the range of adjustment I need to make. It’s not a matter of being “necessary” in the sense that if I don’t bracket I’m avoiding getting crap. It’s more a means of increasing my odds of an exposure that lets me process efficiently.

I also often bracket wider for potential HDR if I think an HDR treatment might work for the final image I have in mind.

I take the attitude that it costs me nothing to bracket and may at times prevent my being disappointed.

StanRP Loc: Ontario Canada

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RE: , "bracketing in for people who don't know how to expose properly".

Hi Photographer Jim - I agree with you - Bracketing is a useful 'tool' for those who know how to use their camera.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

My wife still ask me why I shot so many shots of the same thing; why can't I just shoot it once like everyone else? (LOL) Even after showing the differences in exposure and subject approach, even with her being a very good informal photo editor, she still ask the question. One still has to shoot as if there will be no second shot. But if there is a chance to bracket, shoot HDR, or do whatever is needed to get the shot, they should be doing it. You have to consider one's self vindicated with knowing many other photographers are doing the same to get the shot - and when their wife uses the photos on her website, blog, Facebook, Pinterest, and elsewhere.

StanRP Loc: Ontario Canada

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Most times when I bracket, it is not for HDR. I am in my 80's - my wife died 6 years ago - and now I take my camera for a walk in the park. The light level changes - so I choose an approx. exposure and bracket each side. I then pick the best and delete the rest. ( Using JPG and RAW). I am 'walking' and not lugging along a tripod, so I also use a higher ISO. ( The squirrels wont hang around long enough to use a tripod)