weddings, best metering technique

[tommy_d.1]

Hi everyone

I hope you are all well!

I use nikon 35mm film cameras, metz45cl4 flash and fuji nps and nph

films

 

What is the best metering technique for wedding photography?

What have you found to be the most accurate.

 

Seperate light meter or cameras own meter.

 

If you use the cameras own then would matrix or evaluative be

better or would partial or even spot be more accurate and also

do you always meter for the shadows or midtones?

I would appreciate any advice

kind regards

Tommy

[andrewpgrant]

I would have to say in-camera (plus a bit of experience), only b/c you don't always have the time to go shoving a light-meter around the place.

 

A handy trick I read in a Freeman Patterson book for shooting outside is before you start taking photos, look at your hand through the viewfinder (filling the entire frame with your hand) and meter off that. Do this once in the sun and once in the shade and use those two exposure readings as a rough guide for the photos you take outside.

 

Of course, you can always set shutter priorty mode/apeture priority mode and let the camera calculate things for as well.

 

I'm sure there'll be a lot of experienced folks here who will also have better ideas as well...

[dzeanah]

With something like a Leica I'll use an incident meter whenever possible; otherwise I'll use the spot meter. With a camera with matrix metering, I'll generally use it and compensate when I know the metering will be off (the 16mm would always make my F5 underexpose by 1-1.5 stops, so I'd dial in exposure compensation.)

[fotografz]

Used a Leica for so long now, you get to know what part of a scene to meter, then

compose and shoot. 80% of the time I meter the grass in a scene and adjust based on

experience.

[picturesque]

The best metering technique and most accurate, for wedding photography is the one that works well for you and your style. For manual, no-meter cameras, I use incident, handheld meter plus experience, and sometimes no meter, just experience. You can't do that as successfully with digital though. For cameras with meters, test the heck out of it's exposure system first, then use whatever mode gives the best results. Mostly, that is matrix with tweaking based on previous testing and experience. I don't use spot metering much, except for metering sunsets, high stained glass windows and possibly the bride and groom at the altar during the ceremony. For film, meter for the shadows.

[al_kaplan1]

I like to get to a location early and wander around making incident readings in various locations and from different directions. I store the info in my head and adjust the camera as needed. Low contrast "portrait and wedding" type color negative film has quite a bit of latitude so it's not super critical to be spot-on. By using incident readings you avoid the problem of the meter reading mostly the tuxedo in one picture, mostly the wedding dress in the next, and being way off the correct exposure for both shots.

[carl_miller]

I think you'll find the on camera meter to be right in the ballpark (especially with film) -

just try not to meter directly off black tux or pure white dress. Seriously, I wouldn't worry

too much with the latitude film allows, it's not that critical. Your expose would have to be

seriously out of whack to cause problems that couldn't be brought back in line during

processing. If your really concerned just spot meter off a gray card.

 

Digital on the other hand is quite a different story.

[wedding-photography-denver]

Best? probably incident. Practical? sometimes.

 

If you have an F4/F5, the evaluative is quite good. In all but the odd situation where the scene is mostly light or dark (for which you should compensate about +/- 2 stops), it works well.

 

If you are setting up (lights/strobes) to shoot a few, incident/flash will be the best. Of course with negative film, its less critical and better to go 1/2 under if anything (IMHO).

 

I use the Sekonic L508 when I use one and I found it to be very precise. It can calculate from multiple readings, then give you an averaged reading from its memory. Great with multi strobe setups.

 

I have moved to using a Canon system and so don't recall every technique I used with Nik*n.

[michael_bradtke]

Hey Tommy

 

I shoot Nikon D100,D2h and F3?s

On the Digital bodies I use spot 90% of the time and I meter for the flesh tones. Maybe 1/3 stop over. With the F3?s which are a 80-20 center weighted meter I do the same. The metering bias of the F3 is like a big spot meter. I also carry a Sekonic L508c for use with my RB 67

 

With film you have a bunch of latitude so you can get away with a little less precise metering. With digital I am always looking at the flesh tones and then checking the whites to make sure that I am not blowing out the highlights.

 

They best thing to do is try different metering techniques and see what works best for you.

 

Michael

[rich_deferrari1]

Incident light metering is the way to go. It measures the light falling on your subject -not reflected by your subject. Hence it can't be fooled by whites/blacks and the ammt. of light they reflect. Best regards -RichD

[jim mucklin]

Andrew,Ive done that for years and I get the stangest looks. But it does work.

[steve_hovland]

If you meter your hand do you use that setting (Zone 5) or do you adjust (I've heard that Zone 6 is good for skin)?

[tommy_d.1]

WOW what a great response!

 

I really want to thank all you kind people for all the advice that you have given me.

I am going to save your answers (if i may)and practice the techniques

that you have suggested.

Kind regards

Tommy

[pavelp]

I can only second the idea of taking incident readings at different areas of the location, remembering them and then using them for evaluating the exposure. Even if you use the in-camera super-duper dual processor 3D TTL selftransforming matrix system for actual readings, the incident readings are excellent sanity check.

 

You may also want to buy yourself a meterless camera, a handheld meter and practice "guesstimating the light", while using the meter to check your results. It's easier than it looks and it's a very handy skill.

[al_kaplan1]

Exactly!

[halina_gross]

Get a flash meter. Take reading at different distances, say 5, 10, & 15 feet and go by that. You'll find that your f/stop will probably increase by one stop per every 5 feet. Use this as your guide.

 

Halina