mdorn Loc: Portland, OR

Thanks Jim... I always pay attention to your posts as I think you usually have something intelligent to say. :-)

In my posts, I was very careful to use the term "experienced" as opposed to "professional". No disrespect intended for professionals, but to me experience trumps someone pulling in a paycheck. Of course, this is not to say you can’t have experience as a professional, and in fact, this is usually the case. Regardless, I think in some ways being a pro puts a little added pressure to "hedge" against exposure challenges in post more so than someone who is not under this type of "business" pressure. If it’s a project you intend to sell, you certainly don't want to find out a few thousand miles later that you had exposure problems.

On the other hand, an experienced photographer knows (I would assume) how to analyze light better (in many---not all situations), reducing the need for bracketing (in my mind anyway). I know a guy who, in the early stages of his career purchased a light meter, and then started randomly metering stuff. He did this without a camera just to get a ballpark idea what incident light readings were on random subjects/objects. Of course, the number of different light readings based on all the variables can approach infinity, but he did become a lot more familiar with certain controlled lighting situations---again, experience. Although he still uses a light meter in his studio, he never uses bracketing (outside HDR).

Bracketing is a great tool for amateurs like me, and from the sound of it, it’s also a great tool for experienced professionals out in the field like you. I’ve just recently pondered this question because my work flow has always been:

In Manual-
1) Adjust my camera in the following order: Aperture, ISO 100 & Shutter Speed.
2) Take a test shot and look at the image & histogram
3) Adjust ISO to bring the exposure caret in the center or slightly below center (depending on the frame). If my ISO is too high, then I adjust my Aperture first, then Shutter Speed.

Now I’m thinking that maybe I should shoot in Aperture Priority, take advantage of EB, and save myself some time & possibly frustration---although Canon’s button layout makes it very easy for me to change ISO on the fly. As always, I love reading your posts. -Mark

jpanar Loc: Reston, VA

Lighting plays tricks on all of us. When we "focus" on a subject, we might not catch slight variabilities. I bracket whenever I'm shooting outdoors or in a situation where there might be a sudden shift in absorption like in a mix of subjects.

farnsworth52 Loc: W. Pa.

If it's digital it's only space on the memory card. If it's film, now that's a another story.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

In one of Ansel Adams' interviews he said as much although I can't agree.

I wouldn't do it as a regular routine but there are times when it pays to be safe.

Mudshark Loc: Illinois

It all depends on where you stand on the photo field. If you are interested in journalism…and you are say…photographing a football game or a drug raid on a crack house then bracketing is going to be a tad bit difficult. If you are down at the other end of the field…say…shooting a fall leaf at the edge of the lake with a 100 mm macro using a tripod or a product shot on location then not bracketing is….wait for it….stupid……..
Call me old fashioned…I wear the badge with honor…but I even bracket in the studio while shooting into a laptop where I can see exactly what I'm doing…and now and then I'm real happy to have two or three different exposures to work with….

Photographer Jim Loc: Rio Vista, CA

[quote=mdorn]Thanks Jim... I always pay attention to your posts as I think you usually have something intelligent to say. :-)[quote]

Ahhh, it appears I have fooled yet another one! :P

Thank you, Mark, for the very kind comment.




I have to comment that you give me more credit than is due. I have not, nor do I, consider myself to be an "experienced professional". If anything, I might cop to being an advanced amateur, who has been fortunate enough to be blessed with a passion for the arts and a somewhat innate sense of composition and color, adequate enough to allow me to produce some images that are appealing enough to convince people they don't mind giving me money to take one home. Truth be known, put me in a studio setting, for example, and expect me to know how to set up lighting, I wouldn't have a clue.

I digress.

I guess I wonder sometimes, if all of us get too caught up trying to select and sort ourselves into categories like amateur or professional, experienced or "newbie", and then being overly concerned with how the other guy goes about things. "You have to shoot RAW - most pros do", "always shoot in manual - only an amateur does otherwise", "once you cross the line, it is no longer photography - real photographers don't PS", "if you are not using a Photomatic D flange tripod adjustment screw, like the NGeo pros do, your image quality will suffer" ... (OK, a bit hyperbolic). My point is, we should use, or not use, a technique, process, piece of equipment, etc., not because we want to emulate others, but rather because doings so aids us in our quest to find our own creativity.

Good post, Mark. Got us all thinking.

mdorn Loc: Portland, OR

Very well said Jim, and your point makes perfect sense to me. I've seen your work, and I must say that I love your style. One of my favorite photos of yours is the B&W of the cups left behind by workers. In case anyone else is curious, here is a link:

http://jimludwigphotography.com/galleries/black-white/

Keep up the great work! -Mark

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

I do use exposure compensation every now and then, bracketing not so much unless I want to do some HDR. I've used white balance bracketing a few times though.

David Kay Loc: Arlington Heights IL

:thumbup: :thumbup:

Camerahand Loc: Huntsville, Tennessee

Let's look at it this way:

If a mouse was seen swallowing a live elephant, who
would NOT bracket exposures (along with changing shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, lens, camera,
underwear . . . . )?

Burton

nekon Loc: Carterton, New Zealand

If you calibrate your camera's meter Thus:

The starting point is to find out how your camera's meter reads exposure. I know mine overexposes by 0.3 to 0.7 EV, depending on lighting, so I set exposure compensation for -0.3. To check this:

With camera on tripod, matrix metering ,exposure compensation at 0-0 and a scene with average tones:

set Exposure compensation (+/-) at +1 take a shot

Now in 1/3 (0.3) increments adjust exposure compensation and take a shot, all the way to -1, giving you seven images.

load these into imaging programme and select the image with best detail in shadows and highlights.

This setting will be your standard, set this on your camera, and you will never need to do this again - your camera will be calibrated for optimum exposure.

...Then bracket 2/3rds over and under, you will never be more than 1/3 of a stop off.

chrisscholbe Loc: Kansas City, MO

Who cares what tools you use to accomplish it.

The question really has no relevance to anything.

Whatever it takes to get the picture you want.....use it.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

chrisscholbe,

Apparently the question DOES have relevance to mdorn.

mdorn, I use it for occasional regular shooting if that makes sense and I think I am an advanced amateur though nowhere as good a photographer as I would like to be. I bracket when I take a photo with my digital camera and the viewing screen shows (most likely) a highlighted area with no detail at all. I bracket in order to get more detail in that area. In my opinion inexperienced photographers do not know about the exposure compensation dial and don't use it as much as they might. I also bracket if I am taking photos of moving water and want it to be stopped cold or more slowly for the milky water photos.

Dennis

cogerox Loc: Northern Cal

This is what I would have said if I could have said it as eloquently. I bracket everything. It's cheap. It's safe.

chrisscholbe Loc: Kansas City, MO

I would say interest more than relevance.