Light Metering Practice and Edits

Today I was working on light metering and practicing the different TTL (through the lens) meters that are built into my camera. In order to do this, I purchased a cheap, but pretty flower and placed it next to a window with some indirect light.

Then I went into my camera "menu", "light metering" and went through each built in mode to see what would happen. My camera has four presets. Here they are in very simple terms.

Evaluative Metering Mode - For most general environments.

Center Weighted Average Mode - Averages the light over the entire image giving more weight to light coming from the center of the field.

Partial Metering - Takes a reading from a circle in the middle of the frame. Good for a specific area you are metering.

Spot Metering - Like partial metering but uses a smaller area in the center of the from to meter.

Guess what? Your novice photographer did not keep track of each different mode so I cannot even tell which worked best. It was either partial metering or spot metering since I had a dark/bright flower with a light background.

With the help of Photoshop Elements, I was able to edit my light, color and contrast. Then I ran it through some free presets for the vignette feel.

I like the look but took it a step further...

I went to Pic Monkey and used the Dusk filter and lowered the filter about 50% for a more vintage feel.

So there it is. Your novice photography shot and edit.

Thank you visiting.

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8 Comments

StephanieJanuary 22, 2013 at 8:20 AM
Your photo turned out beautifully. Nice processing.
AndreaJanuary 22, 2013 at 11:17 AM
I find spot metering to always work the best for me. I keep my camera on that setting most. Beautiful pictures. We need to get you some actions installed so you can do all you want to the picture in one place.
martyJanuary 22, 2013 at 12:14 PM
And your final image is quite lovely!
beccaJanuary 22, 2013 at 12:49 PM
wow gorgeous you're very talented