Light meter Readings

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donrev

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I feel ive taken in a hell of a lot in such a short space of time since i got my D90, and have got the hang of setting the different apurture's and shutter speed's for depth of field and freezing or implying motion. Its only now that i'm starting to use other controls such as bracketing and the different white ballance settings and all the other controls on my camera that i sometimes find myself just sat there overwhelmed and at a loss as to what i should be doing.

I've been reading Brain Petersons book Understanding Exposure and in their he explains he often takes his Light meter readings from the sky or the grass and then he recomposes his shot. Ive read his explanation on why he does this but when im out with my camera i just have no idea where and when i should be doing this?

I have the feeling i might be trying to run before i can walk so to speak and was hoping someone on here might be able to give me a few pointers and advice.
 
kinda depends on your shooting style, I like to spot meter off a few tones then get a manual exposure from that and stick with it. In varying light that doesn't work too well....

it kinda depends on what you're doing. For any shot you have time for I would do it, I mean digital means you get free test exposures so go nuts. Also in constant light I love the security of knowing all I need to do is nail the AF point as I know the exposure is already perfect. (a habit I picked up from using ocf a lot)
 
Davids so right, experimentation is everything and in turn that practice teaches your eye and brain the clues to look for.... eventually you'll find yourself looking only at the light and asking yourself questions like; ...how bright is it, where are the shadows, how can I expose this scene, is it actually possible, do I need multiple exposures, should I use filters, is the light flat and plain, should I come back when its vibrant, is this angle of view any good, do I want DoF.
...what exactly is it I should I be exposing for.

My tip would be to stop for a moment, look, 'see' and think.

Your camera has limitations, it needs steering by you to capture the scene as you want it. .... so simply decide how you want it, then use whichever meter or method that gets you the exposure for the shot you envisage
 
Good advice from David and FB. Experiment see what works for you, check the image and histogram and remember it costs nothing to reshoot if you want to.
 
Don't take too much notice of Bryan Peterson. I think he has way way of making simple things really complicated and confusing - possibly because his book would only be three pages long if he didn't.

There is only ever one 'optimum' exposure settings for any situation and if you need to calculate that spot on, as you must when shooting film, it can be quite tricky and I used to use various different methods and techniques to try and get it right.

With digital, you don't have to calculate anything - just guess, which is what the built in meter is doing. It usually guesses pretty well when set on matrix/evaluative. Then just shoot, check the LCD/histogram/blinkies (blinkies are over exposure warning enabled on LCD) and adjust with exposure compensation. It needs to be no more complicated than that.

The different exposure modes - metering patterns, aperture-priority, programme, manual etc are only different ways of achieving the same thing in terms of exposure. Some people like to use different methods of working - it makes no difference which route you take, the destination should always be the same. Of course the different camera settings affect other things apart from exposure, and that is really what you are aiming to do with different methods of working and different combinations of settings. But in all cases, the end result in terms of exposure is the same.
 
I'm about half-way through that book right now. As an absolute beginner in photography I learned far more about using some of the camera functions in half an hour yesterday than I have in the last 2 or so years.
From a beginners perspective I find it a very good book, if a tad long winded at times. I don't really want to know about his wanders in fields of sunflowers or his motivation for taking photos we don't get to see, but when he finally gets to the point I find the explanation very helpful.
The main thing I have found helpful in the book so far was how different aperture settings can make the same object look completely different.
 
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