Attitudes towards exposure

[ChrisCummins]

Inspired by the thread on changing ISO speed, I am interested in people's techniques for setting exposure on a manual (meterless) camera. Having being raised and spoilt on cameras with good automatic exposure programs (with shutter/aperture priority), I am now struggling for inspiration on how to operate in such a fast environment as street photography with a camera without the exposure aids, particularly with cameras that require a couple of seconds pause just to change one of the settings in the first place!

Do people use lightmeters? I imagine this would slow the process down too much, but is it a necessary evil? And on B&W negative film such as Ilford HP5+, how great is the margin of exposure-error?

-Chris

 

[ChrisN]

I'll adapt my metering to suit the situation. If the action is fast moving I'll take an ambient reading with the L308 meter then wing it. For slow deliberate work I'll meter each shot, both ambient and reflected, to get the best exposure for the conditions.

With HP5 you can be a stop and a half out and still get a usable negative, but to get a good negative you need to expose properly for the scene.

 

[Peter S]

Not that difficult, it is not rocket science and practice makes perfect. Some people swear by the sunny 16 rule, but I just take my incident lightmeter and now and then take a measurement. On the street light usually stays the same and if I walk into the shadows and have no time to measure I just open up 1-2 stops and when I walk into a very sunny patch I just close down 1-2 stops. After the shot I then take a reading with the lightmeter to confirm I was more or less ok with the exposure and store it in my mind if for use in a similar situation. Over time you get better and better at guesstimating exposure without even using a lightmeter. B+W negative has sufficient latitude especially the faster films to deal with exposure "errors" .

 

[Pico]

For the first many years I used a hand-held meter. (PJ type work) One day, a more experienced photographer said, "I'll bet you don't need that meter." Indeed, I learned that it was just an affirmation. I knew the proper exposure.

Then I changed careers and moved into academe. I studied the Zone System and crippled my ability to judge exposure. I moved to LF photography and things got more complex with developing sheets individually. But boy, did I get some easy-to-print negatives - of nothing interesting at all.

Now I am about to retire. I got two M7 bodies. I'm just going to go with the flow and forget everything I thought I knew about exposure and just have fun being there.

For fast B&W films, I will develop in D76 1:1. For slow B&W, Rodinal 1:50 or 1:100 - Just like the old days.

 

[Ronald M]

Meter to suit the scene and subject. An incident meter fills the bill 98% of the time. My contact sheets require no selective frame adjustments. This carrys over to digital quite well

 

[andredossantos]

When Im using my TLR or another meterless camera I use sunny 16 exclusively. At first, Id bracket and sometimes miss some exposures but after a lot of practice over the past couple years I can pretty much nail it every time (even on slide film).

At night or in low light I like to have a way to meter, so Ill bring along my DSLR (dont have a handheld meter) but even if I am without I find its still very possible to estimate. Basically, open the F stop up all the way and bracket a bit (obviously Im not talking timed exposures here but street type work).

Alternatively, when using a DSLR i just let it do its thing and use shutter priority or aperture priority.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Meter when you need to and have time, but you do't always need to if the light hasn't changed since the previous pic.

If there's no time to use a meter, but think you need to change your exposure, guess and shoot. Your guesses get better with practice, and from comparing them afterwards (if you've time) with a meter readng.

If you have't time to guess, just shoot. It's amazng what you can dig out of an overexposed neg or underexposed tranny or DNG.

Cheers,

R.

 

[coelacanth]

Most of times, I just set exposure when I get out of building, get into a shade, subway stations, etc and point & shoot. Even when I carry a camera with built in lightmeter, I set exposure beforehand and often ignore what lightmeter says when I actually aim (if I aim) and shoot.

I usually don't carry lightmeter although I have one. I use lightmeter when I'm shooting medium format for still life or portrait. If I'm in doubt, I tend to go over exposing side to be safe.

I wouldn't have captured something like this if I was metering.

M2.

 

[flip]

It's amazng what you can dig out of an underexposed tranny

I've heard this as well, but yet to experience. In any case, there's a lot to be said for knowing what you're shooting with.

 

[P. Lynn Miller]

I guess from years of shooting, I am just pretty much know what the exposure will be for scene. Do not always get it right, but then some times those mistakes make the best photos. I work down from Sunny-f16 when in doubt. If I know that I am going to encounter very difficult light or I must have the exposure perfect for an assignment or commission, then I will make sure to carry my hand-held meter.

 

[chris00nj]

I usually carry a light meter, but you get to know a few lighting situations. Usually I start with sunny-16 and then count stops. A heavy overcast day is 3 stops off sunny-16. Indoors in normally lighting 10 stops off sunny-16.

With negative film you can easily over-expose by 2 stops and have an identical print. So, with negative film, I err on the side of overexposure.

With slide film, I fret over exposure, because it can be fickle. (Great when you get it right though).

 

[anu L ogy]

I spent quite a bit of time carrying a light meter in my pocket - even when I didnt have a camera on me. I would geuss an exposure and then verify it when the light meter. Now, I can geuss exposure accurately more often than not.

 

[barnwulf]

I really didn't see a option that fit my method. I shoot mainly in daylight and take an incident meter reading in direct sunlight and one in the shade. It's almost always 2 stops difference and the same settings each time unless it's slightly overcast. I kind of wing it from there from my experience and consider reflected light into the shadows. It's usually just fine unless the lighting is more complicated then I try to take carful readings if there is time. If there insn't time I take a few quick bracketed shots. It usually works out. - Jim

 

[shadowfox]

I definitely in the camp that verify once with meter then wing it all the rest of the time.

To me, to be so anal about perfect exposure really hampers my ability to observe to the environment. Something that I find necessary to be able to spot good photo opportunities.

In the darkroom, I do take rigorous notes of my exposures and made sure that I reference those notes all the time.

But again, I avoid getting so hung up with the perfect exposure that I miss the opportunity to experiment more, and so far my prints in general has earned the approval of the few seasoned photographers/printers who don't have any reasons to placate me.

 

[irq506]

Generally Ill meter off my hand for light and dark and use those settings roughly throughout the session, if I encounter a scene that I want to convey in a different manner then Ill generally meter and under-expose by -.5 to -1.5 stops to get the level of highlight detail I want. I dont particularly care for shadow detail because I find that people generally read images with more emphasis on the details in the brighter areas then the darker areas. I use manual cameras only as a policy and I dont set my ISOs to compensate, as I will generally have the under exposure indication in the viewfinder.

 

[Finder]

I ask the guy next to me shooting with a DSLR what his meter says.

 

[DougFord]

When i owned an M2 i also used the 'meter once and wing-it' method.

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

As this isn't a multiple option poll, I couldn't vote... I fall into the three options everyday...

I don't meter at all on sun or open shadow or overcast, because I know the settings.

I meter once and keep shooting if the place allows it and the light doesn't change.

I meter constantly if the light changes or if I aim in different directions with different light.

Cheers,

Juan

 

[wdeskiew]

I'm usually guessing. I started taking photos as a kid long time ago and I'm kind of used to all-manual cameras. I use meter when I have a time for that.
Another - easy - way is to follow the sunny-16 rule.

 

[Peter R]

I ask the guy next to me shooting with a DSLR what his meter says.

Problem with that is it usually says 'Auto'.