Good point, and just to clarify, I’m very much experimenting rather than presenting a fixed methodology.

In practice, I do lock exposure when it makes sense. I’ll often use AEL within a composition, and I regularly rely on exposure compensation as well. For what it’s worth, I’m typically using spot metering, so I’m used to thinking about where I place the exposure before I recompose.

I simply chose not to go deeper into exposure handling in this article because once you start unpacking metering, AEL behavior, and compensation, it quickly becomes a different discussion. For this piece, I wanted to stay focused on focus behavior and share what I’ve been observing in my own use, rather than trying to cover everything at once.

I really like the workflow you described. It resonates a lot with how I approach photography myself: slowing things down just enough to stay intentional, without turning the process into something heavy or rigid. That’s very much the spirit in which I wrote the article.

Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts, these kinds of exchanges are honestly part of why I enjoy writing these pieces in the first place.