What is bracketing and why would I use it?

Why would you use bracketing? That is a great question. See the difference?

A picture truly is worth a thousand words. The top picture was bracketed and processed. The bottom, while correctly exposed, was not.

Also, if you just point and shoot without several different exposures, you can end up with many of your pictures unexpectedly under or over exposed. That is, too dark or too bright.

I did not shoot several exposures of this picture! Woe is me.

Adding a high dynamic range software into the mix produces the result you see in the top picture.

You can take different exposures of the same composition. It helps when you are deciding which exposure you like best.

Many cameras have a bracketing setting. What that means is once the camera is set, each time you press the shutter release button the camera will automatically shoot the next exposure in the set until all the exposures have been captured.

It works in a circular fashion. In other words, the camera will shoot the first shot at the first exposure setting. Then the second, third and so on until it has shot all the exposures in the sequence.

On cameras that have a setting, you can adjust how much difference there is between exposures. The available adjustment generally ranges from 1/3 stop to 1 full or 2 full stops. I use 1 full stop change from one picture to the next.

See!?

Here’s what a series of 5 bracketed shots looks like when set side by side.

Following the final exposure, the camera will start the sequence all over again. So watch yourself. If you click one too many times you will infringe on the next sequence of shots.

Deleting the extra shot will not remedy the situation. You will have to complete that next set in order to come back around to the first exposure.

You can continue as though nothing happened, but when you load the pictures into your computer the sequences will be out of order and look different than each other. Personally, I like consistency. It helps when I am looking at each sequence as a whole.

As I rifle through the bracketed shots I move along with a rhythm and my brain goes on auto pilot. If the exposures are all mixed up it becomes a jumbled mess for my brain to process. It is easiest if every bracketed series is the same.

This series shows how my camera exposes 5 auto-bracketed shots.

The first is exposed as the camera believes is correct. The second shot is 2 stops under exposed, third, one stop under. The last two are over exposed by one, then 2 stops. From these you can choose which exposure you like best, like this.

There is a program that takes a little more learning to use.

I touched on it above. It is known as “High Dynamic Range Imaging.” What these programs do is take your bracketed shots and turn them into a beautiful scenery photograph.

You can download and use many HDRI software free of charge. When using the free trial version, they will place a watermark on the finish picture.

In order to make the watermark go away, you pay for the program. I like this feature because I tried a half dozen of the programs before I settled on Dynamic Photo HDR. I chose it because of the adjustments it has and the finished look I get from it.

You have lots of room for experimentation. Do a search for these programs with the simple key words “hdr software.” That will bring up a wide range of programs you can try.

Check out these pictures. The bottom photo of each pair is without using what’s known as “High Dynamic Range Imaging.” The top, with it. Without using HDRI even the right exposure sorely lacks the life and depth one gets with HDRI.

Which would you display? Uh huh, and until you discovered my website you thought gorgeous, marketable photos were beyond your reach! Didn’t you!? Go ahead, you can admit it. Now you know you can create beautiful photography!

Don't care so much for the powerful image? Simple, turn down the saturation a little. You will still retain all the detail and exposure balance not found in non-HDRI images. Be sure to look carefully through the door, into the garden.

Quite frankly I prefer to shoot in manual mode any time I have a single important subject, but when I want to bracket a picture I normally use Aperture priority. There are exceptions when I will still use manual.

That’s bracketing and how to end up with super dynamic photos that you will love. So, tell me, since perusing my site, have you as yet decided to start marketing your photo-art? I’d love to hear your story. Maybe I’ll use it on my site. With your permission, of course.

HDR! WOW!