Spot metering with landscape photography?

[nemesis256]

I've read in a few places, that people use spot metering with landscape photography. I tried it out once this past weekend, and I either got an over exposed sky or an under exposed foreground. So what am I missing? As far as I know spot metering is only useful when you want to focus your exposure on a very specific point. It sounds more useful for portraits or maybe macro than anything else.

[auto-focus]

Originally Posted by nemesis256

I've read in a few places, that people use spot metering with landscape photography. I tried it out once this past weekend, and I either got an over exposed sky or an under exposed foreground. So what am I missing? As far as I know spot metering is only useful when you want to focus your exposure on a very specific point. It sounds more useful for portraits or maybe macro than anything else.

I'd have to agree with your logic..I don't think spot metering is particularly useful in landscape photography when you normally have a broad range of light conditions in your shot.....unless, there is a particular look in your image that you are going for, and you purposely want to over, or under expose the image.

[nemesis256]

Thanks for the reply. Here's another somewhat related question.

I've read that it's good to use graudated ND filters so the sky isn't over exposed. Is it only me or are there a lot of cases where a graudated ND filter wouldn't work? For example, with mountains, the horizon won't be a straight line. Also, the filter would force you to have the horizon in the center of the image, so you can't use it if you want to have more of the sky or landscape in the image.

[auto-focus]

Originally Posted by nemesis256

Thanks for the reply. Here's another somewhat related question.

I've read that it's good to use graudated ND filters so the sky isn't over exposed. Is it only me or are there a lot of cases where a graudated ND filter wouldn't work? For example, with mountains, the horizon won't be a straight line. Also, the filter would force you to have the horizon in the center of the image, so you can't use it if you want to have more of the sky or landscape in the image.

I'm really not sure, to be honest with you. However, I wouldn't think you'd have an issue with maintaining a straight horizen line just because you were using a GND filter. I just started using a split ND filter, and I suppose it could force you to put your horizen line where you normally would not want to. There's always PP crops to deal with that. I also feel that it being graduated, you still might be able to drag that line down a little without seeing any major problems in your image....but again, ND's are pretty new to me.

[Alan Willis]

Originally Posted by nemesis256

I've read that it's good to use graudated ND filters so the sky isn't over exposed. Is it only me or are there a lot of cases where a graudated ND filter wouldn't work? For example, with mountains, the horizon won't be a straight line. Also, the filter would force you to have the horizon in the center of the image, so you can't use it if you want to have more of the sky or landscape in the image.

Depending on the lighting conditions, you may find that a enhancing filter works for you -- they come in the basic RGB color spectrum, and the idea is that they enhance the color in question without impacting the others. To get a better sky, a blue enhancer may do the trick for you. It does, however, depend on the conditions.

[stevoarnold]

Gradual ND filters arent all screw-ins. Do a quick google search (or ebay for that matter) for "Cokin P" and you will see the slide-in type filters where you can put the filter as high or low as you like in your shot.

[Taallyn]

There are screw-in Neutral Density Gradient filters. Granted you can't adjust them vertically in the same was as you can with the Cokin style, but they are made and used by some professionals.

[navcom]

Originally Posted by Taallyn

There are screw-in Neutral Density Gradient filters. Granted you can't adjust them vertically in the same was as you can with the Cokin style, but they are made and used by some professionals.

Screw-in ND grads are mostly worthless. Most are made so you have the horizon directly in the center of the picture. It's usually a big no-no to have your horizon perfectly centered in your composition. Even the ones that are offset are very hard to work with as what you really end up doing is compromising your composition to use the filter versus using a filter to enhance your composition.

Cokin P filters are the way most professionals use ND grads. They are much more versatile. You don't need a perfectly flat horizon to use them either. They are sold with either hard or soft transitions. If you are shooting a sunset on the ocean, you can use a hard one that transitions very fast...more like a solid line. If you are taking a picture of a sunset behind the mountains, you use a soft transition ND grad. It will blend in very well with an uneven horizon.

Bear in mind that ND grads are not plug and play. Many folks (myself included when I started out) tend to think, "hmmm, pretty easy concept. Throw on this filter and "bam"...better pictures. Then you get frustrated because you can't get the results that Galen Rowell got. You need to understand how to use them and also when to avoid using them. You also have to understand that the filter won't improve your composition...only enhance the exposure a bit.

[Farkled]

I use spot metering exclusively. All I have to do is put the spot on the part of the scene that I value the most for that part to be correctly exposed. If the rest of the scen is going to be too far off, well, it's time for HDR.

[kencaleno]

How spot metering used to be done, was with a spot meter that measured one degree of area at a time,and this was pointed at differents tonal areas in the landscape,(using the Weston/Adams Zone system) then averaged to get an overall exposure.(Hence all the dodging,burning-in, and toning, in the darkroom.) Ken