How to use Exposure Compensation to be more creative in your wildlife photography.

Using Exposure Compensation Creatively.

This is a follow up to my previous blog post on exposure compensation. The last one covered the basics of Exposure Compensation in Wildlife Photography, if you haven’t read it or are not sure how to apply the basics then I would suggest that you read this blog first before you continue to read this one. Improving your Wildlife Photography using Exposure Compensation.

Have you really explored what Exposure Compensation can do to your images?

Most people use it for it’s basic purpose which is helping the camera to correct an exposure reading. But it can do so much more.

When I discovered the control that I could have over my images and the impact that this little dial could have on my photography I completely rethought my approach to photography and spent many months doing test after test of what exposure compensation could do to my images.

Mute Swan. f4. 1/1000s ISO 180. -2 exposure compensation

I did most of this at my local loch – Hogganfield Loch and I did most of my tests and experimenting (before I upgraded to my Nikon Z9 mirrorless camera) with my DSLR Nikon D850 camera. Using a DSLR was actually useful as unlike my mirrorless I couldn’t see the effect that it was having through the viewfinder.

So I sat with a notebook and just started shooting and recording what I did.

I started with looking at how it could impact light and shadows and highlights when the sun was coming from different angles. I shot the same scene at 0,+1.+2.+3,+4,+5 and -1,-2,-3,-4,-5 with side lighting, backlighting and light directly behind me, I also shot when it was overcast and when it was bright overhead sunlight. I tried every possible scene I could find with all different angles of light.

But then I started to notice colour changes in the images – some of them were subtle and some were dramatic so I then started to look at colours and shot the blue of the water at all different compensation stops, the green of the trees, the sunrise, I then looked at the man made structures, houses, buildings and by the end of this I had a really strong understanding of how exposure compensation effected colours.

Mute Swan. f5.6. 1/1000s ISO 12800. +1 exposure compensation

I then started shooting subjects but using exposure compensation to create the image that I wanted in camera. Yes I had to process the image, but most often it was a tweak of the shadows or the highlights and most often I wasn’t spending any longer than 5 minutes processing an image. The main reason for this is that I had done everything in camera and knew exactly how I wanted the image to look.

After all of the research and experimented I discovered the following:

• Pure white backgrounds
• Pure black backgrounds
• Shoot for shadows
• Change your background colours
• Look for and create natural vignettes

White Backgrounds and Shooting in High Key.

Spotted Redshank. f10 1/1000s ISO 14400. +3 exposure compensation

A lot of people will know how to exposure compensate if you have for example a bird sat at the top of the tree with a bright sky. If you don’t the bird will appear as a silhouette. But what about if you use this technique to shoot a high key (over exposed image) and deliberately blow out the highlights in the background.

If you do this right then you will show the vibrant colours of the subject against a plain white background and it adds focus to your subjects.

It is so simple to do – make sure your camera exposure metering is set to evaluative (where it takes information from the whole of the image) then simply dial in +1 or higher on your exposure compensation. Remember for this effect you are deliberately blowing the highlights and are trying to get a pure white.

You can fine tune this in post processing if you need to by reducing the blacks and/or shadows to make the subject “pop”

But you can also shoot high key with coloured backgrounds, if you know how exposure compensation will affect the specific colour.

It particularly works well for subjects in a forest.

Raven. f5. 1/1000s ISO 18000. +2 exposure compensation

Or with birds on water especially if it is at sunrise or sunset.

Great Crested Grebe. f5.6. 1/1000s ISO 3200. +2.33 exposure compensation

Pure Black Backgrounds

Grey Heron. f5.6. 1/2500s ISO 64. -3 exposure compensation

I actually have people contacting me asking me if I can show them how to do black backgrounds in photoshop/lightroom and I always explain that it is done in camera at the time of shooting.

I think that what a lot of people don’t understand is how easy it is to do it.

All you need to do is look for a subject that is on a darker background (It doesn’t have to be completely black) then all you need to do is underexpose by 3 stops (give or take). So dial in -3 on your exposure compensation. The camera will naturally try to calculate the exposure at a neutral specific shade of grey. This shade of grey is often called “middle grey” or “18% grey” and is used by all manufacturers as the basis of what makes a good exposure — trying to get as close as possible to what you see with your own eyes. So if you photograph something on a darker background then the camera will brighten the image. So by applying a negative compensation you are saying no I don’t want that – I want it to be darker. To get the “correct” exposure you would look to apply a negative value of -2/3 or -1. But when we are using exposure compensation creatively and you want to make the background darker then you apply more of a negative value.

You can use this effect in any light or even if it is not particularly bright, but it works the best when you have light coming in from the side of your subject. Side Lighting increases detail and texture in an image and if you have a strong source of light illuminating the subject then it enhances the effect of darkening the background and makes the subject stand out.

On some occasions there may be nice green tones in the background or reflections in the water and if you want these to appear in the image just use exposure compensation more sparingly and try -2 or somewhere between -1 and -2.  I would always suggest taking a variety of images if you can, and then you can see what you prefer in terms of the overall look of the image.

You can fine tune this in post processing if you need to by increasing the whites and/or highlights to make the subject “pop”.

It works particularly well with areas of water in shadow with darker trees behind

Shelduck. f5.6. 1/1000s ISO 220. -2.33 exposure compensation

It also works well in a forest with light illuminating parts of the subject

Brown Bear. f4. 1/1000s ISO 250. -2.33 exposure compensation

And if you use it with side lighting then you can get lots of texture and detail in the image which really makes it stand out.

Mute Swan. f5.6. 1/1250s ISO 64. -2.67 exposure compensation

Shooting for Shadows

A friend and one of my clients once said to me “I love your style of photography – it is dark and moody and you use shadows in a different way”. I took this as a huge compliment because I guess I have developed this style for dark shadows and pops of sunlight and the fact that my work is now identified in this way is very pleasing.

So exposing for shadows and shooting dark images is often something you are advised not to do as it will add noise to your image, but with exposure compensation when you are reducing the exposure compensation you are actually decreasing the ISO (If using auto ISO). Noise isn’t just affected by a high ISO it also can be affected by just poor light and not knowing how to shoot for this.

I always try to look for areas of the scene that are in shadow or are darker and then I look for areas of contrast in the scene and where something is a little brighter or lighter. The trick then is to try and photograph your subject when it is in one of those brighter areas, then if you are underexposing by 2-3 stops (-2 or -3) then you will find that the shadows will go almost black and the lighter areas of the scene will stand out more.

Badger. f4. 1/500s ISO 3600. -1.33 exposure compensation

This image is a good example of this where I waited for the badger to walk into a lighter area of the ground and then I included some of the tree that was also lighter in colour, then I underexposed by 3 stops.

In post processing I used a radial gradient filter around the badger to increase the exposure slightly creating the spotlight effect of the badger emerging from the shadows that I visualised when I took the image.

Red Kite. f7.1. 1/1600s ISO 160. -2 exposure compensation

Another example of this is the Red Kite here. The Red Kites were swooping and flying towards the sunlight and I underexposed to -4 in this case to really darken all of the background and reveal just the highlights on the bird.

Red Squirrel. f4. 1/1000s ISO 90. -2 exposure compensation

The final example of this is this Red Squirrel. The light was just illuminating the side of the tree, but by shooting for the shadows it has created a spotlight effect on the squirrel.

Changing Background Colours

Here is an example of one of the tests I did with how exposure compensation changes the colour of the yellow sunrise reflecting on the water (Ignore the exposure on the bird for now)

What you can see is that the background at -3 looks a dark orange and then at +3 it looks a bright yellow colour.

In the end I liked the water colours and the golds of the background in the +1 image and so I then used Camera Raw and put a mask on the subject and increased the exposure and the shadows just on the grebe, this resulted in the bird standing out against the gold of the water. I then applied noise reduction using Topaz De Noise.

This is quite an extreme example but sometimes all you need is a subtle tweak of the exposure compensation and it can completely change the image.

Tufted Duck. f4. 1/1000s ISO 180. +1 exposure compensation

Creating a Natural Vignette

Vignettes can be created in post processing and they either add a lighter or darker circular shape around the subject, but exposure compensation when used creatively can create a natural vignette.

This technique works particularly well if you have an area of trees or even water with contrasting colours or more subtly a lighter shade of the same colour.

Grey Heron. f4. 1/320s ISO 2500. -1 exposure compensation

Lion. f8. 1/1000s ISO 250. -2 exposure compensation

It can also work if it is a darker area surrounded by a lighter area. If the subject is sat or in the lighter area and you under expose by 2-3 stops then the lighter area will retain more of its colour and appear brighter, and the darker areas will go darker creating a natural vignette which will then make the subject stand out.

Brown Bear. f5.6. 1/1000s ISO 1000. -3 exposure compensation

This can also be done with contrasting colours or areas of light and dark on water, If you have an area where there is a lighter reflection and capture the subject in this area then it will stand out against the darker surrounding water. In contrast you can also do this with the subject in a darker area with a lighter surround, but this time be a little more subtle with the application of exposure compensation.

Coot. f8. 1/1000s ISO 125. -3 exposure compensation

Puffin. f8. 1/1600s ISO 900. -0.67 exposure compensation

It doesn’t have to be a perfect surround around the subject it can be a darker or lighter line in the water or in the trees, as long as the subject is positioned in this contrasting area and the rest of the background is a different tone.

Puffin. f8. 1/1000s ISO 720. -1.33 exposure compensation

An example of this is the puffin here sat with a darker line of the cliff.

Then this example with the Red Kite flying past a gap in the trees

Red Kite. f7.1. 1/1600s ISO 160. -2 exposure compensation

Or this beaver swimming through a darker area of light surrounded by a brighter area.

Beaver. f4. 1/640s ISO 800. -0.67 exposure compensation

In summary

Exposure compensation and its primary function is to balance an exposure and provide the camera with assistance in achieving a “correctly” exposed image. However when you really explore what this little dial can do and the impact that it can have on your images it opens up a whole new range of possibilities and options to help take your photography to the next level.

I cover all of this and so much more in my wildlife photography workshops and I always find that when participants of the workshop discover the possibilities that are created through exposure compensation, they get a new energy and excitement for their photography.

If you would like to explore this in much more detail, then join me on a Scotland based workshop or a tour to one of the varied destinations that I regularly visit worldwide.

After reading this blog post I would also suggest that you read my blog post on mastering the angles of light, as understanding light and the impact it has on your images if used in conjunction with exposure compensation really can take your wildlife photography to a whole new level.

Enjoy experimenting with this and feel free to contact me with any images that you have taken or If you would like any more help or advice.