Over the decades, in camera light meters have improved by leaps and bounds. While they are light years ahead of what was inside an SLR 30 years ago, situations still exist that challenge their advancements. Knowing how to get a perfect exposure when these are encountered will make you a better photographer and reader of the light. As you continue to make more photographs, you’ll discover that tricky or dramatic light introduces exposure challenges but it’s these dramatic lighting conditions that often net the best images. It therefore behooves you to master your light meter.

While it’s true that digital photography has introduced revolutionary solutions to tricky lighting conditions, what if the capture is dependent on a single shot? The moment may last for only a split second, the expression may be fleeting, the light may change in an instant, or the subject may be on the move. These are one shot scenarios that rely on obtaining the best possible exposure. When the situation allows me to capture a bracketed sequence for an HDR image, I take advantage. I’ll also use layer masks to combine the best areas of shadow detail with the best areas of highlight detail and I love using my suite of Nik software to selectively optimize my files. But first and foremost, I make it a priority to get the best possible exposure for every photo I capture.

Most photographers use matrix (Nikon) or evaluative (Canon) metering -  while they’re differently named, they perform the same function.  A smaller number use center weighted or spot metering. All three metering methods can provide identical exposures. In the end, it doesn’t matter which one is used. The bottom line is to master the one you choose so regardless of the lighting condition, you’ll be able to get a perfect exposure. I use matrix in conjunction with exposure compensation to bias the exposure to either the plus or minus side. 

Tricky Lighting Situation #1: Light Subject Against a Dark Background - When I come across a situation where there’s a light subject against a dark background or a dark subject against a bright background, I first evaluate the percentage of dark to light. If it computes to 50% of each, I don’t bias the exposure. As the ratios change, I dial in plus or minus compensation relative to the percentage. For instance and as was the case of the white egret against the dark background, I dialed in minus a half stop. The reason for this is I didn’t want to blow out any of the delicate highlight detail of its feathers. If the egret took up less image real estate, I would have dialed in minus 1 stop because more of the dark area would dominate the composition. As a result, the camera would try to brighten the exposure even more necessitating the more aggressive minus exposure compensation. 

© Russ Burden

Tricky Lighting Situation #2: Shooting Into the Light - In evaluating the tonality in the image of the boat at sunrise, I took into consideration the dark mountain and black areas of the land. I balanced that against the medium tones of the reservoir water and sky. In that they just about canceled each other out, I felt comfortable using a straight exposure. I knew the sun wouldn’t be a major factor in that matrix metering algorithms are  programmed to ignore specular points of light. Just to be safe, I set the camera to a three stop bracket of 1 stop under / on / 1 stop over. The best exposure was the “On.” Again, the primary fact to take into consideration is to evaluate the amount of dark to light areas and bias the exposure based on the ratio.

© Russ Burden

Tricky Lighting Situation #3: High Contrast From Strong Sidelight - Sunrise and sunset are the best times to photograph scenics yet the strong sidelight creates high contrast situations of bright highlights and deep shadows. As a digital shooter you have the option to make a five stop bracket to reveal every tone from the brightest bright to the darkest dark, but sometimes it’s better to get back to the roots of slide film and let the blacks go black. This being the case, base your exposure on the highlights and let the shadows go dark. The drama is often extraordinary. To accomplish this, you’ll need to dial in minus exposure compensation. Detail will be displayed in the highlights and the blacks will be very rich. 

© Russ Burden

To learn more about this topic, join me on one of my Nature Photography Tours. Visit www.russburdenphotography.com and click on the NATURE PHOTO TOURS button for more information. Also, pick up a copy of my book, Amphoto’s Complete Book of Photography. To purchase a signed copy, contact me at   rburden@ecentral.com.