selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

The problem with exposure compensation is that if there were twice as many or half as many leaves and flowers in this image the exposure compensation would need to be different. You would have to use trial and error.

Since the important subject appears to be sunlit, a better choice would be to simply expose according to Sunny 16 - 1/ISO at f/16 or equivalent.

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

"Normal" exposure as chosen by the camera may produce images which have either blown out highlights (overexposed beyond the point of being correctable in post process) or dark areas so dark all detail is lost. These conditions can be overcome with exposure compensation. However, if both conditions exist due to a very high contrast scene, HDR techniques are needed.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Your D850 offers a metering mode called "Highlight Weighted Metering." This is a full frame metering mode that sets exposure to just avoid blowing out the brightest highlight in the frame. As such, it pretty much accomplishes for you most of what ETTR does. I suggest you read what your manual has to say about it. There are also some articles on the NikonUSA website.

In my experience, this mode is a little bit conservative, and you can usually dial in +1 stop of exposure compensation without breaking anything.

I do not know whether this metering mode is available on your D750.

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

Very nice.

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

Re exposure compensation - You may find the info in this thread helpful. (now days i use a live histogram in the viewfinder as a guide to dialing in exposure compensation)

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-512965-2.html#8719255

Just scroll down to the post; Feb 21, 2018 15:49:39

R.G. Loc: Scotland

A common example of when the camera's meter may be fooled is when most of a scene is dark but there is a small, bright area that you don't want blown. Interior shots that include a window are a common example. The camera meters for the dark areas (most of the frame) and gives an exposure that results in the bright area/s being blown. If it's important to avoid blowing the bright area/s you need to use EC to lower the exposure from what the camera was suggesting.

This is a bit counter-intuitive because when you see the predominantly dark scene there is a natural tendency to lift the exposure. But that is exactly what would result in the highlights being blown. Other examples include small, bright objects against a dark background and predominantly dark landscapes that include small areas of bright sky.

In example #1 below (Finlarig castle) the sky ended up being over-exposed, despite the fact that I was using exposure bracketing. Most of the scene was in quite deep shadow while the sky was very bright. In example #2 (Diabaig pier) I had learned my lesson and despite the fact that I was using exposure bracketing I dialed in some negative EC. As a result, none of the sky was blown, despite the very extreme range of lighting.
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Finlarig Castle.


Diabaig pier.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

It's also possible for the camera to be fooled the other way, i.e. when most of a scene is bright but there are areas or objects that end up too dark. A common example is photographing people that aren't directly lit by the sun and who are backdropped by snow that is directly lit. The camera meters for the preponderance of bright snow and the people end up badly under-exposed.

However, in that situation, using EC to lift the exposure comes with a certain amount of risk. Lift the exposure too high and the bright areas could end up blown, which means the data for those areas is lost and they become flat white.

For data to be lost at the dark end the shot would have to be extremely under-exposed, but with less extreme under-exposure the data is still recoverable from the shadows (although it would typically be accompanied by noise when brightened). However, that doesn't compare to the complete loss of data that blowing highlights causes.

Jbravi

Thank you for this information, I will keep it in mind.

Bill_de Loc: US

In shooting birds, if my background is brighter than the bird I use '+' compensation. If the background is darker than the bird I use '-' compensation. How much is determined by the situation.

That's the simplistic explanation.

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Blair Shaw Jr Loc: Dunnellon,Florida

Thanks again Linda......your are so helpful and I appreciate how you and the others help we newbees out with this stuff. There is so much to know and learn and very exciting for me . It never get old even though we do....haha

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

The important thing to understand about exposure compensation is that it has to change the value of one of the components of your exposure. Either shutter speed or aperture in most cases. If it is changing aperture you can bump into a case where you are at wide open aperture and the camera is unable to EC any further. Likewise I’d EC is changing shutter speed you have to keep and eye on it to make sure your shutter speed doesn’t cause blur in the image or with moving subjects. People seem to overlook this side effect of EC too often...

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

It can also change the ISO. And if you are using Program mode it can change all three.

The problem with exposure compensation is that, if you are going to use it, you already know that the camera is not capable of achieving the correct exposure with the current settings.

How did you realize it was wrong? Because you looked at one or more clues - the image was too light or dark, the histogram was too far to the right or left, the blinkies are flashing or you knew even before you started that it was bound to fail because the subject was back-lit or against a dark background.

You are using the EC dial to overcome the camera's error. You change the EC and look at the same clue to see the effect and you keep changing it until you are satisfied.

Wouldn't it be simpler to start in manual mode in the first place? You could then change any of the three components to achieve the same result without relying on the meter at all.

BebuLamar

The EC changes the exposure to the sensor. Changing exposure setting in the RAW converter isn't the same. In fact the people who practice ETTR increase the exposure in camera then decrease it in post to reduce noise.
However, like Scotty said I never used the EC and funny is that my first camera bought in 1977 did have the feature although it's a manual only camera.

Bill_de Loc: US

Which people? Could it be you are speaking from personal experience?

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Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington