Bracketing is one of those photography terms you’ve probably heard but might not fully understand. It involves taking multiple photos of the same scene at different exposures, usually one correctly exposed, one brighter, and one darker. Here's why and how to do it.
Coming to you from Marc Newton with The School of Photography, this practical video explains clearly what bracketing is and whether it's still necessary today. Newton shows how digital photography has reshaped bracketing, especially with the advantage of software like Lightroom, which allows merging bracketed shots into HDR images. This method is useful when dealing with scenes with high contrast, such as landscapes or architecture shots with bright skies and deep shadows. Newton points out the key benefit here: HDR merging provides significantly more detail in highlights and shadows compared to processing a single raw file.
Newton demonstrates two straightforward ways to bracket your images. First, he covers manual bracketing, detailing how you should maintain consistent aperture and ISO settings while changing only shutter speed. He recommends selecting your desired aperture and ISO first—such as f/11 and ISO 125—then adjusting the shutter speed to achieve your bracketed exposures. The second and simpler approach Newton advocates is auto exposure bracketing, a feature available on almost all modern mirrorless and DSLR cameras. This feature automatically captures multiple exposures at preset intervals, making the process effortless and precise. Newton clearly walks you through setting up auto exposure bracketing, emphasizing it as the most practical choice.
Newton also discusses when bracketing and HDR merging make sense. He highlights scenarios with significant contrast, such as bright daylight scenes with dark shadows. Conversely, in less extreme conditions—like scenes with the sun behind you—Newton suggests a single raw file might be sufficient, given modern cameras' advanced sensors and software. He shares examples of both scenarios to illustrate when bracketing genuinely adds value versus when it might be unnecessary.
One important detail Newton covers is the common mistake of altering ISO or aperture when bracketing. Changing these settings introduces differences in image quality and depth of field, complicating your editing process. Newton stresses the importance of only adjusting shutter speed to ensure consistency across your bracketed images. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Newton.
