What is the purpose of exposure compensation?

• A. To bias exposure brighter or darker than the metered value
• B. To adjust white balance
• C. To adjust ISO automatically
• D. To adjust focus distance

Answer: (A)

Exposure compensation lets you bias the final brightness of an image away from what the camera’s meter would normally produce. The meter aims for a middle brightness (often a neutral gray), but many scenes aren’t that tonal target. By dialing in positive values, you brighten the image so pale areas or a backlit subject aren’t underexposed. By dialing in negative values, you darken the image to preserve detail in bright highlights or to achieve moodier tones.

This is about exposure, not color or sensitivity, so it doesn’t adjust white balance, ISO, or focus distance.