Bracket exposures to get the best shots

Can’t expose the entire scene in a single shot? Use exposure bracketing for more dynamic range

Select number of shots and EV difference

Hold the BKT button (if your Nikon has one, otherwise you’ll have to set exposure compensation manually between each shot), and rotate the rear command dial to set the number of shots. While still holding BKT, use the front command dial to set the EV increment. On Z cameras, exposure bracketing is found in the Photo Shooting menu under Auto Bracketing.

Check the sequence over

Once you’ve taken your sequence of images, check the results to see the difference between the bracketed exposures – you’ll be able to see even more shadow and highlight detail when checked on a computer. Ensure that you set bracketing back to ‘0F’ when you’re done shooting, otherwise the camera will continue to exposure-bracket every shot you take.

Single-shot Raw bracketing

Camera sensor technology has come a long way; on a D850 or Z 7II, the dynamic range you can achieve is around -5EV to + 3EV, so it is possible to take a single Raw image and create a bracketed sequence from it in post. Another use for exposure bracketing is HDR (high dynamic range) photography or exposure blending multiple images in post processing.