dabbleshots wrote:
ok,, got a question for right exposure,, Im slowly getting things figured out in right settings for whatever,, problem I encountered lately,,,isif the light meter is set at zero and reading correct light etc for the shot,,, how come sometimes when you take the pic,, its too dark as if the shutter is too fast,,,, still learning but I thought if the meter is set on zero by the factors,, shouldn't that be the correct exposure to take the picture ?? signed,,, confused!
Hello Confused,
There are many things that can cause the effect you are experiencing. For a general rule you have the right idea on exposure. More precisely you need a deeper understanding on what is going on inside the camera.
Your camera may have several exposure metering points when you depress the shutter button half way down. Normally these metering points measure specific points within a scene and average the reading for a given exposure setting. Many advanced digital cameras have options to manually set the metering points by the owner. Including 'Single Point Metering'.
Let us take single point metering. In this setting the camera will use a single point of the scene to measure exposure, this may be a 3 degree arc from center of the viewfinder. If you have a scene with 20 variations of illuminations, and you point the center spot at a bright white sheet, the camera will measure the illumination of the sheet and the surrounding elements in the scene will become under-exposed.
If you have an eight point metering system selected your camera will measure all eight points and average the reading to produce an exposure value.
If you have an eighteen point exposure system selected the camera will measure all 18 points and average the illumination for an exposure measurement.
This does not mean you will get a correct exposure for the scene, it simply means you have a better chance of getting a correctly exposed capture.
You need to thoroughly understand how your camera exposure options work, and use the one that suites your style of photography. Example, you could select single point metering, knowing how the illumination of the scene will affect the overall exposure, select a subject within the scene to set exposure on, accept that some elements may be over-exposed, and some fall into dark shadows. But, the principle subject is correctly exposed.
Study your owners manual on exposure, practice various settings, review all your trials, and take good notes on the subject and camera settings.
Only practice and experience will resolve your exposure problems.
Michael G