Why spot metering

You can use it if a backlit scene is turning your subject into a silhouette. But this metering option also causes a few problems. Although it might correctly expose the face, it could also give you an overexposed background. So what do you need to do? If you have over or underexpose parts, feel free to try other metering modes instead. Spot metering is best for correcting exposure in high-contrast situations.

Using this mode ensures your camera correctly exposes the subject and not the background. Portrait photography is an excellent area for this to work. Examples include headshots , actors in a theatre setting, family photography , or even street photography portraits. But this metering mode is useful in other types of photography as well.

Some of the best uses for it include sports and still life photography. Of course, it also helps a lot when photographing the moon and other celestial objects. I take photos of bands for a living. More often than not, stage lights are terrible. They are either too strong or not present at all. By using spot metering, I can create images that show the musician correctly exposed.

Evaluative metering can make the subject either too dark or too light. In most cases, the stage for smaller bands is unattractive. Thankfully, spot metering helps me lessen the effects of bad lighting. To achieve this look, spot metering is key. To achieve this, expose for the subject with natural light filtering through trees behind — or, a window works just as well — and when the rest of the frame over exposes a little, go with it!

The metering modes determine how your camera calculates the exposure. In most cases, yes. When taking a portrait, you want to ensure the subject is correctly exposed. Evaluative metering takes multiple readings from across the full frame and uses them to calculate a general reading for the whole image. Spot metering, on the other hand, takes a reading only of a very specific spot. See what it does to the skies when photographing birds in flight — you can achieve a really striking high contrast photo.

Or expose for the sky and create a dark and moody silhouette. There are so many opportunities for you to utilise this metering mode. So, get out there and start experimenting with spot metering photography on your camera! Patrick Mateer is an award-winning photographer who lives in Yorkshire, England with his wife wedding photographer Hollie Mateer and two children.

Great article Patrick. I must admit to rarely using spot metering since switching to Sony. One thing I miss from my days with Nikon is the ability to program a custom button to switch to spot metering when pressed and back to matrix when released. Great for those split second moments that happen within high contrast lighting.

But to use it effectively, you have to be good at identifying midtones. In difficult lighting, spot-metering is much quicker to employ and more reliable than other hit-and-hope methods, and with practice, may become your go-to option.

Andrew makes his living as a photographer, videographer and journalist. For 26 years he was a specialist magazine editor, the last 13 of which were on Practical Photography magazine.

Asian skin, in black and white terms, is medium gray, so your camera will expose this correctly. Knowing this, you can now take steps to help your camera expose correctly using exposure compensation.

How and when to use exposure compensation — controlling exposure part 3. How to use the zone system in photography for perfect exposure. How you set your metering mode will vary between camera brands and even between models of the same brand. Before you begin, check your manual to see if the area your camera meters is at the very center of the frame like Canon spot metering, or if like Nikon spot metering, it moves with the focal point.

Although spot metering is ideal for when your subject is backlit, the process is the same no matter where the light is coming from. How to use AE lock auto exposure lock for easy exposure. Every metering mode has its place, but for portrait photography spot metering mode is best most of the time, especially if you shoot in manual mode. That said, when it comes to shooting style, so many factors influence the camera setting decisions you make, including subject, lighting, activity and simply what makes you feel comfortable and confident.

So, what works for one photographer might not work for another. Only practice and time will help you to decide for yourself…but meanwhile, get to know all the metering modes.

Hi Jane,happy to you also. I like wildfire photography most of time,I going to Hawaii soon to photograph Humback whales off a boat,what is the best meter mode to use? And also which one is the best to use Aperture priority or shutter priority? Hi Thanh. My preference would be shutter priority and keep an eye on the aperture. For exposure I would use evaluative metering. Use AI servo for continuous autofocus.

Continuous drive mode would be ideal too so that you can shoot off a short burst of photos when the whales do something interesting.