Exposing to the Right (ETTR)
The technique of exposing as brightly as possible without clipping, then darkening in processing to maximise signal-to-noise ratio.
Measured in
stops (EV)
In depth
Sensors record light linearly, so the brightest stop of a fourteen-stop file contains half of all the tonal data and the darkest stop contains a tiny fraction. Pushing the exposure right places more of the image in that data-rich region, producing cleaner shadows after the file is pulled back. It demands raw capture, a static subject and careful highlight monitoring.
Examples in practice
A tripod-mounted interior shot at +1⅓ EV, then pulled back in raw, shows visibly less shadow noise than the same scene metered normally.