How does Scott Kivowitz’s perspective on blown out highlights differ from traditional photography methods?

I look at blown out highlights as something to avoid whenever they distract from detail or skin tone, but I’m also very practical about how people shoot today.

In my critiques, I often say I’d rather see you protect the highlights (especially in skin and hair) even if it means letting blacks go deeper or losing some shadow detail. For example, on a portrait I mentioned I’d prefer underexposing and losing some black in the clothing instead of blowing out skin and hair.

Traditional teaching is “never clip anything” and keep a perfect histogram. My approach is a bit more real‑world: modern cameras have great dynamic range, so I push people to prioritize what actually matters in the frame (faces, important texture, mood) over technical perfection everywhere.

Would you like me to break this down into practical shooting settings or post‑processing tips?