When should you use auto-exposure lock (AE-L)?

Asked 6/28/2011

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In what kinds of shooting situations is auto-exposure lock (AE-L) most useful? When should you lock exposure, then recompose or shoot later, instead of relying on normal metering each frame?

ae-lock camera-settings spot-metering metering exposure

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

15y ago

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AE Lock is for situations where you want to use metered exposure later than you metered it:

locking exposure capturing parts of a panorama - for seamless stitching, frames with similar exposure will work better than differently exposed ones;
when you meter from a gray card, lock exposure, then remove the gray card and compose;
you point your camera on a surface that should be exposed as 18% gray, lock exposure, recompose
as @mattdm commented - when there are areas that would confuse matrix metering, compose so they are excluded, lock exposure, recompose

AE Lock can be thought of as a "quick version of temporary M mode". As such, you can quickly lock metered exposure and take a few shots with it. Most cameras will unlock AE after some idle time, so manual mode is more suitable when you work slowly and want to tweak things little by little.

Originally by user4390. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user4390

15y ago

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Use AE-L when you want to meter once and keep that exposure for a later shot or for several shots after recomposing.

Typical uses include:

recomposing after metering a specific part of the scene
spot-metering a subject or tone, locking it, then reframing
metering from an 18% gray card or another known midtone, locking exposure, then removing it
excluding very bright or dark areas that might mislead matrix/evaluative metering, locking exposure, then composing normally
keeping exposure consistent across multiple panorama frames for easier stitching

In practice, AE-L is like a quick temporary version of manual mode: you grab a meter reading you trust and hold it while you shoot. It’s especially handy if focus, metering, and shutter release are separated with back-button focus or similar controls.

If you need the same exposure for an extended period, manual mode is often better, since many cameras cancel AE lock after a timeout. If your camera already meters correctly as you focus and recompose, you may not need AE-L often.

When should you use auto-exposure lock (AE-L)?

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