Hi all. I'm going to discribe my current metering technique/methodology. I'd like you all to poke holes in it and maybe help me understand where I might go wrong. Of course you might think it's just fine and that would be nice to know too....
I recently picked up a Sekonic 858 it's got me noticing things I didn't quite appreciate before.
Here is what I do:
When I look at my composition, I look for the darkest area I want to maintain detail in, the brightest area I want detail in and what I think is the middle. Then I'll spot meter around and check those values.
Let's say the dark area is 1/15s and the highlights are 1/500s. That's 5-stops of separation right...
So then, I ask myself, is the middle good enough? That would be 1/80s which is basically 2-1/2 stops underexposing my shadows and 2-1/2 stops overexposing my highlights.
As a general rule, I like to place the darkest area (with detail) no more than 2-stops below my exposure setting. This may not always be true for transparencies, but for B&W and print film it works. For transparencies, it's the other way around and I'll guard the highlights by no more than 2-stops.
Anyway, in this example, I'm reasonably close to being happy IF the highlights were just as important as my shadows, I'd shoot at 1/80. AND if the shadows were more important, I'd shoot at 1/60 (2-stops over my darkest area). AND if the highlights were the most important to me, I'd shoot at 1/125s.
This assumes no filters. If a GND filter was appropriate, I would use a 2-stop grad and set the shot up at 1/30s.
Would you say this is sound logic? Is this a good approach?
Many thanks for your thoughts.
Adam
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