In Camera Light Metering

[CypressPhotog]

Ok, this is going to sound pretty amateur. I understood it so well for awhile...now I'm confused again.
Recently I shot lots of families in the wildflowers. On several days, the sky was flat gray. I used the center weighted metering. Many of my pics came out really dark to adjust for the sky. Now, say my subject (who I want to meter off of) is not in the center of the image and I want to use spot meter (so that the sky isn't taken into consideration) or even center weighted again. How do I do this?? My subject is very rarely in the center of the frame but I would like to use spot meter. I was using center weighted before so that i could get some color in the sky.
Thanks!

[LoungeLizard]

Don't you have a exposure lock feature?

[engstrom]

Just to expand on Jesus' answer, frame your subject in the center of the image, press the auto-exposure lock button, recompose, then shoot the picture. You may need to read your manual to find out if you have to press and hold the AE-Lock button or if it just needs to be pressed and will lock until the next picture is taken.

[CypressPhotog]

I feel stupid. Never really knew what that was for. This helps a lot. Thanks guys.

[Dokk]

Originally Posted by CypressPhotog

I feel stupid. Never really knew what that was for. This helps a lot. Thanks guys.

Don't ever feel stupid. These cameras are loaded with so many features that it just takes forever to get it all down. I recently got an Olympus E-500 and I just started playing around with an automated braketing feature. I knew it was there, but I just now got around to trying it out about a month after I got the camera. I'm used to shooting with a completely manual Olympus OM-1 and with all the features of the E-500, I think I've taken at lead 1000 pictures of the pictrue on the wall in my office just trying out all the settings. LOL

[Nevyn]

Originally Posted by CypressPhotog

Ok, this is going to sound pretty amateur. I understood it so well for awhile...now I'm confused again.
Recently I shot lots of families in the wildflowers. On several days, the sky was flat gray. I used the center weighted metering. Many of my pics came out really dark to adjust for the sky. Now, say my subject (who I want to meter off of) is not in the center of the image and I want to use spot meter (so that the sky isn't taken into consideration) or even center weighted again. How do I do this?? My subject is very rarely in the center of the frame but I would like to use spot meter. I was using center weighted before so that i could get some color in the sky.
Thanks!

Be careful using spot metering in an automatic exposure mode - remember that it will try and exposure whatever small area you are pointing it as as mid gray. You either need to find a mid tone to aim it at or pick another tone and put some exposure compensation in to account for it.

Either that or forget using the exposure lock button, shoot in manual, spot meter then just don't change the settings when you recompose. This does have the advantage that you don't need to keep measuring, locking and the recomposing if you are taking multiple shots - just get it right the first time and keep shooting as long as the conditions remain roughly the same.

[Cope]

See if there is a Magic Lantern Guide for your Nikon (pretty sure there is one). This is the best refrence source I have found for my two Minoltas.