how do i take a light meter reading?

[kgreen]

When I look through my lens on my nikon d-7000, towards the bottom I see something like this:

So far I have pointed it towards my subject, half clicked & if it's in the middle I then take the photo. If it's a little over or under I change the aperture or shutter speed, to compensate. Is that all I have to do to take a light reading?

 

[BillyBuff]

It depends on what metering mode you're in and the shade of color the subject is. For example if the subject is pure white and you have your meter "balanced out" to ZERO, your subject will definitely end up looking a bit dull & gray. this is because the camera's sensor see the white as "18%" gray. One stop up should solve this problem.

You can do a few things:

• Use exposure compensation by increasing a notch or two or even a full stop (the pointer going to the right)
  
• Change your metering mode to either center weighted average or partial, then meter off their face using the center focus point.

I find this site to have a better explanation than mine (I'm bad at explaining stuff):

http://www.learnslr.com/canon-xsi-guide-faq/intermediate-and-advanced-users/metering

 

[cpbjgc]

You are reading your meter correctly. As BillyBuff noted, sometimes you do not want it dead centre. That's when you need to understand histograms. If you haven't yet, check out this article from Luminous Landscape. It is a good explanation of how exposure works and how to use the information from a histogram.

 

[photo_chick]

Spend the $5 and get a gray card for tricky lighting situations that you really need to nail the exposure on. Other than that, when the meter tells you it's good, it usually is.

 

[GrumpyGoat]

When I look through my lens on my nikon d-7000, towards the bottom I see something like this:

So far I have pointed it towards my subject, half clicked & if it's in the middle I then take the photo. If it's a little over or under I change the aperture or shutter speed, to compensate. Is that all I have to do to take a light reading?

Your method is going to work ONLY if you are in manual metering mode. If you are in Program, Aperture Priority or Shutter Priority the camera is going to do some or all of the work for you.

 

[YesDear]

kgreen: It is obvious you do not have a clue what you are doing and you will not be able to get it.

The only solution, I see, is to give me your D7000 and let me work it properly.

Oh, well...... It was worth a try! You are doing fine!

 

[photo_chick]

Your method is going to work ONLY if you are in manual metering mode. If you are in Program, Aperture Priority or Shutter Priority the camera is going to do some or all of the work for you.

You can still use exposure compensation if you don't like what the meter gives you in those modes. The only difference in Av or Tv from M is that you only pick 2 variables instead of 3.

 

[boBQuincy]

Taking a light reading is really no more than pressing the shutter button halfway. This takes the reading, now we must decide what to do with it. This next phase is where we select the exposure, based on the light reading. In Auto or Program the camera will automatically adjust the settings so the pointer is in the middle (unless we have exposure compensation selected). This is what you are doing manually.

A modern camera's light meter can look at many areas of the frame and adjust the light reading based on similar scenes that are programmed into the camera (evaluative mode). This gives a high percentage of good exposures in difficult lighting situations that would confuse older meters. Some cameras have spot meter mode (really semi-spot) that take readings from only a small center portion of the frame. This can help if the subject is lighted differently from the rest of the frame.

The real key is to learn what brightness (zone) you want for the main subject, meter it, and then adjust accordingly to get the desired exposure. These days I usually take the photo (in Program), look at the histogram, and adjust if it is not what I want. It is faster.

 

[kgreen]

Thank you all. I am starting to understand a little better. I am fairly new at this & with as much as I've learned lately it can be overwhelming. But you all are great, I'm glad I've got you to help me.

 

[ford91exploder]

Go and get thee the 'Three Books' by Ansel Adams, The principles are timeless even though there is no 'negative' to speak of

1 - The Camera
2 - The Negative
3 - The Print

 

[boBQuincy]

Go and get thee the 'Three Books' by Ansel Adams, The principles are timeless even though there is no 'negative' to speak of

1 - The Camera
2 - The Negative
3 - The Print

*Finally*, someone else who "gets" it!

These three books are *so* much better than "Understanding Exposure". They are not easy to read but well worth it. Once you understand these you will never be perplexed by an exposure again, always able to get the perfect exposure and to understand how and why!

Also you will know what lens to choose, how the image will look, and how to prepare an image for printing (it is not the same as preparing one for a monitor).