In camera metering: Hi guys. Which in-camera metering do you use for portraits. Thank you...

ttheme Loc: Florida

Hi guys. Which in-camera metering do you use for portraits. Thank you

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

What kind of portraits? Studio portraits using strobes or speedlights would be one thing. Outdoor environmental portraits might be just about the same if you used that type of lighting, and entirely different if there is natural lighting. Street portraiture, where many if not most shots are spur of the moment situations are also very different.

So describe what you'll be doing. And the more specific you are, including camera and lens, the better.

ttheme Loc: Florida

For studio and outdoor portraits using a Nikon d750 with a Nikon 24-70 lens.

Apaflo wrote:

What kind of portraits? Studio portraits using strobes or speedlights would be one thing. Outdoor environmental portraits might be just about the same if you used that type of lighting, and entirely different if there is natural lighting. Street portraiture, where many if not most shots are spur of the moment situations are also very different.

So describe what you'll be doing. And the more specific you are, including camera and lens, the better.

Pablo8 Loc: Nottingham UK.

What makes you think you might be using the wrong setting at the moment? I use centre weighted, but for studio work, an incident reading, with confirmation of the playback on the camera histogram.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

ttheme wrote:

For studio and outdoor portraits using a Nikon d750 with a Nikon 24-70 lens.

You need to provide what lighting you use - strobes, speedlights (Nikon CLS?), hot lights, skylight, etc.

If using strobes or speedlights on manual, then you really can't use in camera metering. You'll need an external, incident meter that is designed for flash use.
If using iTTL (Nikon CLS), then you can and probably should use in camera spot metering, but you will need to take a test shot or two to determine where the brightest part of the image is, and adjust accordingly.
If using hot lights - you can turn your lights on, use the spot meter in camera to read the bright area, and add about 1-1/3 stop more exposure - this should render the facial highlights correctly.
You could use an incident meter with continuous lighting, but only if the lighting is average contrast, which luckily is pretty typical, and under your direct control anyway.

paulrph1 Loc: Washington, Utah

spot, manual focus, flash, flash meter.

zigipha Loc: north nj

2 of the 5 answers didnt even read the question lol

if you are serious about portraits, you should get an incident light meter.

in camera is reflective light meter

if you are going to use in camera, get a grey card and spot meter in camera

if you don't have a gray card, then you can spot meter off the skin, and make adjustments based on the skin darkness; very light skinned you overexpose by up to 1 a stop, very dark skinned underexpose by up to 1 stop

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

zigipha wrote:

2 of the 5 answers didnt even read the question lol

SOP

Just like in school. "Be sure to read the question."

Bloke Loc: Waynesboro, Pennsylvania

jerryc41 wrote:

SOP

Just like in school. "Be sure to read the question."

Yep, happens all the time... Or they reply to the original message without reading the discussion which has gone on since...

Carl D Loc: Albemarle, NC.

If your using just the camera, use center weighted on the skin. Using an incident light meter is best though.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

ttheme wrote:

Hi guys. Which in-camera metering do you use for portraits. Thank you

Center weighted. Remember that darker color skin will shoot differently than lighter color skin (18% gray reminder).

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

There are ways to use all the internal metering modes... and possible situations where each of them might be the best choice.

I'd suggest you get a copy of Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" for more complete info on when and how to use the different in-camera metering modes.

However, for portraits in particular, I'd more often use a separate, handheld, incident meter.... especially when using flash and/or studio strobes. I have several incident meters that are accurate within 1/10 of a stop and ideal for the purpose.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

ttheme wrote:

Hi guys. Which in-camera metering do you use for portraits. Thank you

Any mode. Hold an 18% gray card or One Shot Digital Calibration Target at subject position, facing the camera. Fill the frame. Expose until the spike or spikes in the histogram are centered. Then do a custom white balance. JPEGs will be great, right out of the camera, and you have a great starting point for your raw capture.

I want accurate skin tones and color, so I never meter the subject! The target neutralizes the scene.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

burkphoto wrote:

Any mode. Hold an 18% gray card or One Shot Digital Calibration Target at subject position, facing the camera. Fill the frame. Expose until the spike or spikes in the histogram are centered. Then do a custom white balance. JPEGs will be great, right out of the camera, and you have a great starting point for your raw capture.

I want accurate skin tones and color, so I never meter the subject! The target neutralizes the scene.

I agree that what you say is the best way to go, but how many other UHHs actually carry a gray cap (1/3 stop darker than 18%), a gray cloth (1/2 stop lighter than 18%), or a 18% gray card (I have that too; rarely carry all three at the same time)? And unfortunately ttheme didn't say whether he would be willing to use a gray card or a separate light meter other than the camera's meter.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

wdross wrote:

I agree that what you say is the best way to go, but how many other UHHs actually carry a gray cap (1/3 stop darker than 18%), a gray cloth (1/2 stop lighter than 18%), or a 18% gray card (I have that too; rarely carry all three at the same time)? And unfortunately ttheme didn't say whether he would be willing to use a gray card or a separate light meter other than the camera's meter.

Pointing a reflected light meter of any kind at anything other than a reference target is just guessing. Now, if you know the zone system, it's an educated guess, but that doesn't account for AWB errors, local color reflections, and lots of other issues that can throw off results in an undesired direction.

Yes, there are times and situations where the internal meter reading of the subject is your only recourse. But portraiture usually isn't one of them.

That said, metering schemes keep getting better all the time. They're not perfect, but they're a damned sight better than they were when I started, back in the 1960s. The "Intelligent Auto II" mode on my GH4 is quite reliable, especially if I'm recording raw files.