What should I meter off with the in-camera light meter?
What (or where) should I meter when using my camera's built-in meter? It's a question that mystifies many photographers when they start out, and first realize you can't just point your camera at the scene and hope for correct exposure. The incredible metering systems in modern cameras notwithstanding, it is essential to our growth as photographers to have a working grasp on metering techniques. Of course, an incident light-meter is always a great idea, but has become less necessary with digital photography when shooting Read more inside...
Under-exposure / Over-exposure vs. exposing correctly
When I posted this photograph of Peiwen & Eric's wedding in Melbourne, Australia, on Facebook, someone asked the question: how much did I over-expose this photo by?
We have to be very clear with our terminology regarding over-exposure and under-exposure. This photograph is not over-exposed. It is exposed correctly! Did my camera's light-meter jump all the way to the right-hand side? Yes, it surely did. Does it matter? No, it does not. Why not? Because I exposed correctly. Not under, not over, but correctly.
This Read more inside...
I had the pleasure challenge of photographing this super-cute Jack Russell terrier, Sundae. She just loves snow! After one of the heavy snowstorms, we went to a park where I could photograph her acrobatically snatching at bits of snow hurled at her. The exposure metering for the snow was the least of the challenges here. It might have been the easiest part of photographing this fast-moving dog.
This is a white dog on white snow. Fortunately, it was overcast, so the light was very even / flat. (One man's meat / even light, is another man's Read more inside...
