What does exposure compensation allow photographers to do?

Exposure compensation is a feature that allows photographers to manually adjust the exposure level set by the camera's automatic settings. This function is particularly useful when the camera's metering system may not interpret a scene accurately, which can lead to underexposed or overexposed images. For instance, when photographing a bright subject against a darker background, the camera might mistakenly adjust for the overall scene, resulting in an underexposed subject. Using exposure compensation, the photographer can instruct the camera to either increase or decrease the exposure by specified increments, allowing for more creative control over the final image.

This option directly relates to the photographer’s ability to override the automatic exposure settings to better capture the desired image quality and mood. This manipulation makes it essential for achieving accurate exposure in diverse lighting conditions without needing to change the camera's ISO, lens focal length, or synchronize multiple cameras, which are not related to exposure compensation itself.