As a follow up to my previous post, Understanding Your Light Meter, I am going to go over Metering Modes! Metering will evaluate the amount of light and dark areas in your image and help you get the correct exposure for your subject.
Your DSLR camera is equipped with a few different modes that will measure and determine how to get the best exposure, based on which setting you choose. Learning how to choose which part of your scene is most important and getting an accurate exposure for your subject will help you have more creative control with your photography!
The most common metering modes include:
1. Spot Metering
2. Center-Weighted Metering
3. Matrix (or Evaluative) Metering
SPOT METERING
Spot metering allows the photographer to choose the exact spot in your frame you want to expose for (using your selected focus point). This is a very accurate way to meter, but the area is very small so you have to be precise about what you want the camera to meter from your scene. This mode is awesome when your main subject, or your focal point, is a lot brighter or darker than the rest of the surroundings! It is also great for subjects that are backlit. I love that I can use this mode to meter subjects that are off-center, using a manually selected focus point.
PARTIAL METERING (CANON)
Partial metering works the same way spot metering works, but the size of the area is a little larger.
CENTER-WEIGHTED METERING
This mode allows for a larger metering area, which is fixed in the center of the frame. Although it takes a little information from the edges of your frame into account for the exposure, the priority is given to the center of your viewfinder. It is helpful for scenes where you want to expose for a subject in the middle of the frame, not worrying too much about the lighting behind or around your subject matter. Think of it as a mode that falls in-between evaluative and spot metering. On some cameras you can choose how large you want this area to be. Check your camera's manual for more information about how to change the settings.
EVALUATIVE/MATRIX METERING
This mode is considered a 'default' or 'auto' mode. This will measure the light in the entire frame of your camera's viewfinder and determine the average exposure for your scene. This mode works well when the scene you are photographing is evenly-lit. It is also helpful for landscapes.
Here's a cheat sheet to know what the metering mode icons look like on your camera. Changing your metering mode is different for every camera; refer to your manual if you need help changing your setting.
This will also help you visualize what each metering mode covers in your viewfinder.
I personally use spot metering most frequently. This gives me full control of focusing and metering for my subject and I find that it works the best for me! Try shooting the same scene using each metering mode and see if you can notice the difference.
Keep in mind that your camera does the best it can to average light and dark and some images STILL might be darker or brighter than you'd like them to be. This is where exposure compensation can come in handy, and we will cover that on Thursday!
