When do you use exposure compensation

11 years 5 months ago #262727 by Scooter
Help me understand the purpose of exposure compensation. If you need the photo darker or brighter, why not just adjust the shutter or aperture? I don't get the purpose of having this?


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11 years 5 months ago #262736 by robbie
It`s not the image BUT that part of the image that will be over/under exposed.
Eg..shooting a cloud filled landscape on a very sunny day,in matrix or centerweight metering the foreground will be properly exposed but the clouds will be blown.A setting of -ec will compensate for the clouds.The brighter the clouds the more -ec will be needed.


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11 years 5 months ago #262737 by robbie
If you meter for the bright areas of the image then you need +ec to open up the shadows.
Try this ...
shoot that cloud filled landscape,metering for the foreground with 'bracket' on...start at -.7ec ...then +.7ec
then compare the effects on the clouds.


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11 years 5 months ago #262761 by KCook
Be sure to see these threads -

www.photographytalk.com/forum/beginner-p...xposure-compensation

www.photographytalk.com/forum/photograph...ensation-even-needed

www.photographytalk.com/forum/photograph...ompensation-question

www.photographytalk.com/forum/photograph...ghtroom-or-photoshop

I use EV compensation mostly when shooting flash in Program or Aperture priority mode and I want to subdue the ambient lighting, let the flash dominate.

Kelly Cook

Canon 50D, Olympus PL2
kellycook.zenfolio.com/

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11 years 5 months ago #262791 by Henry Peach

Scooter wrote: If you need the photo darker or brighter, why not just adjust the shutter or aperture? I don't get the purpose of having this?


That only works in full manual. In the auto modes (Av, Tv, P, green square, icon modes, auto-ISO...) the camera if you adjust one of the exposure controls the camera will change the others to get back to middle gray.

Think of exposure compensation as telling your meter what tone to go for if you don't want to go for middle gray.
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11 years 5 months ago #262829 by CWphotos
Good answers/explanations! One additional use is if your camera tends to over/under expose...my Pentax K10 D seems often to under expose, especially when using any exposure modes other than spot metering, so I keep a +.3 stop EC dialed most of the time.

What you are is so loud, I can't hear a word you say!
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11 years 5 months ago #262848 by Joves
Well you have the same camera I do so this is easy. If you use Aperture, Shutter, or Program then you want to compensate for under, or over exposure. I know that the D300 in Aperture over exposes in bright lighting blowing out highlights many times, so I go negative EC to the point that white is not over blown. In low light then you can use it to kill off under exposure. But if you shoot Manual you can use it as well. Say you want to use the center on the meter as proper exposure, but the subject is either coming out U/O exposed when there, you then use EC to make it do so by compensating for it. I do not do this because I am senile and forget that I set it, so I would U/O expose because I use the meter as I normally do. I like to use the meter itself for EC, it is the good old tried and true method.


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11 years 5 months ago - 11 years 5 months ago #262901 by Henry Peach

Joves wrote: But if you shoot Manual you can use it as well.


I forget with Nikon DSLRs exp comp moves the point on the meter scale in M. It doesn't function at all in M with Canon DSLRs. I don't know how the other brands have it set up.
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