Photo Plus - UK (2020-04)

The Canon Magazine 91

EOS S.O.S

Canterbury Cathedral

BRIAN SAYS... I’m a fan

of the default Evaluative

metering pattern on EOS

cameras, but there are times

when it is not ideal. There are

also some unexpected

consequences that occur

when choosing Spot, Partial

or Centre-weighted. If you

use One-Shot AF, and focus

with the shutter button, your

exposure is locked when the

focus locks. The camera

doesn’t automatically lock

exposure when using any of

the other three metering

patterns. Since the EOS 6D

Mark II, several mid-range

and advanced cameras have

a custom function to enable

auto exposure lock with any

metering pattern.

If you use Spot or Partial,

you need to pay attention to

where the camera meters the

exposure from, it’s always in

the centre of the frame

except EOS-1D series models

where it can be linked to the

active AF point.

At night, the challenge with

spot and partial is choosing

an appropriate area to meter

from, and even then you may

need exposure comp and the

AE-lock button a lot. If you

photograph people,

Caucasian skin tones are

often suitable places to

meter from. For buildings

and landscapes you may

need to try Evaluative

metering to establish a

reference point, and then

bracket the exposure from

there to achieve ideal

exposures. Shoot in Live

View with the histogram

displayed, or check the

histogram on a test shot is

another possibility. Choose

manual exposure and take

note of the exposure

indicator in the viewfinder or

on the LCD as the camera will

still meter for you as a guide.

I r e ad t h a t lo t s o f pr o s u s e Spo t

metering, but I find it inconsistent,

especially at night. Which metering

pattern is the best for night photos?

Louise Garner, Slough

At night, without mid-toned subjects, it’s best to take Evaluative
metering as a starting point and bracket your exposures from there

EOS R face detection AF links with

metering, so this shot required no

exposure comp despite much of

the frame being dark

RATE MY PHOTO

ANDREW ROBERTS, KENT

SAYS... This is one of my

first attempts of HDR

photography, taken inside

Canterbury Cathedral in

Kent. I recently got back in to

photography after a 20 year

break, and now use a laptop

with Affinity Photo to edit

images. I used Manual mode,

Live View and changed the

exposure settings for the

three shots that went in to

my HDR. This meant I could

select the time for each

exposure in between people

walking by. Affinity Photo

created the HDR image, and

I cloned out a bit of rope too.

BRIAN SAYS... A great shot

of the stained glass window,

and you were right to try an

HDR to combine the inside

and outside exposures. It

was a good idea to manually

bracket the shots when the

frame was clear. The wide

angle lens has accentuated

the distortion, making

verticals converge, and

adding a bend to the

flagstone floor – it makes

me feel like I’m viewing from

floor level. A slight

perspective correction to

widen the top would be one

solution, and also shoot

from a higher position.

I like how you’ve kept the

colours quite natural feeling,

and your sympathetic HDR

processing has created a

good shot that doesn’t

scream HDR, just a well-

balanced exposure.

Lens Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4-5 Di II VC HLD

Exposure 3.2 secs, f/11, ISO100

Get

critiqued!

Email photos to

EOSSOS@

futurenet.com

with the subject

‘Rate My Photo’