Photography Tip #7 - Exposure Compensation

Exposure compensation is one of the easiest yet least used features of your camera. It is a great tool for everyone from beginners shooting with a point and shoot camera to professionals with a SLR.

What typical exposure compensation readout looks like on most cameras.

Exposure compensation allows you to adjust your exposure when your camera under or over exposes the photograph. When your camera reads for light, it automatically reads to make the overall exposure middle gray. This is usually very effective as there are many lights and darks in a scene to take into consideration. However if you are shooting in an instance where there is a lot of white or highlights, or a lot of black or shadows  your camera is going to incorrectly expose as it attempts to make the overall image middle gray. In a scene with whites or highlights, this will leave your whites underexposed leaving the photograph too dark. In a scene with blacks or shadows,  your camera will over compensate resulting in the photograph being too bright. 

To start using exposure compensation you want to begin by assessing the situation... What is in your photograph? If the image is mostly dark such as a forest of evergreens, dark night sky or someone in a dark suit, you'll want to compensate your exposure by adjusting your exposure compensation meter to underexpose.  This will make the dark areas properly exposed and your blacks should look rich and dark.  Make sure you don't go too far, because you don't want to lose information in your shadows.  Reading the histogram is the best way of assuring this doesn't happen and is something we will cover in a future tip.

In a converse situation, your photograph is mostly light, such as a snowy mountain top or fluffy white dog. Your camera will underexpose the scene to compensate for the large amount of brightness it sees. Adjust the scene by dialing your exposure compensation meter to overexpose by as little or as many stops as needed. Again, you'll want to make sure you don't totally overexpose your whites so there are details in your highlights.

Also, don't be afraid to take multiple exposures of one photo, adjusting your exposure with each shot. This is called bracketing (which is another subject we will cover in a future tip) and will help you make sure you have the correct exposure to take home with you! 

An example where you would want to underexpose from what the camera's meter is telling you so you don't overexpose the bridge.

Golden Gate Bridge. Copyright 2007 McCory James Photography

Another example where you would want to underexpose from what the camera's meter is telling you so you don't overexpose the city lights.

Madrid, Spain. Copyright 2008 McCory James Photography

An example where you would want to overexpose from what the camera's meter is telling you so you don't underexpose the girl.

Accra, Ghana. Copyright 2006 McCory James Photography

Another example where you would want to overexpose from what the camera's meter is telling you so you don't underexpose the girl.

Accra, Ghana. Copyright 2006 McCory James Photography

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