How can I meter fast-moving subjects in patchy forest sunlight?
Asked 11/16/2016
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I’m photographing fast-moving subjects during hikes in a forest where lighting changes quickly between direct sun and shade. The background is often dark, and subjects move in and out of bright sun, so my camera’s metering is inconsistent.
I know about evaluative, center-weighted, and spot metering, but they meter mainly around the center of the frame. I’m often using an upper autofocus point to place focus on the subject’s eye, so I can’t rely on center-area metering for the face. Focus-and-recompose also isn’t practical because the subjects are moving quickly.
Exposure compensation hasn’t helped much because the light changes so fast. I also can’t realistically use external lighting for candid photos on a hike.
Is there a practical technique or camera setting that will give more consistent exposure for a specific area of the frame in these conditions?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
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I agree with Alaska Man's solution and would comment there but I want to add considerable detail that won't fit in a comment.
To do what he's suggested, get a subject to stand in the bright sunlight. Choose 2 of the following values - ISO, shutter speed, aperture - based on your needs. In this case I would suggest choosing shutter speed and aperture - you want fast enough that your subject is not blurred due to motion (so, perhaps 1/250 at a maximum, but 1/500 or 1/1000 if you can afford it without losing too much light - see notes later) and aperture perhaps around 8, to keep most of your subject in focus. Now walk close to your subject and fill your frame with a sunlit portion - eg. their shirt. Allow camera to choose appropriate ISO using in-built meter. Note this.
Now switch to manual and key in all same settings. Your shutter speed and aperture should be set. Key in the ISO the camera picked. Now over-expose one stop. The meter produces an average grey but there is room to overexpose one stop - so if you managed 1/1000 (without the camera maxing out on ISO at that setting), then drop back to 1/500, for example. This technique is called exposing to the right or ETTR - you can search for more info.
Ensure your camera is shooting RAW. Now go take your shots focusing on whatever you like.
What happens is that the camera will expose correctly for your highlights in each shot. It should not blow out (even with overexposing 1 stop). In your post-processing you can bring the exposure back down to mid-tone greys if needed. The purpose of ETTR is that your sensor is more sensitive at the bright end than what it usually shows in the jpeg preview you see on the camera's LCD screen after you have taken the shot, so we want to capture light as brightly as possible without blowing out. You can never really recover an image that's blown out. And if you underexpose and start with a dark image, it looks bad - usually noisy, or large blocks/regions all the same tone - when you bring the exposure back up.
The shaded portions of your shot will appear very underexposed though. That's the nature of the extreme conditions you are shooting in. However again, in post processing, you can bring up the exposure in these regions. It won't be a superb result, but you're working within difficult constraints - dappled, high contrast, rapidly changing light with moving subjects (and likely moving photographer also).
I think the above is your best shot at getting usable results. Many times in these scenarios where lighting conditions are poor, a relatively poor colour photo can be salvaged as a usable black and white image. Bear this in mind.
Finally, if it is also cloudy, bear in mind that if the cloud cover comes over, then your highlights have been darkened by cloud - you will need to re-expose (or make a best guess by opening up a few stops). Notice if the cloud clears again - now the highlights are brighter again and you will have to re-expose for the highlights (or switch your best guess back down a few stops).
The reason for exposing for the highlights is that this is how our eyes naturally work. When we look at a sunlight scene - no part is blown out. When we shift our eyes to a shaded scene, they adjust, and the brightest portion is resolvable. Getting the brightest part of your photo exposed perfectly is how our brains expect our eyes to render a scene - so it looks natural for the highlights to be well exposed, and everything else to be defined by darker shades.
All the best! :)
PS. You might find your camera pushed to the limit in these conditions. You might find the meter has to choose the highest available ISO and you still get dark shots. In this case, open up your aperture wider, with the understanding your focus is going to be shallower and for many shots you may not have focus on eyes. Or make your shutter speed longer, understanding you may get motion blur. A great exposure may just not be possible :(
Originally by user34203. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user34203
9y ago
0
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A practical solution is to stop relying on automatic metering and use manual exposure.
If your subject will pass through a known patch of light, meter that light first: choose the shutter speed and aperture you need for action and depth of field, then take a reading from the sunlit area and set the exposure manually. When the subject enters that light, your exposure will stay consistent regardless of dark backgrounds or composition changes.
For fast movement, use a shutter speed high enough to freeze motion (often 1/500s or faster if needed), then pick an aperture that gives enough depth of field. Let ISO be the variable when metering initially, or set it manually once you know the needed exposure.
This works because the light on the subject matters more than where the AF point is or how the background changes. Metering modes can be fooled by bright/dark surroundings, especially in high-contrast forest scenes.
If subjects move repeatedly between full sun and shade, there isn’t a single metering mode that will perfectly track a specific off-center region on most cameras. In that situation, you may need separate manual exposures for sun and shade, or prioritize shooting when the subject is in one type of light.
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