Exposure Bracketing in the Field

Bracketing means taking several exposures of the same scene at different brightness levels. It's insurance against high contrast and changing light.

When to bracket

• The sun is in or near the frame.
• Dark foreground under a bright sky at sunrise or sunset.
• Interiors with windows (see exposure blending).
• Fast-changing light where you can't check every frame.

If the histogram fits comfortably inside the edges, one exposure is enough.

How many frames, what step?

Estimate the scene's contrast and your camera's usable dynamic range, then use the HDR bracketing calculator. Common setups:

• 3 frames at ±2 EV — most sunrises and sunsets.
• 5 frames at ±1 EV — gentler transitions, easier blending.
• 5–7 frames at ±2 EV — sun in the frame, deep shadows.

Camera settings

• Aperture priority or manual with auto-exposure bracketing (AEB); keep aperture constant so depth of field doesn't change.
• Continuous drive with a 2-second timer — many cameras fire the whole bracket on one press.
• Fixed ISO and white balance.
• On a tripod, turn off stabilization.

Handheld brackets

Modern merging software aligns frames, so handheld brackets work if shutter speeds stay reasonable. Use continuous high-speed drive and raise ISO.

Merging

• HDR merge (Lightroom, Photoshop, Aurora) produces a single DNG with extended range — then edit normally.
• Manual blending with luminosity masks gives the most natural results for difficult edges.

Keep results believable: shadows should still be darker than highlights.