Good exposure method?

[PaulStat]

For capturing the right exposure for foreground/background of a landscape.
So you have a bright sky and a dull foreground, switching the camera to matirx metering tends to over expose the sky.
So something i've tried (in my lounge) is setting the camera to spot metering, then setting the focal point to the sky on aperture priority, taking a photo, then doing the same to the ground.
So in theory one should have a perfectly exposed foreground and background (once the photos are combined of course).
So is this a good method? Or can I make some alterations to this

 

[DepthAfield]

The method you’ve described works very well, and is commonly used. The only thing I do differently is the use of center-weighted metering instead of spot… I find it to be a bit less finicky.

Another way to expose for a bright sky and dark foreground, is to use a split neutral-density filter.

 

[PaulStat]

The method you’ve described works very well, and is commonly used. The only thing I do differently is the use of center-weighted metering instead of spot… I find it to be a bit less finicky.

Another way to expose for a bright sky and dark foreground, is to use a split neutral-density filter.

Why is it less finicky?

 

[Rob]

Assuming you are digital and can produce the goods in PS without horrendous halo effects or cut-out lines, then the method you've described is one of the best digital means for evening exposure in a scene.

As DA mentioned, ND grad filters can be very effective, but they're a pain in the butt to use as you need to alter the composition to suit the drop off of the filter - usually resulting in a centre-frame horizon - potentially bad.

Rob

 

[ksmattfish]

Shoot 3 to 7 shots of the scene, each about a stop and a half apart, and use the HDR feature in Adobe PS (or other HDR software) to combine.

 

[DepthAfield]

Why is it less finicky?

Finicky was a poor choice of words on my part… I prefer center-weighted metering because I find it more forgiving in determining a proper exposure, particularly when shooting landscapes.