Grant Ball

 Metering

Inside a DSLR camera, there is an integrated light meter, this measures reflected light and helps the photographer by making decisions on shutter speed and aperture depending on the amount of reflected light and ISO value. To help optimize the exposure you can use any of the metering modes available on a DSLR, currently, there are 3 or 4 metering modes depending on the make and model of the camera. Below is an example of the metering icons on Nikon and Canon cameras.

Lets take a look at the different modes and how they are best used.


Spot meter

Spot metering will look at one spot in the photo, the focus point, and will evaluate the light around that focus point (approx 5% radius) and will ignore any other subject, object, etc.. outside the selected spot meter. The camera then calculates the exposure from the spot meter and exposes the entire frame from the averaged value from the spot meter. This enables perfect exposure of the focused subject, whilst anything outside of the spot meter radius may become over or underexposed.

When to use:

• High contrast scenes - Subject with Sunset behind, Moon photos, photos that are difficult to focus on a subject due to high contrast

• Close-up photography such as insects, flowers, products, etc.

• Portraits

• Macro
  

Partial - Canon only

This is a unique model for Canon cameras and has similarities to spot metering with the small difference of having a larger radius that measures anywhere between 10-15% from the center of the viewfinder. The partial area is fixed at the center of the frame, much like the Centre-weighted Metering mode.

When to use:

• High contrast scenes - Subject with Sunset behind, Moon photos, photos that are difficult to focus on a subject due to high contrast

• Portraits

• Macro

• Close-up photography such as flowers, insects, products, etc.
  

Center-weighted Metering

Center-weighted Metering focuses on the center of the frame including the surrounding area which can be adjusted on some camera settings (approx 60-80%). Anything outside of this radius will be smoothed out. This mode gives preference to the center of the frame so be mindful of your composition and the type of subject you are photographing.

When to use:

• Landscape - If you want to focus on a specific subject/object and don’t care for the entire frame having correct exposure

• Some close-up photography, I find insects particularly good with this setting in the right habitat.

• Wide-angle photo

• Portraits and Group portraits

• Cityscapes
  

Zone / Evaluative / Matrix

This mode is generally the default setting due to its versatility. The light meter reads zones throughout the frame and then calculates the results to provide exposure for the entire frame. This is calculated by many factors such as the focus point, distance to subject, areas in and out of focus, colours of the frame, and any back-lighting.
Like most modes, the camera will ensure the focus point is exposed properly before then calculating the remaining frame. This mode will give the best all-around performance, although do not forget the use of the other modes as they can deliver fantastic results when used correctly.

When to use:

• Versatility, can do everything, can be viewed as a jack of all trades but not a master of all

• Fantastic for wide-open Landscapes because it calculates the exposure of the entire scene

Let’s go ahead and learn about composition, press next below when ready.