Geoff Wiki

This photo was take with the exposure compensation set to zero ie the normal position Even though I could see the beams of light coming from behind the cloud the camera can not because it has adjusted for the amount of light it can see

The same scene take a few second later with the exposure set to the minus ie under exposed and the beams of light can be seen because the whole photo is now darker.

However in the second image less of the detail can be seen at the bottom of the image than the first images simply because it is to dark. It would be ideal if you could have a combination of the two images. With appropriate computer software and a function that some cameras have called Exposure bracketing you can combine the two photos. Exposure bracketing usually takes three images in quick succession. One with the exposure set to normal, one under exposed and one overexposed. The extent that this can be done is set before the images are taken. The three images and then combined via a computer program such that the best of the lighting of the three images are used to make yet another image.