Tips on using metering creatively If you are shooting with color negative film, the problem of having underexposed or overexposed pictures will not be that great since these errors can be corrected during the printing stage at the 1-hour minilab or professional enlargement outlets. If you are shooting with color reversal film, like I do, the problem is much more serious. Depending on the EOS camera, their built-in Evaluative, Partial and Spot metering features can be used to achieve the best possible exposures in your photography, regardless of the shooting conditions. The problem of getting incorrect exposures lies with not knowing how and when to use the available metering systems effectively. With Evaluative metering, all the EOS cameras lock the exposure value upon completion of their AF confirmation signal when used in One Shot AF mode. Aiming the effective AF point at the wrong subject will result in incorrect exposure, especially if they are much brighter or darker than the actual person or object. As mentioned earlier, blacks, like whites, do not register as 18 per cent gray scale with most built-in metering systems although users of the EOS 300 and EOS-3 models will not have any problem in dealing with such situations since their respective 35-zone and 21-zone Evaluative metering systems are designed to counter this problem. Users of other EOS models, however, should take precautions when attempting to shoot a scene with mostly black renditions in their pictures, like night-time shots of city skylines, for example. Evaluative aimed at brown building Evaluative reading taken at intermediate setting Reading taken at overall scene Partial reading taken from center Overall reading, Evaluative metering Precise reading, Partial metering The above top two photos were shot not far away from the angle used in the first picture of this issue. In fact, they were photographed at a much closer distance with another light-colored building in the background (on the left side). The first shot, the Evaluative metering concentrated solely on the brown building, resulting in overexposure of the lighter-colored one. Using the Evaluative metering to get an intermediate reading from both buildings as well as the blue sky resulted in a proper exposure. For the Hong Kong skyline pictures, the first was shot using Evaluative metering, although the overall exposure rendition was okay, the shutter speed was too slow, resulting in camera shake and blur. The second was shot using Partial metering, aimed at the center of the frame, enabling a shutter speed of 1/15 sec - which I was still able to hold steadily. For the next two pictures on night-time street scenes, the same method was used, the Evaluative metering enabled a reasonably looking overall rendition but if you look closely, the highlights are slightly overexposed. Using the Partial Metering and aimed at the neon signs in the middle, a proper rendition was obtained with true blacks. Sometimes, the sights of the events unfolding can momentarily distract the photographer and prevent him/her from making sure that the settings on the camera are correct before the shutter is clicked, like aiming the optimum AF sensor at the main subject and having a disastrous result, depending on how one looks at the matter. Partial metering aimed at white leathers Partial metering aimed at rider's face AF/Evaluative metering aimed at brighter side of face AF/Evaluative aimed at intermediate sections Evaluative aimed at white blouse AF/Evaluative aimed at model's face The results of the above pictures speak for themselves. If you aim the AF points of your EOS camera at the wrong object, the risks of getting incorrect exposures are there but proper planning ensures the pictures will turn out fine. << Back to Main . 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 .