Remember to take detailed notes about what you have done for study later when you get your pictures back. This way you can determine what works for your camera in a given situation and you will not require as much bracketing in the future. In summary, compensation is necessary when photographing white birds as the majority of cameras will misinterpret the increased reflectance and underexpose the image. To date, only Nikon's F5 with its color matrix meter is capable of recognizing and properly exposing for white subjects in most circumstances. Next month we will discuss magazines and books that are helpful in furthering your knowledge of bird photography.
Gulls are notorious troublemakers to photograph.
In these two photographs, we have the white plumage and light toned surroundings to deal with. The second is an intentionally darkened image to simulate what the shot would have looked like without compensation. Adding more light has kept the plumage white.