Improve Photography with Metering

What is metering?

Metering is a way to measure the brightness of the subject in the image. Setting a metering mode correctly will go a long way in getting the image in the manner you want it. 

There are 3-4 metering modes, these generally vary between manufacturers. However here I will be writing about 3 metering modes:

1. Matrix or Pattern or Evaluative

2. Center Weighted 

3. Spot Metering

4.Partial (Only for Canon)

Before we go further into it lets do an experiment. 

Get your smartphone and open the camera App. Since I possibly cannot see what's on your frame, I will imagine. I see a bottle (subject) placed on the right side of the frame. Behind the bottle is a window. Outside the window its a bright sunny day, which in few hours will be dark. Okay now that gives us two scenarios for our experiment.  

Whatever you are seeing in the screen is the frame of the image. 

The camera automatically adjusts exposure to the entire frame. A balance between dark and bright images in the screen. This type of metering where entire frame (screen) is covered is Matrix.

Now touch the center of the screen (hopefully bottle is still on the right of the frame)

You will notice that exposure is adjusted automatically to whatever is there in the middle of the frame. The bottle will not be correctly exposed. This is center weighted metering.

Now touch the part of the screen where the bottle is. 

The camera adjusts exposure to the bottle, correctly exposing it. The background in the meanwhile is either over exposed (in a bright sunny day) or under exposed (in dark conditions). This is an example of Spot metering. Spot Metering will adjust exposure to the point of focus. 

Do note that different manufacturers will have slightly different results. You need to know how your camera will respond. 

DSLR Metering

Metering works in a similar manner with DSLR. To start with we manually select the metering mode in a camera based on our requirements. 

We will use metering to help us keep our subject correctly exposed. This may darken or lighten the entire picture. This is why it is important to understand how metering works so that we are able to create images as per our creativity. 

Matrix:

Matrix Metering

For the above picture I put the table lamp next to a window. With metering set to Matrix I manually adjusted the shutter speed to balance the exposure. Aperture and ISO were constant though all the images I've used here. 

Do notice that the picture is evenly exposed. Difference between shadows and highlights are not very high. 


Center Weighted:

Center Weighted Metering 

For this image I had to again change the shutter speed to balance the exposure. In comparison to the first picture do notice that the center of the picture is slightly brighter. Since the exposure was increased to lighten the center the side table is also brighter. 

Spot:

For the 3rd and final type of metering I changed the focus to the base of the lamp. After all the idea of Spot metering is to expose the point of focus correctly. 

Spot Metering

The difference is clearly visible here and I need not write much. The base of the lamp is correctly exposed. 

Since the base of the base was under little bit of shadow exposure was increased. Hence the entire image is not brighter. 

Here are some more examples of images clicked with different metering modes. 

You will notice here that the background in these images is darker. This is because the subject was a light source and to correctly expose the light meant loosing out the ceiling above it. 

In the first example the background was brighter and hence was not lost. But in Spot metering the brightness was increased. Here the darkness of the image increases with the Spot metering. 

Matrix Meter

Center Weighted Metering

There is little difference between the Matrix and Center Weighted Metering here as the subject is bright and already almost in center of the image. However the Center Weighted image shows a little more of the glass shade towards the top. Also towards the bottom half the highlights are reduced. 

In this final picture the focus was the bulb and hence the result. 

Spot Metering

I hope that you've understood metering by now. The only way to understand this more is by practice. Use your DSLR, Mirror less or smart phone to try out different metering modes. Do let me know how it went for you. 

Click here to see comparison between my DSLR and my smart phone.

Stay at home, Stay Safe. Few more days before the #lockdown is lifted. 

Kunal 

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