Last week we featured a basic tutorial for outdoor photographers who have difficultly achieving accurately exposure photographs in difficult light. That one demonstrated how to get the light by using your camera’s Exposure (EV) Compensation feature.

Today’s lesson from the popular PHLOG Photography YouTube channel discusses another effective technique for capturing images with precisely balanced s by making one simple  change to a camera’s Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) setting that “hugely improved the quality of my photos.”

German landscape pro Christian Mohrle is a favorite among Shutterbug readers who appreciate both his stunning photographs and the concise image-editing videos he shares to help everyone boost their skills. In today’s episode he explains how AEB works, when to use it, and why you’ll achieve more dynamic range with a five-shot (instead of a conventional 3-shot) auto bracket.

There are very few downsides to the method Mohrle prefers, and he quickly reveals what he says are the worthwhile tradeoffs. As always, you can download the demonstration phot with a link beneath the video and follow along as the simple Steps are explained.

Mohrle launches the lesson with a brief description of how AEB works for those new to the technique: “Every scene we shoot has its own tonal range depending upon the given light situation—from deep shadows to bright highlights.” A camera is limited to a narrower dynamic range than what are eyes perceive—and this discrepancy will affect your results depending upon how you set up shutter speed, aperture and ISO; namely the three components of the familiar exposure triangle.

Without proper adjustments you may end up with an images that have blown highlights or clipped shadows in key areas within the frame. Mohrle explains that some cameras have more dynamic range than others, and this is where AEB comes into play. The solution involves shooting multiple images of the same scene, each at a different exposure setting, and then merging them during the editing process to achieve one perfectly exposed shot.

If you’ve watched Mohrle lessons in the past, you know that he always begins with a few global adjustments to create the best possible base image for the magic that follows, and today’s preliminary enhancements are very straightforward.

The real key to this episode is why editing with a five-shot HDR sequence, instead of the typical three-shot approach, often delivers far superior results. Mohrle’s method is easy enough for photographers of all skill levels and he provides all the masking, color grading, and final sharpening adjustments necessary.

After watching the lesson head over to Mohrle’s instructional YouTube channel where you’ll learn many more editing techniques that will greatly improve just about any image you shoot in the great outdoors.

We also encourage you to watch least week’s related video mentioned above in which another accomplished pro recommends using your camera’s Exposure Compensation feature to shoot perfectly exposed outdoor photographs with any camera you own.

This is the eye-like mosaic on the wings of the Owl Butterfly (genus Caligo). How long did such an adaption take to occur? And what did it cost? Over countless generations, unfathomably many butterflies were eaten by predators before the pattern you see below arose. Maybe it feels like you’ve been waiting eons for cameras like the Canon R1 or Nikon Z6 III to appear, but it’s nothing by comparison. While we wait, let’s see what has evolved in the photography ecosystem over the past week.

Cameras come and go, but Lensbaby lenses are timeless. They add dynamic energy to ordinary photos and empower creatives to express unique visualizations. I can think of more than 101 reasons to use a Lensbaby, but I’ll share just five big ones.

Lensbaby lenses come in variety of shapes and sizes. Some let you drift between razor sharp images and surreal creations, while others enable streaking, blurring and total distortion. They’re designed for dreamlike artistic expression, not inflexible realism.

Even older, discontinued Lensbaby lenses are exciting to use. Lenses, in general, seldom wear out. Due to their lack of delicate automated apertures or autofocus gears, Lensbaby optics are nearly impossible to break (unless you drop them on a rock).

Here are five reasons to use a Lensbaby.

5. Creative Supremacy
Lensbaby is synonymous with creative.

While conventional lenses deliver tack-sharpness and expose every wart, a Lensbaby allows you to create softened, semi-blurry pics to showcase your creative talents. If you can appreciate a muted smudge of colors representing a spring flower, you’re ripe for a Lensbaby.

Best of all, YOU control the amount of blur, distortion and or visible aberration. They don’t restrict you to one certain look the way a simple soft-focus filter does. That’s the basic difference between creativity and luck.

Currently, my favorite Lensbaby is the tried and true Lensbaby Obscura. The exact model I personally use is no longer available (dammit!) but the two current Obscura variations deliver approximately the same gorgeous results and are far more flexible to use.

For a deep dive into the Lensbaby Obscura, check out this story I penned a while back. You’ll find out why I like it so much. Lensbaby Obscura Pinhole Camera Simulator Review Back to Basics for Fantastic Creative Images.

4. Unique Images
There are some images (like the one above) only a Lensbaby can create.

A great example of Lensbaby’s ability to produce one-of-a-kind imagery can be found here: Lensbaby Twist 60 Petzval 60mm Creative Lens Review .

The original Petzval lens was conceived more than 100 years ago as a portrait lens by Joseph Petzval. Its specialized construction introduces coma, flare and vignetting — three things we all try to avoid, right? Well, yes — but when combined in a certain way the results are simply amazing.

3. Dreamy Portraits
Capture the subject’s spirit, not their wrinkles.

Successful portraits range from frighteningly sharp through naturally relaxed and on into the realm of smoothly impressionistic. Many photographers perform their magic during postprocessing, and some are very good at it. I prefer to do it in the camera when I can, otherwise I’m never sure I got the shot I was after.

To soften a portrait, I reach for a Lensbaby Velvet. The imaginative enhancements it offers apply to many other subjects, too.

Here is my appraisal of just one of the Lensbaby Velvet optics: Lensbaby Velvet 85 Creative Lens Review.

2. Totally Affordable
In addition to being drop-dead simple to use, the entry-level Lensbaby Spark is affordable.

Instead of a traditional helicoid focus mechanism, the Spark focuses by compressing its accordion-like body toward and away from the camera. You can also shift it from side to side a bit to add additional distortion and have more fun. Check out my review Lensbaby Spark to learn more and see a few more examples.

1. New Life for Old Cameras
Got an aging clunker in your collection that’s been collecting dust? It’s perfect for Lensbaby. This is, perhaps, the single best reason to buy a Lensbaby.

Nearly any camera that accepts interchangeable lenses is a suitable platform for a Lensbaby. I frequently use a 20-year-old Canon 20D. I equally use a modern, 40.2-megapixel Fujifilm X-T5. And everything in between. Here’s the thing: when you’re making dreamy, soft-focus images, it doesn’t make any difference whether the camera captures 8.2 megapixels or 40+.

Because focus is manual and exposure settings are Aperture Priority (primarily) or Manual, AF speed and operational response are not issues. Images are intentionally slightly blurred and/or distorted, so resolution and ISO performance don’t matter at all.

Fetch that old DSLR out of the closet (or buy a used one for the price of a cheese sandwich) and marry a Lensbaby to it. Mirrorless camera shooters can buy an inexpensive (typically in the $15 range) manual adapter in the appropriate mount and start shooting right away. This is another example where the lack of autoexposure and zero autofocus are not disadvantages.

Wrap Up
Some of the products mentioned in this story are no longer available as new, but they’re widely available in clean, secondhand condition from the usual suspects. Check Lensbaby’s website first, and if you can’t find it there, don’t give up.

Click here to find an authorized Lensbaby retailer near you.

 

—Jon Sienkiewicz

 

There’s a once-in-a-generation display of the aurora happening today (maybe through this week). Here in Colorado, dancing lights are visible with the naked eye. It’s a good time to revisit this guest article from Ajit Menon with all the info you need for photographing them!