{"id":85251,"date":"2022-08-08T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-08T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adorama.com\/alc\/?p=85251"},"modified":"2022-08-11T10:17:54","modified_gmt":"2022-08-11T14:17:54","slug":"how-to-use-spot-metering-in-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adorama.com\/alc\/how-to-use-spot-metering-in-photography\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Use Spot Metering in Photography"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Many experienced photographers use manual exposure, but not many fully understand metering. Metering is the process by which your camera (or any light meter) decides what a \u201ccorrect\u201d exposure is. A light meter measures the actual light in a scene and tells you which combination(s) of shutter speed<\/a>, aperture<\/a>, and ISO<\/a> will give you a correct exposure. It is important to understand the basics of metering. However, to fully master your camera, you really should learn about spot metering<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you learn how to use spot metering, you will feel like you\u2019ve mastered manual exposure all over again. It enables you to consistently get perfect exposures in one click \u2014 especially when the lighting conditions are extremely challenging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many experienced photographers use spot metering in conjunction with manual exposure in order to maintain total control over each exposure. In this article, you will learn how spot metering works and how to use it effectively with manual exposure mode. Also, we’ll describe how to use spot metering with Aperture priority or other modes to deal with extremely dynamic light. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Spot Metering?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Photos courtesy of SLR Lounge<\/a> (Simulation of Evaluative Versus Spot Metering)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Basically, spot metering differs from other metering modes on your camera because it uses a simple concept. It meters one small spot in your image and totally disregards everything else. That\u2019s it! Other metering modes try to balance your entire image. Sometimes they use an average of the entire frame, other times emphasizing the central part of your image. Some cameras can even meter off of human faces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spot meter takes back control and lets you decide exactly how your subject ought to be exposed.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most cameras, when switched to spot metering in a default setup, take meter readings from the center of the image. This center spot is a circle that is as small as 1-5% of the whole image frame. Some cameras have a visible circle in the center of the images. With others, you’ll just have to make sure your focus point is dead-center. As I mentioned before, this tiny little spot is the only part of the entire image being metered. So, if other parts of the image are extremely dark, or extremely bright, you may blow out your highlights or lose your shadows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why You Should Use Spot Metering<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Photo courtesy of SLR Lounge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why would you want to do something this risky? Well, for starters, your subject better be very important, and any foreground\/background better be a lot less important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, if you mostly shoot in flat light with no significant highlights or shadows, then the risk is low. In fact, you don\u2019t really need spot metering in these conditions. All metering modes will give you almost the same reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, practically speaking, spot metering is mostly useful in situations where there is, in fact, a lot of extreme contrast that could \u201cmess up\u201d your other metering modes. Some common examples of these types of situations include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n