Pixiq

The last thing you want in your pictures is overexposed highlights.  When highlight portions of an image lose texture and detail, they are said to be 'blown'.  Sometimes with Photoshop finesse, you can clone texture from another part of the image into the overexposed portion, but most of the time there is nothing you can do to make it look correct.

If you are blowing the highlights too often, there are three possible reasons for this:

1.  You are shooting in jpeg as opposed to RAW mode.  RAW is the first line of defense against losing detail in the highlights.

2.  Your subjects are very contrasty.  A digital sensor's dynamic range is limited.  When there are bright highlights and dark shadows in the same picture, the limitations of the medium prevent a perfect exposure throughout the image.  This confuses many photographers because our eye/brain combination can see clearly all the detail in a subject or scene, but the camera can't capture it.  This has nothing to do with poor metering technique; it's all about contrast.  The solution?  Shoot at sunrise, sunset, or when the sky is overcast.  You can also use the HDR technique, but when it comes to fast moving subjects like the arctic fox above, this option is not possible.

3.  You are expecting to see detail in brilliant subjects like the sun, the sun's reflection on water, or street lamps in night shots.  These things will always look blown out.  They have no detail when we look at them, and they will never have detail in your photographs.