Metering mode of camera, learn everything in detail

How and when to use the metering mode of a camera?

Looking for the proper exposure for your picture or location-wise is the very first thing photographers learn. 

Metering is just like a process to know or understand what the correct exposure should have to be.

Every camera has a metering sensor, which is a kind of device placed inside the device. Its work is to measure the brightness of the subject and adjust the metering accordingly.

Many people use the light meter to calculate the appropriate setting. Here today I am going to explain how to take pictures without any light meter.

Why you should manage metering before shooting or clicking?

The camera or dslr is not able to change the exposure of different parts of photo, that's why it is necessary to manage or figure out the proper exposure which can be compatible to the whole image,

Many photographers face such kind of problem while taking the high contrast pictures, most probably at sunrise and sunset moments.

let us look at the landscape photography i.e. sunset, while clicking the sunset the photographers usually focuses on the sky but on the other hand other parts of the landscape gets too dark as i have shown in the picture below.

To avoid such kind of issue, all you have to do is, manage metering mode of the camera according to the subject.

The metering mode in sony cameras with the middle dialer or arrow keys according to the Canon or Nikon. Different companies provide different kind of system, below showing image is showcasing the Sony.

Different kinds of Metering modes 

Evaluate(Canon)/Matrix(Nikon)

This mode has various name depending on the manufacturer of the camera, the Canon call it Evaluate and Nikon call it Matrix.

It is the most complex and modern way of metering a scene, it looks up the whole frame and gives priority to the focusing area.

If the camera sees the bright subject in the frame such as bright light it takes that spot and tries to work out the best exposure settings.

Partial Metering mode

First of all this metering mode only found in Canon Cameras and this metering mode collects data from a small circular area in the metering center of the camera.

This metering mode is most probably used when your subject is in the center of the frame and you want your camera to priorities the subject on the measures of exposure calculation.

Its just quite different from the Matrix metering mode, there is not loads of difference in both of modes

Spot Metering mode

In this kind of metering mode the dot in the center of the camera is smaller than then the partial metering mode. It manages the exposure according to the focusing point. 

In this metering mode the subject has to be still, not in the motion as it can create the change in the exposure of the frame.

It is advance way of working out for the correct exposure of your camera, it is because it involves the small area of very small part focus point.

The rest of the scene may not be corrected, it could be the underexposed, leaving that up to you to work out

Center-Weighted metering mode 

Center-Weighted metering mode evaluates the light in the center of the frame and its surroundings and ignores the corners, If we compare it with Matrix metering mode it does not determine the exposure according to the focus point.

It exposes the center of the frame only not the corners of the frame.

Use this metering mode when you wish to expose your image or you want your camera to prioritize the center of the image. It mostly works for close up portraits as well for the large subjects which are in the center or middle of the frame.

Look at the example given below.

Conclusion

Use your time and effort, do more and more experiments with all of these to understand everything in a much clear way.

Do practice, again and again, to understand what you like the most to gain resultant which you have imagined.

Then give your every picture a professional Artist look.