My friend said to always bracket shots on film and I thought it was a waste

For my first few rolls, I just trusted my light meter and shot each picture once. My friend kept telling me to bracket, which means taking the same picture at different settings, but I thought it was silly with film costing so much. Then I shot a whole roll of my niece's birthday party in Portland last month, and the indoor light was really tricky. The whole roll came back too dark because my meter was fooled. If I had bracketed even just a few key shots, I would have had something to keep. Now I bracket any shot I really care about, usually taking one at what the meter says, one a stop brighter, and one a stop darker. It uses a bit more film, but it saves the shot. Do you all bracket often, or do you have another way to deal with tricky light?

3 comments

3 Comments

ivan_fisher9910d ago

Wait, you shot a whole birthday party on one roll? That's wild.

jade27110d ago

Yeah it was wild. How many shots do you usually get out of a roll?

christopher_west110d ago

Oh man, that's rough about the birthday party shots. I mean, I get not wanting to waste film. I had a similar thing happen with some sunset photos at the coast, everything just came out as silhouettes. Now I'm kinda paranoid and I'll bracket like crazy for anything that feels even a little off. It does eat up a roll fast though, idk, maybe it's just me but I'd rather have the shot.