There is nothing more frustrating for any photographer than getting a correct exposure when taking a shot. And after many years of doing both film and digital photography, I still am often frustrated by the various methods of measuring light.

And one of the reasons I have so much difficulty with getting the correct exposure is my fear of whites. Yes, I dislike very much photographs that blow out whites and lose details that I know are there because I can see those details with my eyes. Unfortunately, cameras cannot record what the human eye can see, thus this whole business of photography can be and is a challenge beyond words. One of my friends, whom I believe to be among the best photographers in the world, has referred to me many times as the “master of whites.” Well, I wish I could agree. For every one shot I get right, I have at least 1,000 that were wrong.

But, when one gets it right, well, it’s awesome, as in this shot of a great egret I took three years ago.

So, I thought I might just write something about the topic of photographic exposure. Let me say first, that I am no expert in this area. But, I do have enough sense about me to know who the real experts are.

Perhaps the best is Charles Glatzer. I am constantly amazed at his work and his knowledge. A stop at his website is a feast for the eyes. And one should take the time to read his easily understood article about incident metering. It’s among the best on the Internet. Another excellent article, which discusses light meters has been published at B&H Photo Video.

In light of Glatzer’s article, I have been experimenting with incident light metering, using my little, relatively inexpensive, Gossen Pilot II light meter.

When I first bought the meter, I was often frustrated by the results I was getting. Then I learned that one has to calibrate the meter! DUH. And worse yet, my camera manufacturer seems to think that ISO 200 is not ISO 200 but ISO 250! So, I sat down and calibrated my light meter and moved the dial to ISO 250, set my camera to ISO 200 and took some shots.

In this first shot, I used the light meter built into my Canon 1Ds Mark II, set to evaluative metering. The in-camera meter said 1/100 at f/11. Here is the shot and the resulting histogram of the shot.

Lots of photographers will look at this shot and the histogram and report that all is well, that the shot is technically correct, despite the blown whites.

And that’s my problem, I simply detest blown out whites in my shots.

So, I then took a shot in manual mode, same f-stop, this time doing incident metering with my Gossen Pilot II. The meter told me that correct exposure is f/11 at 1/160. The histogram of the shot follows the photograph.

In the second shot, note that the whites are not blown out. And note that the mid-tones are darker than in the first shot.

So which exposure is correct?

Or maybe I should say, which one do I like better?

Because I suffer from fear of whites, I vote for the second shot. I think it looks more natural, despite the fact that lots of the mid-tone details don’t show up.

But, despite the fact that I like the second shot better, it’s still not correct. The correct exposure is somewhere between the first and second shot. So, it’s back to making adjustments on my incident meter, moving that sensitivity dial in the opposite direction.

And, too, forcing myself to do what all good photographers should do: bracket the shot!

Course, there are other techniques as well. One highly recommended and followed by lots of photographers is to take a shot, look at the histogram in the camera display and then change the exposure accordingly until the histogram is where it should be. The trouble with this method is that one is constantly looking and evaluating and not getting the photograph! But it works.

So, I am back at it. Trying different things, reading much, and hoping that someday I will be able to look at the light and know instantly what the correct exposure should be.

In the meantime I await a camera that figures all this out for me and produces the perfect shot every time without me doing anything at all. When that happens, I’ll take up golf, something easy to learn and master.

Resources:

Charles Glatzer, master photographer: Website

Charles Glatzer, article about incident light metering: Article

B&H Photo Video, article about light meters: Article

Tutorial at Luminous Landscapes about incident metering: Tutoral

Kodak, article about accurate exposure with your light meter: Article