Questions and Answers
Explain the job of the light meter in photography.
The job of the light meter is to measure the amount of reflected light in the scene to decide whether your photos need to be brighter or darker. Note that light meters are only concerned with brightness, not color.
What does the light meter show in manual mode?
In manual mode, the light meter only shows what the exposure looks like to the camera without changing any settings.
How does the camera use the light meter in automatic mode?
In any automatic mode, the camera uses the light meter to decide whether the image needs to be brighter or darker and changes either the shutter speed, aperture, or ISO to change the exposure of the photo.
What is the ideal brightness for photos according to camera manufacturers?
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Why do different metering modes exist in cameras?
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The job of the light meter is to measure the amount of reflected light in the scene to decide whether your photos need to be brighter or darker. Note that light meters are only concerned with brightness, not color. In manual mode, the light meter only shows what the exposure looks like to the camera without changing any settings. In any automatic mode, the camera uses the light meter to decide whether the image needs to be brighter or darker and changes either the shutter speed, aperture, or ISO to change the exposure of the photo. Camera manufacturers have decided on an ideal brightness for your photos, which is called medium gray or 18 gray. If your scene is darker than medium gray, the camera will brighten the exposure until it hits that medium gray level. If your exposure is brighter than medium gray, it will darken your exposure to hit that medium gray level. Metering Modes Different metering modes exist because the camera is asking you, the operator, which part of the scene.
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Study Notes
Light Meter
- Measures the amount of reflected light in a scene to determine if photos need to be brighter or darker.
- Only concerned with brightness, not color.
Manual Mode
- Light meter shows what the exposure looks like to the camera without changing any settings.
Automatic Mode
- Camera uses light meter to decide whether the image needs to be brighter or darker.
- Changes either the shutter speed, aperture, or ISO to adjust the exposure.
Ideal Brightness
- Camera manufacturers have set an ideal brightness level called medium gray or 18 gray.
- If the scene is darker than medium gray, the camera will brighten the exposure to reach medium gray.
- If the scene is brighter than medium gray, the camera will darken the exposure to reach medium gray.
Metering Modes
- Exist to allow the operator to specify which part of the scene the camera should prioritize for metering.
- Different modes allow for different parts of the scene to be metered.
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