Using exposure and flash compensation
Sometimes the camera’s exposure meter is deceived by certain conditions . Exposure compensation can compensate for these situations. For example, a very bright scene, such as a snowy landscape or a white sandy beach, can appear too dark in the captured image. Before taking the picture, adjusting the exposure by +1 or +2 EV will result in an image with normal tonal values.
In this example, the dark scene appears bright and washed-out on the LCD monitor. By decreasing the exposure by –1.5 EV, the richness of the sunset is preserved.
Flash compensation changes the ratio between the ambient and flash
exposures. For example, when using the fill-flash to reduce harsh shadows on the subject caused by bright illumination or direct sunlight, flash compensation can change the ratio between the highlights and shadows. The fill-flash will affect the darkness of the shadows without affecting the area illuminated by the main light source. By decreasing the flash output with a negative Ev setting, the shadows will receive less light and be deeper, but will bring out shadow details that would be lost without the flash. Increasing the flash output by using a positive Ev setting will soften and can even nearly eliminate shadows.
Positive compensation
No compensation
Negative compensation
74 A SHORT GUIDE TO PHOTOGRAPHY