Effective use of auto exposure bracketing?

[OceanHorizons]

For those of you who use (or have used) auto exposure bracketing, I have a couple of questions for you.

But first: I shoot with a Canon Rebel xti/400d, so my AEB will take 3 exposures with a maximum range of -2/+2, increasing by increments of 1/3.

Question (1): What amount do you set your AEB at? Full stop? Fraction of a stop? More than a stop? Does it depend on the amount of light available? I’m especially interested in what range is good to use for taking outdoor portraits/environment portraits. Recently I’ve started experimenting with taking outdoor photos of people using Av mode and bracketing.

My purpose in using AEB is to learn how to interpret my camera’s light meter in different situations - and to (hopefully) get at least one acceptable exposure! – but right now I’m just guessing at the amount of stop(s) to set the AEB at…

Question (2): Do you prefer using AEB on continuous shooting or single shot, and why? Again, I’m most interested in hearing your answers in regards to photographing people outdoors.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[OceanHorizons]

Anyone? Maybe my question (1) is too dependent on my camera/the shooting situation to give any general advice?

[Elmo]

AEB is basically a relic from the days of old when one shot color slides. And the amount of bracketing was based on the conditions. In today's modern digital cameras the exposure issue is handled much better by chimping especially the histograms. If you shoot RAW you will easily have enough latitude to fine tune the exposure for an image with a decent histogram.

That being said most of us will never admit our "well trained eye" misses an exposure. Or we blame missed exposure on the camera's meter not reading correctly. The secrete of learning exposure is how to use the meter and interpreting it's findings.

My suggestion is to select one metering mode and learn to use it and how exposures need to be adjusted to get it for each condition. I would suggest evaluated or Center weighted. I use spot only when meter is used to determine exposure bracketing for HDR's. Using one single meter mode allows me to instinctively hit the Exposure compensation as conditions change to maintain proper exposure.

[OceanHorizons]

Elmo, thanks so much for your reply.

the exposure issue is handled much better by chimping especially the histograms.

Ah ha! Maybe that's why I had such trouble finding info... I do shoot in raw & have been using evaluative metering, so I'll focus on learning when to compensate for my camera's light meter. My brain hasn't felt so full since I was in school!

Thanks for redirecting me.