One of the most important parts of photography is getting perfect exposureUnfortunately, it is not always straightforward to master that process. Tricky lighting conditions such as backlighting or high-opposite visual things can complicate, whether you are using automatic or manual exposure settings. Key metering mode is to master in settings that tell your camera how to measure light in a scene.
The measurement mode can be misleading, however, especially since each brand uses slightly different names. In this article, we will break the most common mode and provide examples when you should use each.
What are metering mode?
Before discovering various settings, it is important to know what metering modes are. Digital cameras are capable of measuring light within a view. The camera uses the information to suggest how bright or dark your picture should be, so that you can get an accurate exposure.
We will have more to use that light meter later, but for now, what is important to understand how you can adjust how your light meter reads the view, allowing you to tell the camera what is most important in terms of exposure. For example, you want it to evaluate the entire scene for a balanced exposure, or the center of the frame that matters the most.
Changing the measurement mode will affect how your camera determines a proper exposure. It is important in automatic or priority mode, but it is also helpful if you are using manual mode. After all, if the meter reads the incorrect part of the view, you can end with an image that is still very dark (specified) or bright.
Evaluation measurement
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| There is no particularly challenging light in this scene, so the assessment metering mode handles the metering well. Photo: AB Ferguson |
The evaluation measurement is the default setting for most cameras. Canon and Sigma are this mode evaluation, and it is labeled as a matrix on Nikon, Digital ESP on Multi and OM systems on Sony and Fujifilm.
While each brand can have its own nuances, it is usually higher than the original average of the entire view on modern cameras. Broadly, this mode divides the view into zone and assesses the brightness of each region. Camera can also have a location of factor and focus point in color. That information is processed using an algorithm that suggests a balanced exposure for the entire setting.
The evaluation measurement is default as it works well in most situations. It is useful for landscape, paintings, wildlife and many other everyday landscapes.
Center-lore measurement
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| My theme was correct in the middle of the frame, which was a useful option to the center-loving measurement. Photo: AB Ferguson |
Center-loving metering (also known as Center-Vated AVG. Canon and Center on Sony), as the name suggests, prefer the center of the frame. This does not completely disregard the edges of the frame, but the camera will ensure that the center is correctly exposed, even if it means that the edges will be slightly darker or bright.
The center-weighted measurement is useful for any situation where you know that the subject will be focused. Portraiture is a great example, as it usually consists of the subject in the center of the frame.
Spot metering
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| High opposite views like a black dog on an icy ground, can benefit from the spot metering. Photo: AB Ferguson |
Spot metering is the most accurate measurement option. This mode calculates the exposure based on a small area of your selected focus point. Each system varies in the size of the region that refers to it, in which only 1–5% frame is used. In addition to spot metering, Canon also provides that it says ‘partial’ metering, which is the same, but uses a large segment that covers 6–10% of the frame.
This mode is ideal when your subject is on a very dark or bright background. Conditions such as backlit portrait are good candidates for a dark theme against an icy background or moon spot metering in the night sky.
Highlight
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| Backlighting is a great example when you want a highlight-wated metering mode, if you have it available. In this case, highlights were more important to me than the rest of the scene. Photo: AB Ferguson |
Highlight-wated metering is less common, but available on some Nikon models. Sony also provides an uniform mode called highlight. As the name suggests, it prioritize highlights in the image to ensure that bright areas have not been overdo. It uses the same information as evaluation, but instead of balanced the exposure, it calculates what is necessary to maintain highlight details.
Highlight metering mode is useful in bright or high opposite conditions where you want to pay special attention to highlights. In such situations, you may be ready to ignore the image to maintain highlight expansion with the intention of lightening the shade when editing. Capturing a sunset, taking photographs in ice or documenting someone on a platform is a good example when you want to use this setting when you want to use this setting.
Final consideration on measurement mode
The measurement mode is not something that you need to replace for every image. Most situations will call for a mode throughout the time, and the default mode is a safe option that works for a wide range of scenarios. However, if you note that your images are constantly deep or light, compared to them (or as much as you want), it is worth assessing whether the light status can call for a different metering mode than you set, and can adjust accordingly.
