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View Full Version : Sekonic metering for slide film and grad filters



nbagno
14-Mar-2017, 06:46
I don't typically like to post in two different photography forums but this question wasn't picked up in the other forum. Here it is:

Using slide film...

What I have been doing so far has been to meter the shadows that I want detail and set into memory, same with the highlights then average. Now I go back to the shadows/highlights and read the EV value, looking for no more than -/+ 2 over. If it's within +/- 2 then I'm ok. This technique is what I've seen people do...

Now what if the highlights are over +2, lets say it meters +3 EV Do I use the average meter reading to set my lens but use a grad ND to bring down the highlights 1 stop?

What if the shadow is -3. Do I open up one stop from the average reading but bring down the highlights 2 stops?

koraks
14-Mar-2017, 10:53
There's no way metering can compensate for the high contrast of slide film. There's that. How you compromise is a personal matter. I just like to spot meter the brightest light where I want color and/or detail and make sure that that doesn't get overexposed by more than 2.5 or 2.67 stops.

A grad ND can sometimes help, but I rarely carry one and they only work convincingly if the scene allows it. I'd sooner recompose so that the scene fits in the dynamic range of the film or shoot negative film if I cannot or don't want to change the scene.

Pere Casals
14-Mar-2017, 15:10
I don't typically like to post in two different photography forums but this question wasn't picked up in the other forum. Here it is:

Using slide film...

What I have been doing so far has been to meter the shadows that I want detail and set into memory, same with the highlights then average. Now I go back to the shadows/highlights and read the EV value, looking for no more than -/+ 2 over. If it's within +/- 2 then I'm ok. This technique is what I've seen people do...

Now what if the highlights are over +2, lets say it meters +3 EV Do I use the average meter reading to set my lens but use a grad ND to bring down the highlights 1 stop?

What if the shadow is -3. Do I open up one stop from the average reading but bring down the highlights 2 stops?

Koraks advice is very good, let me add next...



First, IMHO you have the rigth aproach: spot meter for slides!! You have to nail your expoure !!

Second, know how the slide works ! Just spend a test roll and bracket exposure (from -3 to +3) for well metered subjects. Time ago I did that for sky, clouds, water and flat contrast textures (rocks, trees, soil, walls, faces).

Only this sort of "calibration" will give you complete personal understanding of what happens in reality.

You know, overexposed slide highligths are lost and cannot be recovered. And very deep shadows will be recovered, but at the expense of extra work, you'll need Multiexposure feature at the scanner or using a drum scanning service.



Then you have your scene... you select an initial exposure and see where highlights and shadow go. From your experience (with previously bracketed subjetcs) you will know what will happen exactly.



Your probable problem will be to darken sky. Here you can use a Grad ND to bring the sky 1, 2, or 3 stops down. Also you can use a Polarizing filter. It dependes on your location, but ND2+Pol is common, and often you'll need ND3 for sunsets.


If slides are to be projected (rather than scanned) a very consistent way to meter is incident light, consider it for some situations, learn to how when to use it. Just take a Kodak grey card and meter on it, following instructions sheet (important). First time make a bracketing, you may like +/- half stop from what it reads.

Anyway in case of a too contrasty scene incident light is only a reference, you'll need to decide what you sacrifice, or if you go to ND+Pol


Regards

biedron
14-Mar-2017, 20:43
I don't typically like to post in two different photography forums but this question wasn't picked up in the other forum. Here it is:

Using slide film...

What I have been doing so far has been to meter the shadows that I want detail and set into memory, same with the highlights then average. Now I go back to the shadows/highlights and read the EV value, looking for no more than -/+ 2 over. If it's within +/- 2 then I'm ok. This technique is what I've seen people do...

Now what if the highlights are over +2, lets say it meters +3 EV Do I use the average meter reading to set my lens but use a grad ND to bring down the highlights 1 stop?

What if the shadow is -3. Do I open up one stop from the average reading but bring down the highlights 2 stops?

Yes, the technique you describe is sound. Assuming of course that the GND can be arranged to coincide with the highlights - fortunately this is often the case in landscape photography. Larger formats seem to be more forgiving of the edge of the GND than smaller formats - that is, a "hard" GND seems fairly "soft" on large format, and "soft" is really soft.

Another thing to bear in mind is that sometimes, shadows blocking up can be visually appealing - of course it greatly depends on the image - some do very well with "negative space". Blown highlights are generally not appealing at all.

There are other means of obtaining the base metering besides averaging. For example green vegetation (if any is in the scene, or nearby in the same light) is usually a mid tone. Then use your technique of checking highlights and shadows as you describe. Another option is to meter a tone in the scene that roughly matches the tone of your palm. Your palm is roughly 1.3 - 1.5 stops brighter than mid tone. These alternatives are a little less "mechanical" than averaging, but once you get a feel for spotting these tones in the field, they can work as well.

Hope this helps.

Bob