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metering a landscape


putri

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i only have a handheld meter (not spot meter) and would like to know how to meter a

landscape.

also, how do i meter for sunrise/sunset situations that will get me the mood and not

neccesarily detail.does fog/mist alter the meter reading?

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Expose for highlights if you're shooting slides, shadows if you're using negative film (particularly B&W). Try to have no more than 5-7 stops difference between the brightest and darkest portions of the scene (so you don't blow the highlights or block the shadows). Mist or fog can alter the situation depending on whether the mist/fog is brighter or darker than the rest of the scene. If you're having trouble discerning just what you're metering, use a substitute object closeby which has the same range of brightness. I used a reflective broad meter (not spot) for the first 15 yrs and never had a problem with landscapes using the above guidelines. Try them out and record on a piece of paper your exposure (shutter & f stop, and what you based your exposure on)) for each shot, after you have the results (slides or prints) visually compare the results against your log to see where you could have improved your results. Before you know it, it will become second nature to you.
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Russel - I've used both, although I tend to use reflected readings about 80% of the time and incident readings about 20 % of the time. It really depends on where I am (relative to the scene I'm photographing) and what light I can best measure. A friend who's relatively new to photography borrowed a medium format camera of mine a couple of weeks ago, put in some Velvia 50 and went to try out his skills using a reflective meter and the sunny 16 rule. Last week he brought me the results which included some outstanding sunset shots right on the button along with some daylight landscape shots in semi-wooded/landscaped areas which could have come from a travel magazine. I was astounded at his initial results, and he was a happy camper. We agreed that taking time, thinking through the process, and using a tripod helped him be successful. I'm sure you can achieve the same degree of success.
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Dear Russel,

 

Use the reflected mode, and 'favour' the shadows, i.e. point the meter towards the darkest area of the scene, without necessarily going out of your way to get close to it.

 

Cheers,

 

Roger (www.rogerandfrances.com -- and take a look at Photo School on that site)

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Incident light readings are often the best choice if the subject is close, like closeups in nature or the studio. This is problematic for landscapes, when you generally cannot measure from the subject position. Instead, you must guess that the meter is in the same light or take a reflected reading. Furthermore, landscapes often have a wide brightness range where you desire detail in both shadows and highlights. For that, the best choice is a spot meter and a working knowledge of the Zone System.

 

Since you have an averaging (reflected light?) meter, you can't measure the dynamic range to be captured. The acceptance angle is typically 15 to 30 degrees, or more. In this case, make a judgement whether the scene is dark, light or average, and compensate from your direct reading. If dark, open up 1 or 2 stops, etc. Alternately, measure you hand (or a grey card) held in light similar to the subject. Remember, a bright light or area (cloudy sky) will over-influence your reading. Blue sky is easy - north sky is Zone 5.

 

It takes experience to use a spot meter correctly - it depends on the results you wish and feedback from your results. As a rule of thumb, you want to measure the brightest and darkest areas in which detail is desired. For B&W film, those shadows should be place between Zone 2 and Zone 5 (-3 to 0 stops under reading). The highlights will mostly take care of themselves, but you may have trouble with detail in spots higher than Zone 8 (determined once you have placed the shadows). You can adjust development times with B&W to alter the contrast for more or less dynamic range as needed.

 

With fog or mist, decide whether you see a dark mist, bright mist or average mist, and adjust accordingly from the direct reading. The meter will always render the target as medium grey - Zone 5 - which is generally too dark (underexposed) for the "foggy" effect.

 

For sunsets, again determine what is important. If you meter the sun directly (and it's not off scale), it will be rendered as dark orange, and everything else will be as silhouettes or shadow. If the clouds have detail and color you wish to retain, point away from the sun, perhaps 15 to 30 degrees, to the middle of the area you see as important. It pays to bracket - plus or minus 1 stop increments are close enough for B&W (or negative color).

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I use a digital 5-degree spot and incident meter for my large format work. I tend meter landscapes both incident and spot and note readings in EV values. Even though the results of my exposures have been surprisingly accurate I feel it is wise for a landscape photographer to continue gaining regular experience and skill at estimating proper exposures because such can be the most critical part of the photography process. Also the variety of landscape and nature lighting is vast and complex for which a human mind has the potential to improve on any robotic scheme that ever might be devised. I've gotten skilled enough that by my eyes alone I can usually guess pretty accurately what the incident EV reading will show unless it is overcast or early or late in the day.

 

 

For digital work one can take and immediately look at saved results and then tweak exposure on followup shots. But for conventional film like the Provia 100F I use, one either must bracket or guess accurately. And because 4x5 sheet film and development is pricy, I often choose not to bracket and rather rely on being accurate with just one shot. Just metering parts of a landscape and mathimatically combining the results won't guarantee good results. Landscapes tend to have a considerable range in brightness values. And of course evenly illuminated different colors all meter differently than 18% gray. Also the different colors meter differently if the sun is front lighting the subject or one is using the range of side lighting. Depending on what one considers the important elements in a scene, will also influence an exposure setting. I prefer to read out and think in EV values and later set shutter speed and aperature because relating single numbers to lighting is mentally simple leading to a better grasp for natural lighting. I tend to pay more attention to perpendicular to the sun incident readings because that provides a general indication of the overall lighting from which other readings and scene specifics can be modified. That is especially useful early and late when spot metering off objects or skies can be tricky. Of course one must always rely on comparing the results of exposed film to what settings one used in order to fine tune one's ...guessing.

 

...David

 

www.davidsenesac.com

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Another thought is that if you are shooting slides, I would try to keep the light within three stops. This is still pushing it, as if I remember correctly slides shouldn't exceed a 3:1 light ratio. (Ref: Kodak Pro Photo Guide). The 3:1 ratio is only about 1 2/3rds stop between the brightest and darkest areas. Good luck finding that in nature!
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