A Sparrow and a Final Comment on Exposure (Three Photographs)

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When you are photographing small birds all kinds of crazy lighting situations can occur. I avoid the use of flash because I worry about the birds. So here if you look at the final shot, I had three areas of distinctly different exposures. In the other two I isolated the bird and toned down the background, I also removed some excessive blue. You note in the second one a slight outline around the bird, this is almost unavoidable in some of these circumstances. So there are solutions but the first step is to do your best in camera.

In concluding this series of posts on exposure I hope I have made the point that unlike aperture there are fewer clear answers for correct exposure but many things to try that may apply to your style or your subjects. The quest for a “correct exposure” if not a good exposure is often front and centre when I shoot, as much as anything else. It’s important to note that there are a lot of examples, like silhouettes where a perfect exposure is dark, or portraits where a brighter photo maybe just the ticket. Sticking to the middle of the histogram or trying to is not what this series of posts was about. It was about getting an exposure that you like using the best tools for the job.