Often we are faced with a scene that has very bright and very dark areas and our camera histogram is telling us that the camera cant manage such a large "dynamic range" ( difference between lightest and darkest areas ). Well one way we can manage this problem is by bracketing which involve taking a number of images at a range of different exposures lets say three images overexposed, normally exposed, under exposed and then using these in post processing to get detail in these light and dark areas. This is not just a feature used to create HDR images and you can do this hand held - Lets take a look at how. What can we learn about Exposure Bracketing
Post Processing your Images
WARNING - You don't always want detail in all areas