Photography Friday Metering
February 4, 2012 by Aimee • 34 Comments
Wow! We’ve worked REALLY REALLY hard and have come so far! I mean seriously! We’ve learned how to change the settings on our camera for all three parts of the Exposure Triangle! We’re ready to tie it all together with one pretty bow {actually it’s like a zillion bows because the options are endless, but no worries, we’re going to walk through tons of scenarios with you over the coming weeks…baby steps, right}. We’ve come far! I’m thinking each of us deserves a tight squeeze for all we’ve accomplished so far! I’m so proud of you!!! Check out a couple of new amazing photographers…
Before we move on and study today’s lesson, I wanted to quickly address something about last week’s lesson: ISO. If you took your pictures inside your home by a well lit window and went all the way up on your ISO, but didn’t see a noticeable difference in your photographs I wanted to offer you three possible explanations.
- Perhaps you didn’t fully switch over to manual { Switch the ISO sensitivity auto control to off, then change the settings on your ISO}?!?!
- You will probably see the difference better if you review your pictures on your computer and crop and zoom one particular portion on two pictures: one with the setting low and the other with the setting high. I think you’ll see a better sample of graininess if you do this.
- And if you’ve followed the above and your pics are just outstanding even with a high ISO, you can be so excited with the camera you have!!! Internal camera processing just keeps getting better as technology improves. Your camera totally ROCKS if you can bump up the ISO high and still have great photographs! Give whoever gave you the camera a super big smooch to thank them! Let me know if you have any other questions regarding this!
Now let’s begin today’s lesson: Metering! I totally think you’re ready for this and I just know that as soon as you take a few pictures in manual setting, you are going to be strutting around feeling like big stuff {and you should}!!!
You know how I roll, easy does it, so no worries! We have a few months until Spring, but when the beautiful flowers begin to bloom {for all of my North Texas friends: Bluebonnets}, the grass turns a gorgeous shade of green and the birds and butterflies return to brighten up our little worlds…Guess what!?!?! You and I will be ready to showoff BIG TIME! For now, it’s rainy and chilly here {awesome news…we are officially out of a drought after record setting January rainfall}! And I’m sure it’s snowing where some of you live!!! So as we practice today, we will again be in our little homes, by our favorite windows, capturing as much natural light as possible! Grab your camera! In your menu, switch your ISO to 400. Just a reminder, this involves two changes: 1. Switch your ISO sensitivity auto control to OFF and it will stay in this mode until you change it back to auto. 2. Switch your ISO setting to 400}.
Next, change your mode dial to M {yep, manual} and set your aperture to f/5.6. Now look through your viewfinder. Let me explain the relevant portion of what you see, starting on the left.
With your ISO and Aperture set, it’s time to meter the Shutter Speed! Before we begin, remember what we’ve learned prior about Shutter Speed.
- If you are taking a picture of your child dancing, jumping or playing sports, you will want to use a faster shutter speed, such as 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000.
- If you are taking pictures of your child holding up the number of fingers that represent their age or a frozen still smile picture, or taking a family portrait, you will want to set your shutter speed to 1/60, 1/80, 1/100.
- If you are taking a picture of a craft or food, you will be best setting your camera’s shutter speed low…sometimes as low as 1/30. However, anything under 1/60 will be prone to have a little blur, unless you have an INCREDIBLY steady hand or are using a tripod.
- If you are taking a picture and want to include a little motion in your picture, such as taking a picture of a spinning ride at the fair or a waterfall, you will want a super slow shutter speed, such as 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2, 4, 8. {When you get down that low the shutter is staying open for full second counts}. You will DEFINITELY need a tripod and remote for these settings. {I absolutely LOVE my camera remote!!}
Now with your ISO set to 400 and your Aperture set to f/5.6, turn your Main Command Dial and notice your Shutter Speed number rising and lowering as you do. At the same time, the meter line will move left and right. Keep in mind the numbers I mentioned above as you do this. If you have moved the Shutter Speed to 30 and your meter line is still not balanced, you know from our previous lesson that any lower and you may end up with a blurred picture. Go back to your ISO and adjust it to 800. Repeat moving your Main Command Dial and try to balance your meter. Stud likes to capture a picture when the meter line reads a dash or two to the left of the 0. This is your chance to explore! For each of us will require a different Shutter Speed based on how much additional light our camera’s processor to capture the picture perfectly!!! You may want to keep a journal of your practice from hereon. Just jot down the date, time, location, and lighting. Then, write down, ISO____, Aperture____, and where you liked your Shutter Speed BEST____. With time you are going to see a trend and coming up with the settings is going to come naturally for you!
Did you get it?!?! Okay, now with your ISO set to 800 and your Aperture set to f/10, turn your Main Command Dial and notice your Shutter Speed number rising and lowering as you do. At the same time, the meter line will move left and right. Double check that you’re keeping the numbers I mentioned above in mind as you do this. If you have moved the Shutter Speed to 30 and your meter line is still not balanced, you know from our previous lesson that any lower and you may end up with a blurred picture. Go back to your ISO and adjust it to 1000. Repeat moving your Main Command Dial and try to balance your meter. Stud likes to capture a picture when the meter line reads a dash or two to the left of the 0. This is such great practice! Be totally proud of yourself if you capture a picture that is metered! I’m getting all excited about seeing your results!!!
I totally think you’re up for trying a bit more, don’t you think!!!?! Let’s throw caution to the wind and live wild! If you have a prime lens it’s time to give it a try at a lower aperture. Set your ISO to 200 and switch your aperture to f/1.8. Repeat the exercise above. Turn your Main Command Dial and notice your Shutter Speed number rising and lowering as you do. At the same time, the meter line will again, move left and right. Keep in mind the numbers I mentioned above as you do this. If you have moved the Shutter Speed to 30 and your meter line is still not balanced you know that any lower and you may end up with a blurred picture. Go back to your ISO and adjust it to 800. Repeat moving your Main Command Dial and try to balance your meter. Remember, as I told you in our f/5.6 exercise, Stud likes to capture a picture when the meter line reads a dash or two to the left of the 0. Have a blast exploring and learning your camera! Each of us will require a different Shutter Speed based on how much light our camera’s processor needs to capture the picture perfectly!!! When you find the right metering, capture the picture! Impressive, right! Add your results to your photography journal!!! Impressive, right!
Totally FUN, right! It just keeps getting better!!! Practice this week what you’ve learned up to now and we’ll add a bit more fun to the mix next week!!!
Your great, thanks so much! I love the explinations that you gave. I am such a visual person so you really helped me out:)
Thank you so much for the FREE tutorials. You provide such a great, to the point yet detailed explanation. I am very greatful!
WoW! I finally got it. Thanks so much for the very helpful lessons
Loving your explanations of what used to be Greek to me. Thanks for passing on your knowledge for free! This is priceless!!
Ok, i have a canon rebel t3i. When in “manual“
my iso on 400, 800, etc. and adjusting the aperture. I am not seeing my meter adjust as i change shutter speed? If i look through the viewfinder there is no line “moving/adjusting“ and on the main screen of the camera it just flashes at -3? What am i doing wrong?
I’ve been trying to figure this one out. Are you on Manual or Auto!?! When metering you will want your camera to be on M – for Manual. This will allow you to set your ISO either to a high number if it’s very dark or a low number if it’s very light. Next you’ll adjust your aperture based on the amount of boca or blurriness in the background you’d like. And finally you should be able to adjust the shutter speed to compensate for the extra light you need or light you need taken away to keep your picture from being over or under exposed. You won’t be able to work on metering until the first two parts of the exposure triangle have been set. Here’s the overview for a little review. If I missed your question…definitely send me another line and we can try again! You’ve come so far, I’d love for you to fully understand the metering! XO, Aimee
Jenn/Aimee, I have the same canon camera and have the same problem as you Jenn. Did you ever figure it out? And Aimee, THANK YOU and Stud for these blogs! I am FINALLY, in the wee hours of post baby bedtime, learning how to properly use my camera and stepping away from ‘Auto’ mode! (Although my cats may go blind from all of the flashes in the process!)
In case this still might help (it’s a bit late, I know), the meter indicator on my Canon only shows up for a few seconds when I push the shutter button down half way.
I am loving your lessons. I got my dslr almost 2 yrs ago but as a previous film slr user, have had such a difficult time with camera settings, even with my manual. Your lessons are simple to understand and I’m on my way already to better pic’s. Thank you!
Was this the last lesson? I couldnt find the next link if it wasn’t. Love this blog!!
Thanks so much Sarah! You made my day! I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the classes. Under ‘Photo’ on my blog there are some extra photography tutorials for specific situations. I’ve taken the summer off and will continue with new tutorials in the next few weeks!!! I totally appreciate your sweet note!!!
XO, Aimee
Amazing! Found you via pinterest and I have to say I have bought and read so many books/manuals/tutorials but never fully understood metering until now! I can’t thank you enough as I have just received a Canon 650d as a present ( previously bought a second hand Canon 350d) and I now really look forward to using your tutorials to use it to the max.
I feel like I should be paying you…:)
Oh by the way more please…
I can’t tell you how much money I’ve spent on book or how much time I’ve spent searching online or even how many emails I get from photography “classes” to still end up feeling stupid.
Well, I haven’t been able to read all of this. Since my computer keeps disconnecting from the www I decided to go as fast as I could and get it all copy/pasted into my documents so that I can read it later.
But, what little bit I’ve read is worded in simple language. I think I might possibly be able to comprehend it this time. Now, I just need to get my old junker DSLR repaired (since somebody decided I didn’t need the digital and NICE 35mm cameras that I had) so I can give it a try. Thank you so much for working up this blog for us camera illiterate folks.
Oh, I’m also with the previous comment in adding my voice to “MORE PLEASE”.
Thanks so much for this post! I found you via Pinterest as well…and what a help! I just received my Nikon D3100 for my birthday today…can’t wait to use all the functions and your easy to read explanations and instructions are so helpful! Can’t wait for more helpful tips.
Thanks for this!
THANK YOU! Thank you so so much for this. I recently was given a chance to buy a DSLR from a family member for a great deal and couldn’t pass it up. I’m going to Ireland for two weeks and these lessons have taught me how to make the best of my camera over there!
This is Awesome!! I love my dslr, but had no idea how to really use it. I can actually understand this, unlike the manual that comes with the camera! Thank you so much for putting it in mommy language!
I have been following this photography lessons for a couple weeks now and Thank you so much! These lessons are great! I’m really learning a lot! The Shutter speed one with the water and faucet was a little struggle, couldn’t find a good faucet to try :/. I wanted ask a question about changing the Aperture when your in “M” mode? I know how in the “A” mode.
I’m so happy to meet you Kristy!!! Thanks for your sweet note!!! The shutter speed gets easier with practice…lighting around sinks can be difficult! Maybe you’ll run across the perfect fountain one of these days and impress everyone you’re with! In regards to your question on my camera the Aperture changes using the same control whether on M or A. Is it a different control on your camera!?! They’re each a bit different, definitely enlighten me about your F-Stop…it may help others! Xo, Aimee
I have the same problem as Kristy.. I have a nikon 3100 and on the M mode I can only control the shutter speed, no the f-stop… on the A mode the dial controls, the f-stop, and on the S mode, the dial controls the shutter speed, but for M mode, it only controls the shutter speed.
I saw a FN button but that didn’t help, I was able to change the ISO with that.
Cathy, I too have the 3100. There is a +/- button near the shutter release. If you press that button WHILE turning your main dial you will then be controlling the f-stop. Release the +/- button and you are now controlling the shutter speed again with the dial. My MIL just taught me that a couple of days ago
Thanks for this tip! I was going into A mode to set the f-stop then back into M mode to control the shutter speed each time. Your tip made it much easier!
I have a D90, 50mm prime, tripod. & remote. But i can’t get remote to work.
Any suggestions? I’m loving your series! Just now working my way through it.
I’ve had my camera for almost 2 years and have just started taking pictures in manual
And reading the book. LOL
Hi Christy! Thanks for your sweet note!!! My first guess would be that the battery needs to be changed!?! Let me know if that helps!?! XO, Aimee
I am loving your blog. This info has helped me understand my camera a lot more. The only thing is that I have a Nikon P500. It is kind of I between a DSLR camera and a point n shoot. I thought it would be a good camera to try before transitioning into a DSLR so as to not overwhelm myself. Most of your blogs I could still apply to this camera but not all. I was wondering if you had anymore great advice with a camera like mine in mind. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks so much! Keep up the great advice =)
Thanks so much for your sweet note! I don’t have anything specific for your camera, but I will keep that in mind in the future!!! Let me know if you have anything specific! XO, Aimee
Thank you! My husband just got me the canon t4i for my birthday/christmas and i have read many things like this in the past to no help, but THIS got me to mostly understand it!! Thanks so much
Thank you so much for the simple and easy to understand tutorials. I get it now!!
Hi Aimee! I just got a new camera for Christmas (Canon Rebel T3i) and asked a friend for some tutorials…she directed me here and I’m so glad she did. I have a few questions…
1. How often do you use your flash in Manual mode? I’m loving my pics without the flash but I’m having a hard time (even changing the ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed) getting good light inside on a cloudy day with all of my blinds open. But I hate the brightness that it gives!
2. Is the Shutter Speed the main thing your wanting to change to get the metering correct (I’m trying to snap one or 2 notches before 0). I’ve tried changing the ISO and Aperture too, but I’m noticing that my shutter speed is wanting to go lower with less light and it’s making my moving toddler blurry!
I hope that all makes sense! I’m sooooo new to this and surprised I can even convey any of this correctly (if I did!)!
Thanks,
Christie
I LOVE your blog!! Thank you so much for making it so easy to learn about my camera! <3 Just wondering, is this the last tutorial you posted?
Aimee this is amazing. I became a mom recently so I wanted to take better pictures of my little girl so I went and bought a Nikon D2000 and I was about to take it back up until I stumbled upon your blog on Pinterest. And now I feel like a professional just by reading your lessons. I researched a lot hoping that I will figure it out and no chance up until this. Now I’m so excited to try it all in the daylight. Thank you , u are amazing and when your children reach 18 I’m sure they will know everything!!!!!
My question is why some times the aperture will only go to 5.6 and other times depending on the other settings it goes to 3.5 ? This confused me . I thought u can set the aperture on whatever level and u can only go as much as your lens capability.
I hope my question makes sense. And yes LIzzy is this the last tutorial ?
I think you can lower the aperture more if you aren’t zoomed in. The more you zoom in, the more you lose some of the ability to lower your aperture.
On your camera lens, after the mm (like mine says 18-55mm) it will say the range of apertures you can get. For example, my standard lens says 3.5-5.6. I can get the aperture down to 3.5 if I’m all the way zoomed out. But if I’m zoomed in all the way, the aperture can only go down to 5.6.
Does that make sense?
And is that right Aimee?
Just stumbling across this series & really liking it!
You totally got it!!! XO, Aimee