ETTR vs ETTL. Of the hundred or so nature photographers I have had the honor of knowing in my lifetime, very few will leave exposure up to the camera.
My preference, in most cases, is to under expose by 1/3 to 2/3 stops. I find an image is more appealing and has more character if it is just a shade to the left.
What say all of you?

 

My honest answer is depends greatly on what you are shooting and what effect you are trying to achieve. It also depends on the metering mode you are using and if you augmenting with flash. Example if you are photographing outside in the snow you better Exposure Compensate (plus Exposure) by a few stops or that white snow is going to look light grey. Conversely if you are photographing Fireworks and you are letting the camera meter off the dark sky you had better (negative Exposure) compensate a few stops or that black sky you want is actually going to look dark grey. When I am doing my studio work I am purposely underexposing by 3-4 stops to make sure there is no ambient light hitting my subject at all and then manually using my flash to get the correct exposure. If I am shooting on location with strobes then I need to decide how important the back ground is to the shot and if I want it Under, Over or "Correct" exposure and then use the flash as fill....or is the flash the main etc... When I am shooting Drag Racing at the track then it also depends on if I am using the CPL to cut reflections, the time of the day, the color or the car...if this sun is hitting the car...how much black asphalt is in the shot etc... All of that playing into how I exposure for the shot. IMO to do it the right way you have to consider all of those variables.

 

Same car, same day...one taken inside of a Wearhouse and the other outside. The inside shot is illuminated by (5) Strobes and is -4.0 stops UNDERexposed as per the meter reading. The Outside shot I am only using one light on the Model and that shot was like +1/3 Stop OVERexposed as per the meter reading (Canon Evaluative Metering on the R5).

 

Thanks, Rick I knew you would be honest and detailed with your response. Your images are amazing I would be happy with just half of your talent.
What I have in front of me is a Great Horned Owl nest. In about 2 weeks the chicks will hatch and the fun will begin. There is a well defined perimeter around the nest tree and if you breach that perimeter there will be Rangers and or other photogs to escort you from the area. The nest opening faces W/SW so the image is backlit for all but early morning or last light shots. The East and West exposures are filtered by fairly dense Hemlocks so the nest is in shade nearly all day. Artificial lighting is not permitted so what nature gives you is what you get. With this scenario I will over expose by up to 1 stop based on where the chicks are in the nest. In general with landscapes or open water birds I stick to a darker image based on the circumstances.
Jerry

 

coming from always under exposing bird photography I recently changed to over exposure. I was very happy with the results of the change, but I will add its doesnt work for all situations. I analyze what I am seeing and then make a decision on what to do.

 

If there is risk of overblown highlights... I underexpose.

 

Oh well...