Tom this is my understanding ( the only thing I have practiced this on are 5-6 lowpro black bags and not a gorilla ;))

The camera's evaluative(matirx) metering is aready overexposing the gorilla ( sometimes severally in a close shot ) as it tries to set a mid tone to that black. EC to the right might a.) severally run the risk of clipping/blown highlights and b.) EC to the right for moving objects, hand held large glass etc is anyways a bit risky (even more so at higher focal length). In the end higher noise to signal is better than both blown highlights as well as blurred images.

I think the 'expose right' is a good general rule of thumb and works very well for landscapes, photography of camps/rooms, even close shots of people ( still and posing )inside or with evenly spread light outdoors etc where you can shoot at fast shutter speeds easily.

For snow etc or say a person standing against a white wall and wearing a white shirt, EC to the right is a must as the camera again tries to set a grey tone by underexposing.

However with wildlife there are lots other factors that will come into play and I guess its case by case and practice over the years ( something I am looking forward to).

Saw this site, and again disclaimers as its a generality and a lot of pros and serious amateurs here would have discovered something else works much better- but it might help someone on a first trip or with new gear as general rules of thumb go.

http://africafreak.com/exposure-comp...fe-photography

Its great to hear everyone's view on tips and techniques that work for them.

@Nelson thats very informative link too, thank you!

@Kavey pls do let me know the name of the book if you can find it, thank you! :) ( gosh I am getting really geeky about all this )

Here is a book I found very useful on our Safari to Kenya and Tanzania last summer.

http://www.amazon.com/Wildlife-Photo...2749280&sr=8-1

Of course you begin with learning how your camera meters different subjects under different light. A lion is pretty much a nice uniform and unicontrast color ( http://tinyurl.com/6xqkb2h ). While a bird with whitish body and blackish wings, secretary bird, is at the other extreme of contrast ( http://tinyurl.com/6ynwdw7 ). I mostly just try and put the subject's "histogram" in the middle. And then (thank God for) Photoshop to put the blacks and whites where I like them in the final image.

Good idea tanya, I'll put some eyes on my lowepro bag, hang it from a tree, and shoot it :)

regards - tom

It was Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop by Bruce Fraser. Obviously, most (or at least many) former Camera Raw users are now using Lightroom so the technical instructions on the software are out of date/ redundant, but his explanations of how raw files work were very helpful.

Maybe you can find an old cheap copy on Amazon marketplace or similar?

Or perhaps someone has updated the content since his passing...?

@ Kavey thanks a lot! This is very widely recommended and will look for a copy

@ Tom : Maybe a nose and some silver hair if this is an adult male? One of the photo forums -a guy suggested (sarcastically) to tape a 18% grey card to the gorilla's back!

@AKR1 thanks a lot! I got the book last month and its a great book with lots of details on the exposure of each shot and lists quite a few 'bad shots' as well that are explained- excellent book for a beginner. Reading Moose Peterson too.