Editing Bracketing (section)

==={{anchor|Exposure}}Exposure bracketing===
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<gallery caption="Example of exposure bracketing">
Image:StLouisArchMultExpEV-4.72.JPG|–4 stops
Image:StLouisArchMultExpEV-1.82.JPG|–2 stops
Image:StLouisArchMultExpEV+1.51.JPG|+2 stops
Image:StLouisArchMultExpEV+4.09.JPG|+4 stops
</gallery>

Without further qualifications, the term ''bracketing'' usually refers to exposure bracketing: the photographer chooses to take one picture at a given exposure, one or more brighter, and one or more darker, in order to select the most satisfactory image. Technically, this can be accomplished by changing either the shutter speed or the aperture, or, with digital cameras, the ISO speed, or combinations thereof. Exposure can also be changed by altering the light level, for example using neutral-gray filters or changing the degree of illumination of the subject (e.g. artificial light, flash). Since the aim here is to alter the amount of exposure, but not otherwise the visual effect, exposure compensation for static subjects is typically performed by altering the shutter speed, for as long as this is feasible.

[[File:CanonEOS100ViewfinderInfo.JPG|thumb|[[Canon EOS 100]] viewfinder information with AEB]]

Many professional and advanced amateur cameras, including [[digital camera]]s, can automatically shoot a bracketed series of pictures, while even the cheaper ones have a less convenient but still effective manual [[exposure compensation]] control.

Exposure bracketing is indicated when dealing with high-contrast subjects and/or media with limited [[dynamic range]], such as [[transparency (photography)|transparency]] film or [[charge-coupled device|CCD]] sensors in many digital cameras.

Exposure bracketing is also used to create fade-in or fade-out effects, for example in conjunction with multi-vision [[slide show]]s, or in combination with [[multiple exposure]] or flash.

When shooting using [[negative film]], the person printing the pictures to paper must not compensate for the deliberately underexposed and overexposed pictures.  If a set of photos are bracketed but are then printed using automated equipment, the equipment may assume that the camera or photographer made an error and automatically "correct" the shots it determines are "improperly" done.

Images produced using exposure bracketing are often combined in postprocessing to create a [[High-dynamic-range imaging|high dynamic range image]] that exposes different portions of the image by different amounts.

{{See also|Automatic exposure bracketing}}