Spot-metering the usual suspects
by eNoBlog on Jul.20, 2009, under Techniques
Like many other D80 user’s before me, it wasn’t long before I found Matrix metering (MM) quirky, to say the least. At the time I was using Aperture priority mode and letting MM set the shutter speed for most of my shots. Noticing over-exposure (oh, no, the blinkies!) in many of my daytime shots, I soon started -0.7EV of exposure compensation, only to find a significant number of my shots were under-exposed. Here’s a sample shot of a typical scene where MM over-exposes (notice that white flag — all of its detail is blown).
Since Center-weighed metering wasn’t giving me the results I really wanted, the solution was to return to basics, using Spot-metering in Manual mode. Under the conditions that challenge matrix metering — sunny, high contrast — I like to set my camera to Manual mode and spot on one of 3 usual suspects, if available in the scene: blue sky, brightly lit grass or foliage, or gray pavement. Here’s the same scene, this time spot-metered on the green grass. Notice how the detail in the white flag is now discernible?
Finding a shade of color that approximates middle gray (18% gray) also does the trick, and should work even in non-sunny conditions. For this, you will have to develop a sense and eye for picking out middle gray tones. With experience and practice, it’s very doable. In this next scene, I didn’t have my usual suspects, so I set my aperture at f/16 (IIRC), I zoomed in and spotted on the light tan of the buildings, set my shutter speed to zero out the meter reading, and was rewarded with one of my favorite shots of beautiful Bordeaux.
To summarize the steps for using Spot-metering in Manual mode.
1) Set your camera to Manual (M) mode.
2) Decide what aperture (or shutter speed) you need.
3) Find one of the usual suspects to spot on or find an alternative.
4) Point the spot at the suspect, zoom if needed, and set your shutter speed (or aperture)
5) Now that your exposure is set, compose the shot how you want it, and take it! That’s right, you can point the camera anywhere, and the exposure won’t change.
6) Check the histogram and adjust if needed. With practice you’ll be surprised how many times you have to do nothing except start thinking about your next photo.
At first this may seem like a lengthy process, but keep in mind that good photos come when you are deliberate and intentional about what you shoot. In many cases, once you have set your exposure, unless you are changing the scene or the lighting is changing, you will not need to readjust settings, allowing you to keep shooting as quickly as you need. I find that to be the case even when shooting sporting events.
Give Spot-metering in Manual mode a try and see how your exposures look.
July 20th, 2009 on 3:59 pm
Thanks. This is very useful. I’ve been reading about the Zone system, and that really confuses me? How does your method compare to it?
July 20th, 2009 on 4:11 pm
d80_user: I don’t know what materials you’ve been reading, but in the past I’ve found this write-up useful. Essentially, my method relates to the zone system in that I look for middle gray in a scene (18% = zone 5) and try to meter off it. I try not to get any fancier than that, though some times I do need to, since middle gray or one of my usual suspects isn’t available.
Note also the Ansel Adams quotation in the link I provided: “Expose for the shadows; develop for the highlights.” That’s good advice, as it turns out, for our DSLRs as well. If you take care of the shadows, you won’t get too much noise there. Then, you can “develop” in post-processing software (ViewNX for me) the highlights to recover their detail. See a this write-up I put together on the topic.
July 21st, 2009 on 1:55 pm
I use spot metering a lot and besides following your suggestions I also check by metering on the deepest shadows and the brightest highlights as this gives me the an option to compromise on the settings I use to take the shot. I may want to bring out more of the shadow area or shoot more to the right if the highlights are more important in the shot. I know one can adjust after looking at the Histogram and re-shoot but I prefer to try and get it as I want it from the first shot. It also forces me to think more about my exposure settings.
Claude
July 28th, 2009 on 10:30 pm
I use spot metering 99.99% of the time. Still, there is another issue. It’s about the limitations of the digital cameras, since they cannot capture the whole range of tonalities that we OFTEN meet in our everyday life (from shadows to highlights). Photo-FUSION, or HDR is unavoidable. Learn how to efficiently use these techniques!
July 29th, 2009 on 7:01 am
Good point, Paul. I’m sure we’ll have a photo blog or two entry on HDR in our future.
August 5th, 2009 on 1:42 pm
I wanted to ask, is there any chance for a modified version of the directory listing script, with an iphone-stylish like design?
August 5th, 2009 on 2:16 pm
I’m not quite sure what you mean. If you can point me to a blog that implements the feature that you mention, perhaps that would help? I will say that I am using a pre-canned template on which I am not the utter expert, but if I can see an example that might point me in the right direction.
August 6th, 2009 on 5:41 am
Nice post! GA is also my biggest earning. However, it’s not a much.