- #1: Image Quality
- #2: Adjust White Balance (G11 Only)
- #3: Keep Things in Focus with Servo AF Mode
- #4: Focus on Faces
- #5: Use Spot Metering for Portraits
- #6: Adjust the Built-in Flash Power
- #7: Retain Sky Color with Exposure Compensation
- #8: Lock the Exposure with AE Lock
- #9: Use Slow Synchro for Better Backgrounds
- #10: Bracketing Exposures
#10: Bracketing Exposures
I shoot hundreds of photos, and never use most of them. I'd like to say I can look at a scene and instantly know which exposure and aperture values would produce the best result, but that's a talent that comes over time. So like most people, I suspect, I shoot a lot of experiments to find the best combination of settings.
One feature that helps enormously is bracketing. Instead of taking a shot, making adjustments, taking another shot, and then tweaking again, the camera in bracketing mode snaps a series of three photos that differ slightly in exposure compensation.
Press the Function/Set button and select the Bracketing icon (third from the top). Next, use the Control dial to choose the Auto-Exposure Bracketing (AEB) mode. Lastly, press the Display button to reveal the AEB settings and use the Control dial to choose how many stops from zero the exposure compensation should be. When you're ready to take the shot, press the shutter button once: The camera captures all three exposures: normal, overexposed, and underexposed.
Bracketing is also great for creating HDR (high dynamic range) images; the three exposures are combined in software to make an enhanced version.