MS. DONNA Loc: NEW SMYRNA BEACH FL

any helpful suggestions on backlit for birding photography overcast sky bird is always under exsposed and am having a hard time understanging metering. I use spot metering any advise would be helpful I already processed this but you can see the bird it still dark and I used lightroom on 2nd pic I also made edited the sky

Thanks

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

I'm thinking #1 may have been too small and distant for accurate spot metering. Not sure how well you can do with birds in flight, either, unless the sky is uniform. My own experience for stationary birds is to use the center-weighted metering, then set an exposure compensation based on how much darker (or lighter) the bird is than its surroundings. As long as they're sitting still, you should have time to check your result and adjust further, if necessary. And each outing will give you a better sense for future.

For example, I know that when the American White Pelicans are sitting in the dark waters of the Yakima River on a sunny morning, I may need to do a full two-stop under exposure if I want detail in their feathers. A dark bird against a light sky requires a + (over-exposure) compensation. If these terms are unfamiliar, do a Google search for videos or articles to help.

Shooting in raw will give you more latitude to bring out details in pp.

Lastly, visit the Birds in Flight/Water forum on UHH for experienced and more specific advice:
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/s-112-1.html

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Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Shoot with the sun at your back.

Blenheim Orange Loc: Michigan

Judging by the light on the tree in the first shot, I would say that she did just that.

Mike

MS. DONNA Loc: NEW SMYRNA BEACH FL

thank you i am starting to practice birds in flight and I do shoot raw. Also do enjoy littel birds so I will practice the exsposure comp.
thank you very much
DONNA

MS. DONNA Loc: NEW SMYRNA BEACH FL

I did and there wasnt much sun mostly just white sky

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

True. Although it's just a thumbnail I did a two minute tweak on the second picture in Photoshop, with auto color, auto contrast, auto tone and a few sliders in shadows/highlights.

MS. DONNA Loc: NEW SMYRNA BEACH FL

that is beautiful

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

It's your shot. Just needed a few tweaks.

MS. DONNA Loc: NEW SMYRNA BEACH FL

Thanks
would still like to know how to meter properly

papa Loc: Rio Dell, CA

Oh gee, did your dad tell you that at 7 years old when he handed you the Brownie, too???

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Exposure compensation is part of "metering properly." Your camera, regardless of metering mode, may not always provide the result you are looking for. That's why so many people shoot in manual mode, making all the choices themselves - based on experience, what the camera's meter suggests and how they want the result to look.

A similar topic to yours was also posted yesterday:
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-513654-1.html

See Gene51's comments, photos and examples there - and don't forget to check out the birds-in-flight forum. There are several "how to" topics stickied right to their home page (in bold lettering):
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/s-112-1.html

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MCHUGH Loc: Jacksonville, Texas

I made a try at one of your photos and and this is what I got. Hope you like it. Done in PSE opening your photo as camera raw where I did the corrections there.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

Spot metering is a very precise metering modality. It takes some time and practice to master it but once you learn the techniques spot metering becomes your best friend.
Using the spot meter in camera I am sure you know that its angle of acceptance varies with the lens in use. Usually between 2-3% of the whole frame is used for metering which is confined to the AF braket in use but when using a tele it is advisable to use the longest focal length of the lens to make the reading more precise. If necessary recompose using another focal length but you are retaining the original reading. Useless to say that this is done in manual mode.
Like any other exposure meter compensation of the exposure is necessary depending on your subject. Compensation with matrix or evaluative metering should be done only when using the histogram since those meters tend to compensate the exposure anyway. Since you have a dark subject one stop underexposure from the spot meter reading off the bird gets you to the ballpark. Minor adjustments can be done with software in post.
Birds can stay still for long periods of time but in general they move around. Under those circumstances spot metering is not easy to use unless a substitute reading of a middle tonality (18% gray) is done.
For birds in flight matrix is most probably the best metering modality since there is no time to meter the exposure.

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

No I figured it out for myself when shooting birds against the sun. You realize you are being a jerk, right?