Understanding your in-camera meter 101

[autofocus]

a quick read for those that are interested in getting a better understanding of metering. An article from the New York Institute of Photography

New York Institute of Photography - In-Camera Metering

[BuddhaPi]

Thanx for sharing, just another aspect I tend to struggle with!

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by BuddhaPi

Thanx for sharing, just another aspect I tend to struggle with!

Well, hoped it helped a little Buddha...maybe it's one of those things that you should go back and read it from time to time

[RichardTaylor]

Another who says "thanks for the post."

[wingflapp]

Thanks for this post. Curious about the metering on the card/cheek/dress.

I meter on what looks like an appropriate spot, then reframe/refocus, and forget about changing any further exposure settings? (unless I'm bracketing or trying to be creative)

Is that about right?

[Quo Fan]

I still struggle with correctly exposing a scene. Good thing with digital I can shoot a lot and delete the bad.

[scootermcq]

Originally Posted by wingflapp

Thanks for this post. Curious about the metering on the card/cheek/dress.

I meter on what looks like an appropriate spot, then reframe/refocus, and forget about changing any further exposure settings? (unless I'm bracketing or trying to be creative)

Is that about right?

Depends on camera settings.

I shoot manual, so I primarily use spot metering, put the "dot" on what I want properly exposed, set my exposure and then compose from there.

If you are in auto or one of the priority modes, you would need to use the exposure lock. Meter on what you want properly exposed, lock the exposure then recompose and focus before taking the image.

If you do not lock the exposure, it will change the reading as you move around scene composing.

[autofocus]

This shot of my wife is from a series here in an earlier post about what to do on a drizzly day. She happened to be leaning against a grey stone wall with similar colors to the bridge off in the distance. I figured it was a neutral color, probably close to 18% grey and set my exposure for this series of shots off the wall she was leaning against. (more of the series can be seen on my flickr) People will often do the same by metering, and setting the exposure off the grass or the back of their hand. It's a great trick, and often yields good results, especially in tricky lighting situations.


My wife and photography partner by vmontalbano, on Flickr

[Tito87]

Good read. Thank you.

[Doug Pardee]

Huh. The article states that "light meters are color-blind." Nikon's metering systems have been full-color for some time, and Canon started switching to 2-color metering systems a year or so ago.

The description of Evaluative metering (I wonder why they chose the Canon term) is a bit on the generic side. In the case of Canon, Evaluative metering consists of a spot or partial metering (depending on the camera) at the locked AF point (or one of the locked AF points, or the center of the frame in manual focus), followed by an automatic exposure compensation that's calculated from a weighted analysis of the data from the entire metering matrix. What really matters though, is this: Evaluative metering is unpredictable. If you're trying to control your exposure, don't use Evaluative metering because it'll override your efforts. If you don't have time to calculate your exposure, let Evaluative metering make its best guess.