Everyone always trots out the mantra of ‘Expose to the right’ – ETTR. As I understand it the concept is that you should expose to get as much out of the shadows as possible without clipping the highlights. But that’s not how I like my images. The argument then goes that you can then darken your images in post-processing but this gives you the option of doing so whilst preserving the shadow detail. Trying to do it the other way and recover shadow details risks getting noise in the image. However, I don’t want to post-process every image to obtain the look I have previsualised, I want to see it there and then. I am very happy with the Fuji jpeg engine and I like the output on the XE1 so cant I ETTL instead and get the high contrast, low key image I want at the time I take the image? I save the raw file too so I can always change my mind on the contrast levels etc, although I understand that I haven’t recorded the raw optimally to retain the best of all details.

The thing is, when we shot/shoot film, did we ETTR or did we try and record the image using filters and other means so that the processed image and print came out as we previsualised at the time? I know you could do in the darkroom what we now do in post-processing but most of us didn’t have our own darkrooms and tried to record the image such that the resulting print matched what we wanted after it came back from the lab. I suppose for that reason we are all better off now. Now that we all have access to the ‘digital darkroom’ we can afford to record the image in the best possible way and post-process later. However, I for one don’t have time to do this ad nauseum and I would rather go with the spontaneity of the initial capture where possible, only working in post-processing where I can really enhance the look and/or feel I was after at the time.

Its also the ‘rule’ that you must ETTR that grates, as though I am doing something wrong that I shouldn’t be doing and am then a worse photographer for it. Perhaps I am, perhaps I’ll learn why it is so important to ETTR rather than ETTL and why you cant ETWTHYWT – expose to wherever the hell you want to – to get the image you’re after at the time. But when we’re also told that there are no rules in photography and that as an art form there shouldn’t be, and when old masters are lauded for their high contrast prints with deep black shadows, and when I just don’t have the time to sit at the computer all the time, I rather struggle to follow this rule and hope that my images and my photographic development aren’t suffering too much.