Spot Metering

[wingflapp]

Looking for spot metering simplification, if possible.

I've done some reading on it, from a few different articles, and found a few examples of it, but I still can't seem to co-relate it. So for starters, I'll try to say what I think spot metering is, and anyone please jump in and tell me if I'm missing an important point...

From what I've read, I believe it to be metering light from a specific point, basing exposure on the meter reading from that point. I adjust the exposure accordingly. For example - Bright flowers and dark leaves. I spot meter on the Bright flower. Let's say the flower is white. I then add a stop or 2 to the exposure. Yay, I have the white flower, and I hope for the best as far as the dark leaves are concerned. The resulting exposure of spot metering is wholely based on the adjustments I myself have made to the camera after looking at the spot meter reading. Yay? Nay?

If the above is correct, then I am assuming I would NOT want to do this if my photo has a lot of mid tone, because the mid tones will end up getting over exposed. Aaaaaand I suppose that, too, would be dependent upon what tone was metered. Perhaps better to use matrix metering, or center weighted.

So far, reading on this subject has really made me want to just sit down with someone in the know and start chatting about it. But, I have no friends into photography, except you folks.

So, I took this new information outside with my camera, spot metered on a bright building, then spot metered on the shadowy part of said bright building, and got 2 differently exposed photos. Naturally. Then I thought to myself.... Well hell, why not just bracket? (Because that takes more time and effort was the best answer I could come up with).

From my limited knowlege, it seems like spot metering is best used to keep my whites white. Not unlike Tide.

Do I have spot metering understood correctly? When do you folks find yourself spot metering?

Thanks for reading.

wing.

[tadthephoto]

I couldn't have explained it better myself. Where you say you take a reading from the light part of the shot, then the dark, and bracket, try seeing what happens when you set your exposure up for the average of the two readings.

Tadthephoto

[sk66]

Your understanding of "how" it works is fine.
Here's "why" you use it..... Because there is always "something" in the scene which you care about more than everything else, and you need that something to be properly exposed.

I almost always use spot metering. If I have a light subject in a dark scene, a dark subject in a light scene, or an average subject in an average scene; the exposure is always "correct". (at least as far as the camera thinks)

Now, there are times you may not want to use spot metering. But, to me, those are more the "exceptions".