Other Bits and Bobs
The glacial lake and end of the Skaftafell glacier, Vatnajokull National Park, Iceland.
In this section, I want to run through a few odd ends and hints that you might find useful out in the field when capturing your next image or when you're in front of your editing station.
Exposure Bracketing: Gathering Light
Exposure bracketing allows you to craft the perfect image as it let's you play with a larger amount of light. In this technique, your camera takes a series of shots at different exposure levels. Typically, these exposures range from underexposed to overexposed, with adjustments made primarily to the shutter speed. The resulting set of images becomes a palette for you to craft a final masterpiece in post-processing, ensuring that every detail in both shadows and highlights is artfully preserved.
Depending how good the dynamic range of your camera is, you'll be able to achieve the same or similar result when shooting in RAW format. More on that later.
Why it's Useful:
Exposure bracketing becomes a potent tool, especially in scenes with challenging lighting conditions. High-contrast scenarios, such as capturing landscapes with a bright sky and dark foreground, often lead to compromises in either shadow or highlight detail. Exposure bracketing helps overcome this limitation by providing a series of shots with different exposures, ensuring that no nuance is lost. High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography uses this technique as well.
Radiant morning at the Cuillin mountains, Isle of Skye.
Here we've taken a few exposures that helped me greatly in dealing with the contrasting light. The ground is made up of one exposure where the sky is using a slightly dimmer one where more of the cloud details are preserved.
There's an additional exposure taken with a slightly slower shutter speed for the flowing water. This let's me blend the right amount of water flow effect on my image.
The different exposures were processed in Lightroom and stitched together in Photoshop.
Format RAW: Unleashing the Power of Digital Negatives
Choosing to format your images in RAW is like working with a canvas before it becomes a masterpiece. Unlike JPEG, which compresses and discards some image data, RAW files retain all the information captured by your camera's sensor. This provides a wealth of post-processing flexibility, allowing you to adjust exposure, white balance, and other settings without compromising image quality.
Working with RAW files is akin to having a digital negative, preserving the full dynamic range and details of your photographs. While RAW files require more storage space, the creative control and latitude they offer in post-processing make them an invaluable choice for photographers aiming to refine their vision or make sure they can recover images created in tricky situations.
The day ends in a firey sunset on top of Cherni Vrah, Vitosha mountain, Bulgaria.
This image is a single exposure taken in RAW format on my Sony camera. I've been able to recover the very bright highlights of the sunset even when shooting directly at the sun. The shadows on the snow have also been preserved.
This is all possible because I've taken the photo in the right format for what I wanted to achieve. When you're freezing on top of a mountain you want to make sure you can capture as much information as you can in your images.
Quick fire tips
If you're out there to capture images and tell your artistic vision through them, make sure you review what you've taken in the field - unless you're shooting film! Open the image you just took and check it for sharpness and exposure. Are people's faces doing a funny expression or did some dust get on your sensor?
Make sure your memory cards always have space and your batteries are charged. It's vital to practice good prep and post-shoot equipment checkups. If you put your batteries to charge and empty and full cards you're better prepared and more likelyF to pick-up your camera next time.
Get out and spend an hour trying different settings. Unsure how a image is going to turn out with your new lens, go out and give it a go. Don't wait for the moment when you actually need to capture the perfect moment.
- Exposure bracketing captures shots at various exposures, aiding in post-processing for scenes with challenging lighting.
- RAW format retains all sensor data, providing post-processing flexibility and preserving image quality.
- Review images in the field for sharpness and exposure; ensure equipment readiness for future shoots.
- Experiment with settings and equipment to familiarize yourself and be prepared to capture the perfect moment.