Bracketing is a technique used in photography to capture the best possible photo by taking several pictures of the same scene using different camera settings. The aim is to have a range of options to choose from when editing, which makes it less likely to end up with a badly underexposed or overexposed photo. Bracketing is useful and often recommended in situations that make it difficult to obtain a satisfactory image with a single shot, especially when a small variation in exposure parameters has a comparatively large effect on the resulting image. There are different types of bracketing, but exposure bracketing is the most common one, where the photographer takes one picture at a given exposure, one or more brighter, and one or more darker, in order to select the most satisfactory image.

Bracketing is an important technique for photographers to learn because it helps them get the best possible photo of a scene and avoid ruining what would otherwise be a great photo session. It is also helpful when facing very bright or very dark scenes, as well as when photographing scenes with lots of tonal variation. Beginners may choose to bracket even in more standard exposure scenarios, just to be safe. On the other hand, it is recommended to avoid bracketing if you’re faced with a standard low dynamic range scene.

Many professional and advanced amateur cameras, including digital cameras, can automatically shoot a bracketed series of pictures, while even the cheaper ones have a less convenient but still effective manual exposure compensation control. Exposure bracketing is indicated when dealing with high-contrast subjects and/or media with limited dynamic range, such as transparency film or CCD sensors in many digital cameras.