Manual Metering Strategies:

Www.gerlachnaturephoto.com
John & Barbara Gerlach April 30, 2011

gerlachnaturephoto.com

Manual Metering, Page 1

Manual Metering Strategies:

We find manual metering is the quickest, fastest, and most convenient way to arrive at a super digital exposure for most (but not all) of our landscape, macro, and wildlife photography. Manual metering solves many problems that autoexposure metering modes create. We realize the vast majority of amateur and professional nature photographers use Shutter-priority, Program, or, more likely, Aperture-priority most of the time. We just dont understand why automatic exposure modes are enormously popular. Heres our case for manual exposure and how we use it. We hope you will read this objectively to find out if, you too, might be better off with manual metering in most circumstances. In our intensive Michigan field photography workshops, we insist our students use manual metering during the week. At first, some are intimidated because they have never used manual metering. However, with our encouragement and guidance, all of our students feel comfortable with it by the end of our first field trip. Indeed, they often are amazed at how easy exposure is when using manual metering, along with the histogram, to guide them. Before getting into the details about manual metering, lets pass on some observations regarding students and learning. We find our best students are often absolute beginners. Indeed, many are so new to photography that they have never shot film before. Why are beginners able to learn and master manual metering, back-button focusing, fill-flash, and other shooting strategies that produce excellent images so easily? We pondered this question for a while before realizing beginners are not encumbered with ineffective photography habits or old film ideas that did work well for film, but are no longer especially useful in the digital world. The transformation of a beginner--who listens to us--is remarkable. Many are shooting pro quality images consistently after a single week of instruction. What we need from you is a willingness to move away from your comfort zone of using automatic exposure and employ manual metering a lot more. Once you really perceive the advantages, and it takes awhile to gain this knowledge from actually shooting images, we think you will adopt manual metering for the vast majority of your photography, too.

gerlachnaturephoto.com

Manual Metering, Page 2

Lets return to the specifics of manual metering. Why use it in the first place? After all, you probably spent $1000 or more for your digital camera. Surely, you want to use all of the bells and whistles your camera offers. Actually, sometimes you do and sometimes you dont. The problem with any automatic exposure mode (Program for example) or semi-automatic modes, such as Shutter-priority and Aperture-priority, is the camera automatically adjusts the exposure whether you want it to or not. This often leads to a less than desirable exposure. Thats why all cameras provide an exposure compensation control. Since cameras have exposure compensation controls for both flash and natural light, obviously cameras dont automatically produce excellent exposures all of the time. If they did, the camera makers wouldnt offer an exposure compensation control. Given all of this, the one huge advantage of manual metering is the camera cannot change the exposure without your permission. We will discuss this in more detail later. Manual Metering Basics Set your camera to manual metering. All of the cameras we see use M for this exposure mode. Now look in the viewfinder. Youll see an exposure scale, probably at the bottom of the viewfinder, but it might be somewhere else, such as the right side of the viewfinder. Most cameras show you a scale that displays plus or minus two stops in 1/3 stop increments. Some more expensive models such as the Canon 7D and 5D Mark II show plus and minus three stops in 1/3 stop increments. One direction on the scale is the plus exposure side and the other direction is the minus exposure side. Consult your camera manual to determine which way you go to add or subtract light. Many cameras label the scale in the viewfinder with a helpful plus and minus sign to indicate the direction. There is an exposure level indicator (typically a small line) that moves along the scale as you change the exposure by turning the aperture or shutter speed. Changing the ISO value also changes the position of the exposure level indicator mark. Using the Scale Let suppose you are photographing a glorious landscape. Generally, the first problem you may have with manual exposure is you cant find the exposure level indicator mark on the scale. Lets say your cameras exposure scale shows you plus or minus three stops of light in 1/3 stop increments. If you happen to turn the camera on and the cameras exposure settings are six stops underexposed, there is no way for the exposure level indicator to appear on the scale because it only covers the
gerlachnaturephoto.com Manual Metering, Page 3

smaller range of plus and minus three stops. Since the camera happened to be set six stops underexposed, the best the camera can do is flash a light or create an arrow on the negative end of the exposure scale. It is letting you know the exposure is way too dark. To move the exposure level indicator mark onto the scale, slow the shutter speed down or open up the aperture until the exposure level indicator appears on the scale. Continue to adjust the exposure until the exposure level indicator aligns with the zero point in the middle of the exposure scale. Determining a Superb Exposure Once you have adjusted the exposure level indicator to the zero position, shoot an image of the landscape to generate a histogram for the scene. Most cameras offer two choices--the luminance (Canon calls it the Brightness histogram) and the RGB (color channels) histograms. Both work, but we greatly prefer and use the RGB histogram exclusively. The luminance or averaging histogram averages the values for the red, green, and blue color channels. This works well if the light is fairly neutral in color and no single color predominates the scene. However, if you photograph a scene that is primarily made up of a single color such as bright red maple trees during autumn, by the time the averaging histogram approaches the right wall of the histogram chart, the red color channel is most likely clipped on the right edge. This means the red leaves are overexposed. Since many of the red portions of the scene have the same tonal value and color, there is little separation--causing a loss of detail. This problem is made even worse if the red leaves are illuminated with the reddest rays of sunlight at dawn or dusk. To deal with the problem of one color greatly dominating the others, we use the RGB histogram. The RGB histogram display typically shows separate histograms for each of the individual color channels at the same time. Dont be confused by all of the histograms. Using the RGB histogram is easy. Heres the simple process. Shoot the image. Now look at the histogram for each color channel. Which one has data farthest to the right? Once you determine that, ignore the other histograms and concentrate on the one with data farthest to the right. We are not talking about peaks or mountains to the right of the histogram. Only be concerned with the data farthest to the right, no matter how little, because this probably represents highlights with detail you wish to preserve. If this data is just barely touching the right wall of the histogram, you have an ideal exposure. If the rightmost data isnt touching the right wall of the histogram display, then slow the shutter speed down,
gerlachnaturephoto.com Manual Metering, Page 4

open up the aperture, increase the ISO, or use a combination of these to get the rightmost data over to the right wall. Obviously, you must shoot another image to get the new histogram to check it. If the rightmost data is climbing the right wall of the histogram chart, then reduce the exposure by increasing the shutter speed, stopping down the aperture, or lowering the ISO until the rightmost data is once again just barely touching the right wall. Remember, lowering the ISO to brighten or darken the image only works with manual exposure. Do you know why? The Aperture-priority exposure mode gives priority to the f/stop and lets the shutter speed vary. If the exposure is one stop too dark as shown by the histogram (the rightmost data is one stop from the right wall) for an exposure of f/8, 1/125 second and ISO 200, pushing up the ISO wont add one stop of light and move the rightmost data to the right wall of the histogram. Instead, the camera will give priority to the aperture (f/stop), continue to assume that it has already arrived at the best exposure, and change the shutter speed to 1/250 second to maintain the exposure. In other words, changing the ISO from ISO 200 to ISO 400 brightens the image by one stop, but the camera automatically changes the shutter speed from 1/125 second to 1/250 second which subtracts one stop of light, so the exposure remains the same, though a different ISO and shutter speed are being used. Keep in mind the worst sin you can do to a digital image is overexpose important highlights with detail because you cant get the detail back. For this reason, many photographers assume it is best to underexpose the digital image and do so to their own detriment. Why do you want the rightmost data touching the right edge or wall of the histogram graph? First, exposing to the right as far as possible without clipping on the right edge preserves detail in the highlights, avoiding overexposure problems. Second, exposing to the right lets the sensors photodiodes (usually called pixels though technically that isnt correct) that correspond to the dark portions of the image measure more photons of light. This produces a better signal-to-noise ratio, resulting in less noise in the shadows. Third, due to the linear nature of how digital sensors measure light, fully one-half of the data is contained in the stop of light that appears farthest to the right on the histogram chart. If you dont expose to the right, you will miss a lot of data that determines color and tone (shades of gray) that you need for the best possible image, especially if you shoot RAW and do some major levels adjustments in post-processing. This popular way of exposing digital images is fairly well-known and has been around for several years. It is

gerlachnaturephoto.com

Manual Metering, Page 5

often called ETTR or Exposing to the Right. We have used this easy method since 2004 with excellent results. Using Manual Exposure in the Field Heres how we use manual exposure in the field. Always keep in mind we use the histogram to guide us to the optimum exposure. We never judge the exposure by how it looks on the cameras LCD monitor because ambient light, viewing angle, and the fact you can adjust the brightness of the image with an in-camera control renders it inaccurate. Lets suppose we are photographing a landscape. We want plenty of depth-of-field to make everything sharp in the image. Lets use f/16, a good compromise between lots of depth-of-field, but, not too much diffraction. The smaller apertures of f/22 and f/32 lose too much sharpness due to diffraction. Since we are shooting on a tripod, using a high ISO value isnt necessary, so we select ISO 100. Now we focus using back-button focusing and compose the image. Since we want to use ISO 100 and f/16 depth-of-field, we adjust the shutter speed until the exposure indicator aligns with the zero position on the metering scale in the viewfinder. We shoot the image and quickly check the histogram. If the rightmost data isnt touching the right wall of the histogram, we add light by slowing the shutter speed down until it does. If the rightmost data touches the right wall of the graph, then we have the best exposure already. If the rightmost data is climbing the right wall of the histogram, then we increase the shutter speed, reducing the exposure, until it just touches the right wall. With practice, it is a simple process that only takes a few seconds and a couple of images to check the histogram. Remember, when in doubt, shoot an image to get the histogram. Now you know precisely what to do. To help us make our adjustments, we use two more important tactics that few photographers are aware of, so read carefully. Do you instantly know which dial controls the shutter speed and the aperture (f/stop) on your camera? You need to know where your exposure control is for each variable. With my two Canon cameras, the shutter speed control is the main dial on top of the camera. The aperture is controlled by a dial on the rear of the camera. (By the way, for both the Canon 5D Mark II and the 7D, custom functions do permit you to reassign these dials. This means you could make the top dial control the aperture and the rear dial the shutter speed. The only time I do this is when using all flash for illumination. By putting the shutter speed on the rear dial, which can be locked, I can set
gerlachnaturephoto.com Manual Metering, Page 6

the sync speed for flash and then lock the dial. This prevents the shutter speed from accidently getting set to something other than sync speed for flash.) Now, another question for you. When using manual exposure, which way do you turn the dial to increase the exposure which moves all of the histogram data to the right? Oddly enough, most cameras use an unhelpful default setting that we feel is counterintuitive. Moving the dial to the right reduces the exposure, so the histogram data moves left. Moving the dial to the left increases the exposure, making the histogram data move to the right. Wouldnt it be more intuitive (easier to remember) if moving the dial to the right added light and moved the histogram data to the right, also? Of course it would! Good news! Most cameras we see in our workshops offer a way to reverse the dial direction. Nikons typically have a menu choice where the dials can be reversed, so turning the dial to the right adds light and turning it to the left subtracts light. For example, lets consider the Nikon D300. Go to the F (Controls) menu. Now scroll down to Customize Command and Dials at f7. Now look for Reverse Rotation and change if from OFF to ON. Now the dial rotation is reversed. Canon offers a custom function on most models that lets you do this, too. The custom function number that controls this varies from model to model, but look for a custom function called, Dial direction during Tv/Av. Although the title doesnt suggest it, the dial direction is reversed when using manual exposure, too. The #0 default setting is Normal, so choose option #1 which says Reverse direction. Once you have the dial direction set to make adjusting the exposure more intuitive, youll find it is easier to make exposure adjustments by counting clicks. For example, my Canon cameras are set for 1/3 stop increments. If the rightmost data of the histogram is one stop from the right wall of the graph, I turn the shutter speed or aperture dial to the right three clicks. Now I have added one stop of light. The rightmost data is now snuggled up to the right wall of the histogram. The previous paragraph offers a hint about a second strategy we use that is not well known. Look at your histogram display. Does it have vertical lines at regular intervals across the display? My Canon 7D and 5D Mark II
gerlachnaturephoto.com Manual Metering, Page 7

have six vertical lines which include the left and right edges, plus four more across the width of the histogram chart. Being a curious person, I wondered how much exposure change it takes to go from one line to the next and how much it takes to go from the far left wall to the far right wall of the entire histogram. Heres the procedure I used to figure it out. I used a piece of white cardboard and photographed it under soft overcast light. Filling the entire viewfinder with the white cardboard insured that every pixel should measure essentially the same amount of light. This generates histogram data that appears as a single narrow spike. I adjusted the exposure until the spike coincided with the far left wall of the histogram. Lets say the exposure was 1/60 second at f/5.6 using ISO 200. Keeping the aperture at f/5.6, I added light by slowing down the shutter speed until the spike appeared at the far right wall of the histogram. I shot a series of images where I kept slowing down the shutter speed to move the spike of data across the histogram to the right. Finally, an exposure of 1 second at f/5.6 produced a spike just touching the far right wall of the histogram graph. There is a six stop difference between 1/60 second and 1 second. That means the entire histogram display represents six full stops of light. Since five vertical boxes make up the histogram display for my Canon cameras, each vertical line is separated by 1.2 stops of light. This means it takes 1.2 stops of light to move the data to the right from one vertical line to the next. While it is easy to make a one stop adjustment, you dont have a 1/5 stop increment on your camera. Therefore, to avoid overexposing important highlights, I consider each vertical line on the histogram to be a one stop increment, but you could consider it as a 1 1/3 stop increment, which is actually closer to reality, if you wish. Now that I know how much exposure change is required to move the data from one line to the next, it is a simple matter of counting clicks. For example, if the rightmost data is one full vertical box from the far right wall and a tiny bit more, I simply turn my shutter speed dial to the right four clicks to add 1 1/3 stops of light. Now my rightmost data is snuggled up to the right wall of the histogram. The histogram displays for Nikon cameras have vertical lines, too, but only three appear in the middle of the display, and the left and right edges, for a total of five. Once again we use the white cardboard (note than any subject that doesnt vary in tone and fills the frame works) to determine the dynamic range represented by the histogram and how much exposure it
gerlachnaturephoto.com Manual Metering, Page 8

takes to move the rightmost data from one vertical line to the next. With Barbaras Nikon D300, it takes about 7 stops to move the spike from the far left wall to the far right wall of the histogram. Each vertical line is about 1 2/3 stops from the next. Remember, these figures mentioned above are approximate values, but that is close enough anyway. The spike on the histogram was a bit wider for Nikon than Canon cameras, so I had to guess a bit. We are not saying that all Canon or Nikon cameras have the same values as the models we use, since we havent tested the others. Nor have we tested any other camera makers such as Sony or Pentax. You should run your own tests to calibrate your histogram for dynamic range and, more importantly, how much exposure it takes to move the histogram data from one line to the next, assuming your cameras histogram is divided up into a few vertical lines, of course. We use manual exposure at least 90% of the time. However, we do sometimes use shutter priority when photographing wildlife, especially in Kenya, but we will save that discussion for another time. Manual metering along with using the histogram to guide you eliminates many problems, along with being quick and precise. Before ending this discussion, we do wish to highlight some important manual metering advantages. 1. Light Passing Through the Viewfinder isnt a Problem When using automatic or semi-automatic exposure modes, in certain situations, light passing into the viewfinder can cause underexposure. Thats why most camera manuals briefly mention covering up the viewfinder when shooting images when your eye isnt up to the viewfinder-a typical situation when shooting on a tripod. For this reason alone, we would never use any automatic exposure system for macro or landscape images. The nuisance factor of covering up the viewfinder is too great. 2. If the background changes tone when photographing a moving subject, the exposure will remain proper for the subject. Auto metering modes adjust the exposure as the brightness of the background changes, even though the light on the subject hasnt, causing improper exposures in the process.

gerlachnaturephoto.com

Manual Metering, Page 9

3. If you zoom in or out, the exposure remains the same for the subject in most cases with manual metering. If you used a variable aperture zoom, such as a 70-200mm 4.0-5.6 lens wide-open, this is not true because you lose light as you zoom out. However, if you are stopped down at least one stop from wide-open, your variable aperture zoom probably keeps the effective aperture you have set, so there is no exposure variation. With auto exposure modes, changing the size of the subject by zooming typically forces the camera to change the exposure because the percentage of dark and light areas in the image change, even though the exposure of the subject hasnt changed. The camera does this to average everything out. For example, if you use Aperture-Priority and frame a group of trees encased in snow against a blue background and use the exposure compensation control for natural light, you will overexpose the snow if you zoom so the lens sees more relatively dark blue sky. It is pretty simple math. If you add more dark sky, the camera lightens the exposure to maintain the average, and you overexpose the important highlights where you wish to retain detail. Conversely, if you zoom in tighter on the white trees, the camera sees more white tones, so it reduces the exposure to maintain the average. A similar situation happens if you arent changing the focal length, but the subject is moving so it is gradually getting larger or smaller in the image. A common example in our winter photo tours of Yellowstone happens when photographing approaching bison. With an automatic exposure mode, if you have determined the proper exposure for a bison walking through the snow toward you, the exposure gradually brightens as the bison increases in size. Specifically, lets say the bison fill 1/4 of the image when you start. You are using Shutter-priority and the exposure compensation dial to get the prefect histogram. As the bison fills more and more of the image, the meter sees more dark fur and less white snow. When the meter tries to average the brightness values, it gradually adds light because the increasingly greater amount of dark bison forces the camera to maintain the average by increasing the exposure. This eventually overexposes the white snow, resulting in a loss of detail. With manual, once the exposure is set to keep detail in the snow, it doesnt matter how much of the image is filled by the dark bison. The camera keeps the starting exposure as it should. 4. If you use your histogram and set up the exposure control dials as we do, it is much easier to find the dial and make the proper correction,
gerlachnaturephoto.com Manual Metering, Page 10

especially under the dim light of dawn and dusk. W e easily adjust the exposure precisely the right amount simply by adjusting the shutter speed or aperture dial, counting clicks, while never actually looking at the dial. Using the exposure compensation control along with automatic exposure modes is often much more cumbersome. 5. You can use the ISO control to adjust the exposure when using manual exposure. We commonly do this when using a multiple flash setup to photograph hummingbirds that excludes all ambient light. On the other hand, with natural light, small exposure adjustments are most easily accomplished with the shutter speed, aperture, or sometimes a combination of the two. 6. Photographers who use manual exposure seem to have a better feel for how shutter speed, aperture, and ISO work together to get the optimum exposure. Manual exposure is enormously effective and quick once you get used to it. It really works well for most photographic situations. There are times when we do use both Aperture-priority and Shutter-priority for special situations, so we arent telling you to never use them. For example, Shutter-priority is terrific on a Kenya wildlife safari where the shutter speed is absolutely critical for capturing sharp images when shooting on a bean bag from a landrover. Aperture-priority can be useful when you wish to shoot a series of images where the shutter speed must be varied to show different motion effects. Aperture-priority is also quite useful when you wish to shoot a series of images of the identical composition and subject, but wish to vary the depth-of-field. Except for these situations, though, we find manual exposure works best for our needs.

gerlachnaturephoto.com

Manual Metering, Page 11