4. Understanding Exposure

As you learn to use your 5D Mark II creatively, you’re going to find that the right settings—as determined by the camera’s exposure meter and intelligence—need to be adjusted to account for your creative decisions or special situations.

For example, when you shoot with the main light source behind the subject, you end up with backlighting, which results in an overexposed background and/or an underexposed subject. The EOS 5D Mark II recognizes backlit situations nicely, and can properly base exposure on the main subject, producing a decent photo. Features like Highlight Tone Priority and the Auto Lighting Optimizer can fine-tune exposure to preserve detail in the highlights and shadows.