Photographing an Exposure Bracket Without a Tripod

Friday 10 June 2022, 16:32 by Nando Harmsen | 5,837 views | 0 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

Suppose there is a huge dynamic range, leaving you with either overexposed or underexposed parts in your photo. You create an exposure bracket to spread the dynamic range over several photos.

But what if you don't have a tripod with you? You do it without one, of course.

A tripod gives you the best results when creating an exposure bracket. It ensures that the photos line up perfectly when you create an HDR. But what do you do if you don't have a tripod with you or aren't allowed to use one, for example on holiday?

No tripod and the dynamic range is too large? Don't worry, shoot an exposure bracket handheld. This example is an HDR created from an exposure bracket photographed handheld.
You can try placing your camera on something, but that comes with quite a few limitations. The simplest option is to just photograph the exposure bracket handheld. Pay attention to the following settings.

1. Set your camera to aperture priority
   
2. Switch on auto exposure bracketing (AEL or BKT)
   
3. Set the camera to continuous shooting, the fastest setting
   
4. Stand as steadily as possible
   
5. Breathe in and out calmly a few times, then keep the shutter button pressed while breathing out
   
6. And you're done
   

Because you have enabled bracketing and activated continuous shooting, the camera will take the exposures for the exposure bracket in quick succession and stop automatically once the images have been made. Since you can often shoot 3 to 10 photos per second, the movement between the photos will be minimal.

Make sure your posture is good and you are fully stable, then shoot an automatic exposure bracket handheld using high-speed continuous shooting.
When combining the photos, make sure automatic alignment is checked. The unavoidable movement between the exposures in your bracket will then be corrected.

There is one condition for this method. Make sure the photo with the longest shutter speed, the one for the darkest areas, is fast enough. You obviously want as little movement as possible between the photos themselves, but the shutter speed must also be fast enough to prevent motion blur.

This means you may have to set the ISO higher than you normally would, but that isn't a problem. The alternative is a photo with blown-out whites or blocked-up blacks.

You can find this tip and more in my HDR photography course at Photofacts Academy.

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