Lesson Info
23. Metering Modes
Lessons
Buttons, Dials and Switches: What This Course is All About
03:37 2Setting Up Your Camera
05:25 3JPEG or RAW
03:11 4Compression
01:38 5Menu Settings for JPEG Shooting
05:19 6Module 1 Summary
01:42 7Applying White Balance
03:41 8Using White Balance Creatively
01:19Auto White Balance
03:07 10Module 2 Summary
01:31 11Controlling Exposure
01:23 12F Numbers
03:06 13Lens, Aperture, and Shutter Speed
03:32 14Exposure Modes
01:48 15Too Little or Too Much Light
02:34 16Manual Exposure Mode
01:37 17Aperture Priority Exposure Mode
02:23 18Module 3 Summary
01:40 19ISO in Practice
01:16 20ISO and Noise
05:03 21An Acceptable ISO
01:23 22Module 4 Summary
01:29 23Metering Modes
03:06 24The Light Meter
02:11 25The Bucket Test
02:12 26How To Read Tonality
02:32 27Being Creative With Tone
01:14 28Exposure Compensation
01:35 29High Contrast Lighting
03:39 30Histogram
02:06 31Highlights Alert
01:32 32Never Underexpose
04:16 33Digital Exposure Mantra
01:25 34Module 5 Summary
02:57 35Focus Modes
01:23 36Autofocus
02:59 37Point of Focus
02:35 38Depth of Field
02:41 39Hyper-Focal Distance Focusing
02:51 40Focus Tracking
04:19 41Manual Focus
01:57 42Predictive Focus
01:03 43Summary
02:32 44Buying Lenses
05:00 45Summary
01:45 46Quality of Light
01:32 47Direction of Light
01:52 48No Such Thing as Good Light
02:00 49Final Word
02:52 50BONUS - In Conversation with Art Wolfe
07:11 51BONUS - The Source of Creativity
06:34Lesson Info
Metering Modes
So far, I've talked about setting exposure using lens aperture and shutter speed. But how do you calculate exposure? In other words, how do you know what is the right amount of light? Well, you have a tool in the camera to help you, and it's called the light meter. In fact, you have three of them, and although they do the same thing, they each do it in a different way. The default mode on most cameras is multi segment metering. Now. Different manufacturers call it by various names, but the process is the same. The meter takes light data from various areas of the viewfinder based on the cleverly designed matrix or grid. From this data, it forms a pattern, which it compares to a database of patterns taken from historic real life images. And it looks for a match. Imagine a policeman trying to match a set of fingerprints. The camera is doing much the same thing. Then, when it finds a match, it uses the historic exposure information to calculate the exposure for the current scene is a highl...
y sophisticated bit of technology. On most, the time is very accurate, but it does have a floor multi segment metering is designed to give you a meter reading that will record the subject almost exactly as you see it. But photography isn't about making records shots. It's a creative art, and sometimes you need a tool that lets your creativity flow. On. That tour is a spot meter now in spot metering mode, the light meter takes a reading from just a tiny portion. The viewfinder. Which part of the viewfinder depends on your specific camera but is usually linked to either the active A F sensor or the center one. This lets you be highly selective in choosing the area of the scene that you exposed for on. That's where creativity comes in. So let's see how this changes things. This image was taken with the camera set to multi segment metering. It's OK. It's a nice record short of the lighthouse, but that's about it. Here's the same scene. No photographed in spot metering mode is much more dramatic. So what did I do differently? What I've done here is using the spot meter in the camera. I've meet it off his bright areas sky in the background, knowing that the meter is going to ignore this banker shadows going up the lighthouse, causing them to under expose. And is that under exposure? That gives me my silhouette. So this is just one example of how the different metering modes help you move away from photographing straight record shots. Now the third meeting modus sent, awaited. In this mode, the meter divides the viewfinder into two areas, the center on the background, and it takes most of the reading about free quarters from the central portion. It doesn't ignore the background, but it prioritizes the light falling on the subject, which makes it ideal for portrait photography, because the set up mirrors the classic composition for portraiture with a model in the center of the frame. So it's important to choose a meeting mode that matches your vision for the subject on. Once you've done that, the next question is, what is the light meter actually telling you, Thief
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
mark jacobson
What a marvelous course! What a marvelous teacher! When I went to college, my father would always ask me about my professors, more than the courses themselves. He was passionate about learning and although too busy with earning an income to go beyond an undergrad degree, continued to read 50 books a year. I still remember how he'd get almost visibly excited when I'd tell him about some special professor who taught with such enthusiasm and, more than just passion, evident delight and joy in the subject. 'Ah they're the best, son. How wonderful you have such a teacher." Well, he passed away decades ago but if he were still around I'd get a kick out of telling him about Chris Weston, the 'Prof' of this course. He's one of the very special ones: a teacher who's loved and lived his vocation--his avocation--since he was a boy--and still is as excited about it now as he was then. The result: a course that seems to be more a labor of love--of pouring far more energy and thought into the details then one typically finds in these courses--than anything else. Bravo Chris! I'm already on to your next one.
user-6402bf
Chris is an amazing instructor who dissects theory giving amazing analogies that bring concepts to life. I have rarely been able to sit through most video course for more than a half-hour but watched this one from beginning to end. A good refresher course if you've been away from the camera for awhile or there are some concepts that still illude you. I highly recommend this course and look forward to watching his others. Thank you for the clarity and great explanations.
Sky Bergman
This was an amazing class. I have looked at a number of basic photography classes. This one was by far the best I have seen. Chris is an exceptional teacher. He breaks things down into digestible information and then inspires you to be creative. Thank you!