How to read a meter for manual exposure

DSLR noob · Dec 6, 2009

I posted this up on a car forum, but I figured since I wrote out the lesson, I'd put it here too in case anybody needed to know the information. Last time I got into talking about photography on the site I first posted this, I was a total douche who didn't really give the poster any constructive criticism, so I wrote the detailed explanation to make up for it taking advice from people on this site (TPF) about how I should handle it to teach and inform rather than bash and insult. Anyway here it is

Me said:

the photography is awful......

but keep working at it, we all sucked at one point :goodjob:

My tip so that my criticism is productive and constructive!

On this pic:

you said this guy said:

Click to expand...

You need to learn how to use partial, or spot metering. I see in the Exif Data you are using a Nikon D90. I unfortunately only know how the canon meters work, but I it is still a DSLR so I think the lesson should be easy to take as a Nikon adaptation.

If you look in the viewfinder you should have a bunch of AF points, and a somewhat large circle in the middle. Now usually when oyu push the shutter button in halfway, the camera meters and tells you how the picture will look on the meter(that thing in the bottom of the viewfinder).

(Crappy meter below)

..........V...........
<|iiiii|iiiii|iiiii|iiiii|>
-2..-1...0..1...2

you want the V on the top to be on the 0 EV for a proper exposure. You adjust the settings to put the V in the middle, or maybe a little on the negative side for black cars, a little on the positive for white cars

Your camera was probably defaulted on evaluative metering, which is a very bad system. It looks at all the bright and dark pixels in the shot, and averages them into a greyish blob (called 18% grey) then tells you how your current settings will expose the picture on the meter. Now your camera's viewfinder should have the Af points and circle like I said earlier. (it does, I googled a D90 viewfinder). Now if you set your camera to partial metering, next time, you can get the suggested shutter speed and aperture to expose what is IN the circle in the viewfinder and ignore the other pixels, in the background you don't care about and stuff. So you can hold the camera up, get the car in the circle, press the shutter halfway, look at the meter, THEN with the car still in the circle, adjust the settings until the meter is in the center and tells you the shot will expose properly, you can re frame with the car out of the circle, and leave the settings how they were then release the shutter and press it halfway again. If you want the camera to refocus. Spot metering is the same as partial, but it uses the pixels in the spot in the dead center of the frame. Play around with it and let me know how it goes. Oh by the way, metering symbols are usually as follows, or at least on Canon:

[ ] evaluative
[o] partial
SPOT spot
Click to expand...

original page:

http://www.importatlanta.com/forums/showthread.php?p=38582296&posted=1#post38582296

jnm · Dec 6, 2009

read this and decided for yourself if you want to expose to the middle or a bit beyond the middle.

Expose Right

DSLR noob · Dec 6, 2009

Umm thanks, but I wasn't asking a question. I was explaining that I wrote this for a photography illiterate person, and it was easier to tell them just to shoot for the middle, they will discover all of the fine details such as histograms, exposure compensation, and such later on.

jnm · Dec 6, 2009

DSLR noob said: ↑

Umm thanks, but I wasn't asking a question. I was explaining that I wrote this for a photography illiterate person, and it was easier to tell them just to shoot for the middle, they will discover all of the fine details such as histograms, exposure compensation, and such later on.
Click to expand...

if you're going to go through the trouble of explaining how to expose to the 'o' it isn't any more difficult to explain how to go a stop or so beyond.

DSLR noob · Dec 6, 2009

You're right I guess, but it's more intuitive to think zero is the basis point.

Darkhunter139 · Dec 6, 2009

I was just curious how you find the exif data of someone's photo? I see there are a few firefox add on's that do this but I cant seem to get them to work with my flickr pictures.

DSLR noob · Dec 6, 2009

Darkhunter139 said: ↑

I was just curious how you find the exif data of someone's photo? I see there are a few firefox add on's that do this but I cant seem to get them to work with my flickr pictures.
Click to expand...

I use Safari, which has NO exif support and I had the same problem. Then I found a great site, so bookmark this page my friend:

Jeffrey's Exif viewer

you put the image url into this site, and hist the button and it tells you all the main EXIF points.

Darkhunter139 · Dec 6, 2009

Awesome, thanks.

Josh66 · Dec 6, 2009

jnm said: ↑

DSLR noob said: ↑

Umm thanks, but I wasn't asking a question. I was explaining that I wrote this for a photography illiterate person, and it was easier to tell them just to shoot for the middle, they will discover all of the fine details such as histograms, exposure compensation, and such later on.
Click to expand...

if you're going to go through the trouble of explaining how to expose to the 'o' it isn't any more difficult to explain how to go a stop or so beyond.
Click to expand...

How is easy. Why is what is hard for some people.

lvcrtrs · Dec 7, 2009

Nice to see you've grown into one of the true purposes of the forum, to help people. As you mentioned, your current style is much improved from when you first joined.

jnm · Dec 7, 2009

O|||||||O said: ↑

jnm said: ↑

DSLR noob said: ↑

Umm thanks, but I wasn't asking a question. I was explaining that I wrote this for a photography illiterate person, and it was easier to tell them just to shoot for the middle, they will discover all of the fine details such as histograms, exposure compensation, and such later on.
Click to expand...

if you're going to go through the trouble of explaining how to expose to the 'o' it isn't any more difficult to explain how to go a stop or so beyond.
Click to expand...

How is easy. Why is what is hard for some people.
Click to expand...

imo it's better to do it right the first time, even if you don't know why yet.

Overread · Dec 7, 2009

But exposing to the right of hte meter is most certainly not the right thing to do all the time - go out on a decently sunny day and you will come back with terrible results from trying such, every highlight will be totally blown out. Even with the meter in the middle one can find highlights a pain to work with in such lighting - heck try working in snow and you will get the same overexposure problems.
However if a person understands the why they can correct in the field themselves, rather than reading advise which works in some situations and trying to apply the same method to all situations.

How to read a meter for manual exposure

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How to read a meter for manual exposure

DSLR noob TPF Noob!

jnm TPF Noob!

DSLR noob TPF Noob!

jnm TPF Noob!

DSLR noob TPF Noob!

Darkhunter139 TPF Noob!

DSLR noob TPF Noob!

Darkhunter139 TPF Noob!

Josh66 Been spending a lot of time on here!

lvcrtrs TPF Noob!

jnm TPF Noob!

Overread has a hat around here somewhere Staff Member Supporting Member

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