The Optimum Digital Exposure

by Bob DiNatale
Concepts from my upcoming book… 
 The Optimum Digital Exposure – “Introducing the OneZoneTM Digital Exposure Method”
For too long we have been accepting the “digital look” of our photographs. The compression of tones, especially in the dark areas, seems intrinsic to digital photography, but in reality it is the result of “non-optimum” exposure. With optimum exposure, you don’t have to compromise the film-like appearance with digital photography.
It has been more than ten years since Michael Reichmann wrote about the concept of ETTR (Exposure To The Right). 1  Originally the primary benefit was to separate the signal from the noise of the sensor, especially in earlier digital cameras. With improvements in camera/chip technology and digital processing software, the signal-to-noise ratio has improved greatly. However, there are additional benefits when Exposing To The Right – including more tonal data; more sharpness; less processing artifacts. Though the practice of ETTR ...