Metering outdoors

[d2creative]

Anyone have any tips? This always seems to be my biggest problem. Sunlight makes it extremely difficult to double check your exposures by chimping.
What metering do you use? Matrix?
Any better to use my Sekonic meter?
I'm not talking about model shots or anything with additional light. Just things like landscapes, architecture, street scenes, etc.
Even using the histogram doesn't seem to help me much.

I gotta get out of the studio more...

[Russell]

Hey Dennis,

What you can do that makes life easier is to pick the part of the scene that you want to meter for. If it is in bright sunlight then you can use an incident meter to measure the intensity of the sunlight, transfer the recommended settings to your camera, and shoot away.

[eRoc]

This is my biggest problem too. I decided to save up for a meter as everyone says it'll help.

[nancyc]

Sorry for my ignorance, but will Sunny 16 help?? I'm just curious if it will ;-)

[d2creative]

Yeah, the sunny 16 rule can work... but a lot of variable can come into play.
It's a good place to start though.

Maybe I'll start experimenting with my light meter...

[gll]

Try using the spot meter in camera and meter on a neutral blue area of the sky, trick is getting the right blue area.

[3n-Out]

Hey ya! I got a meter and was shooting out side. I used my meter to read the available light using the reflecting metering. I have a canon 30d and Sekonic 358 and they both were reading the same. I don't think a meter will help you here. I think if you need or want to get the white blow-outs under control in bright sunlights you should consider setting a custom white balance.

I use an expodisc that I recently bought $100.00 for 77mm and it works very well. It really helps with the blownout whites. I'm not sure you will get the same results off a gray card or not but the expodisc pointed at the light source and set from that source works very well.

Thought I would throw in here..

[bondarnes]

Originally Posted by gll

Try using the spot meter in camera and meter on a neutral blue area of the sky, trick is getting the right blue area.

That is a way to get proper exposure of the sky. That method might work if the sky and the subject are receiving the same amount of light.

[bondarnes]

Originally Posted by 3n-Out

Hey ya! I got a meter and was shooting out side. I used my meter to read the available light using the reflecting metering. I have a canon 30d and Sekonic 358 and they both were reading the same. I don't think a meter will help you here.

Did you mean reflective reading or incidence reading? A reflective reading is the same method your camera uses so the reading should be the same. An incidence reading might be the same or it might be different depending on how light or dark the subject is.

[3n-Out]

Yes i was refering to Reflective light metering. I was "assuming" landscape shots where you may not be able to get an incident metering. I did test my sekonic reflective metering against my 30d and they were so close in readings that when shooting outdoors I really don't see a reason to even use it.

Of course Incident readings are best uses for a Light meter. Of course that is the best way to messure light because it is the light that is "falling" on a subject and not "bouncing" off a subject.

Right?

[Debbi]

I always use spot metering for landscapes - more control, especially in high-contrast scenes.

[bondarnes]

Originally Posted by 3n-Out

Of course Incident readings are best uses for a Light meter. Of course that is the best way to measure light because it is the light that is "falling" on a subject and not "bouncing" off a subject. Right?

I agree with that totally.

Originally Posted by 3n-Out

I was "assuming" landscape shots where you may not be able to get an incident metering.

But I do question why you think you would not be able to get a correct incident reading when shooting a landscape. Unless you are standing under a tree or in the shadow of a building you would probably have the same amount of light falling on your camera position as on the distant landscape. Ansel Adams actually used an incident meter and the "Zone System" for many of his landscapes. There was no built in meter in his 11X14 view camera.

And as far as metering the sky with your in camera meter, if you point it at three different areas of the sky you will probably get three different readings. And is the sky a pale blue or a deep azure today? I grant you that the reading will be in the "ballpark", but the sky is neither an accurate nor a consistent point of reference.

[zepp]

In short...

What ever meter one uses, incident or spot, it is up to the photographer to adjust and expose the image based from his interpretation of the reading and how he wants the scene rendered.

[bondarnes]

Originally Posted by Debbi

I always use spot metering for landscapes - more control, especially in high-contrast scenes.

Maybe true for film, but I have not found a way that a spot meter can control contrast with digital. Please explain.

[3n-Out]

Originally Posted by bondarnes

I agree with that totally.


But I do question why you think you would not be able to get a correct incident reading when shooting a landscape. Unless you are standing under a tree or in the shadow of a building you would probably have the same amount of light falling on your camera position as on the distant landscape. Ansel Adams actually used an incident meter and the "Zone System" for many of his landscapes. There was no built in meter in his 11X14 view camera.

And as far as metering the sky with your in camera meter, if you point it at three different areas of the sky you will probably get three different readings. And is the sky a pale blue or a deep azure today? I grant you that the reading will be in the "ballpark", but the sky is neither an accurate nor a consistent point of reference.

Well I suppose you are right. You can use incident metering if you wish. Even if your subject is 25 miles away such as a landscape of mountains or silimar subject matter. My use for incident metering would be to meter flash or light work in a studio. But then again I'm not Ansel Adams either. I still think in my reviews of the equipment I own, the meter in my camera is sufficient enough to do landscape shots. Even then if you are taking Landscape shots one would hope you are "Bracketing" all your shoots anyhow.

I donno, I still think there is more then one way to skin a cat. And I kinda like my photos to look a little differnt then the next guys otherwise we all would have perfect exposure everytime. How boring would that be?