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Photography Question 

Ben F 		 

Exposure metering tips


Hi peoples,

Ive just got a heap of slides back I shot with my xpan (havent had it long), and ive found that alot of the slides shot late afternoon, near sunset or at sunset, and pretty underexposed.
Ive generally found that the sky is somewhat exposed correctly, but the foreground detail, etc is very dark or even black like sillhouette?????
Im guessing im not metering properly, and ill admit it, im generally just framing the picture in the viewfinder, metering, and snapping. Im pretty sure this is wrong.

For the record I was shooting with fuji velvia 50, xpan with 45mm lens.

The XPAN uses center-weighted TTL exposure metering so can anyone give me some tips to get better all round exposure?...

THanks for any advice :P


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October 07, 2005

 

Bob Cammarata 		  Your camera's center-weighted metering system is reading the sky and exposing it properly.
There are several things you can do:
-Meter the foreground and do not include the sky in the composition.

-Meter the sky and use flash to bring out detail in the foreground elements within range of the flash. (Not always reliable.)

-Turn around, and shoot what's behind you. If the sun is out, everything...including the distant sky will be illuminated more evenly.


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October 07, 2005

 

doug Nelson 		  For landscapes, you're using the right film and asking the right questions. I had this same problem recently, with a center-weighted meter, overemphasizing the sky and causing the system to overreact causing underexposure. I was using a 24mm, so should have known better. You might meter the foreground and hold that exposure and recompose. You might also set a stop or stop and a half more exposure using your shutter or exposure compensation to allow for this.


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October 07, 2005

 

Craig m. Zacarelli 		  just what do the three metering modes on my XT do? I just keep it on center weighted and go! I know I should be using the other two but dont know when to..anyone??
Craig-


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October 07, 2005

 

Ben F 		  Thank you both for your replies most helpful...

Metering off the foreground completely like you both have said, would somewhat over-expose the sky correct?..
But im guessing if I meter the foreground, and bracket with +/- 1 stop in shutter then I should be able to reach a suitable compromise yes??? I hope so...

Also doug I notice you mentioned exposure compensation... for the daker areas I would be setting a minus number is exp. compensation correct?.. ie -1,-2 etc.. ???
From what I can gather also that exposure compensation just changes the shutter speed yes???

Thanks for your help!!!


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October 07, 2005

 

Bob Cammarata 		 
 
  Hiker
Hiker
Nikkor 35 mm, Provia 100, Metered off the blue sky with the sun behind the camera.

Bob Cammarata

  
 
Bracketing is always wise with slide films but their exposure latitude is limited so use your aperture ring to bracket in 1/2 stops.
The difference in meter readings between the sky and foreground can be as little as 1/2 stop or as much as 4 stops, depending upon how blue the sky is and at which direction to the sun you are facing.
Get a reading manually off both extremes and set your exposure somewhere in the middle, then bracket in 1/2 stops from there.
Keep in mind though that a light blue or gray sky can turn white when over-exposed by as little as 1/2 stop. If you don't want this to happen, follow the advice above and compose your shot with little or no sky in the frame.
A deep-blue sky with the sun behind you can be metered directly with great results.
(See attached example.)


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October 08, 2005

 
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