Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB)

Auto exposure bracketing (AEB) takes exposure compensation (which is a way to alter the standard exposure set by the camera) a step further by varying the exposure automatically with 3 shots, as demonstrated below:

Standard exposure shot

Darker exposure (decreased by 1 stop)

Brighter exposure (increased by 1 stop)

You will want to use your AEB feature if for example you’re trying to take a shot with tricky lighting, or one that has a lot of light variations between the dark and the bright areas and you’re not pretty sure which exposure to go with. In a case such as this, auto exposure bracketing can be very helpful for you to take 3 shots of the same scene with varying exposure settings. When you download your images to your pc and check them out on full screen, you will be able to revise all 3 shots, and make a decision which exposure setting you should go with.

Depending on your camera manufacturer, you should be able to find your AEB option under one of your menu tabs

In the image above

• 0 is the standard exposure
• +1 / +2 is an exposure brighter than the standard exposure by 1 / 2 stops respectively
• -1 / -2 is an exposure darker than the standard exposure by 1 / 2 stops respectively

Usually when you have you AEB mode set and you press the shutter release button half way, the AEB amount will be displayed on your LCD monitor. When you focus and press the shutter release button all the way to take a shot, the 3 bracketed shots will be taken in this sequence: standard, decreased, and increased exposures.

If your camera is set to continuous shooting, or the self-timer or wireless remote control is being used, the 3 bracketed shots will be taken continuously in the above mentioned order. However, if your camera is set to single shooting mode, you will need to press the shutter release button all the way 3 consecutive times to get your 3 standard, increased, and decreased exposure shots.

You should note that neither flash nor bulb exposures can be used with AEB mode.