The 5 Types of Metering Modes Explained (and when to use each one!)
Today we’re going to look at the main types of metering modes on your camera, and how to choose the right one for the job!
Believe it or not, the metering mode you use is actually incredibly important, because this determines how your camera looks at the scene, and decides what exposure reading to give you!
Get it right, and you’ll get an image that is perfectly exposed, in other words, not too dark and not too light (but juuuuust right)
However, with so many different types of metering available, it can be challenging to know which one to use in different situations, for sure.
Most cameras today will have at least 3 in-camera metering modes, and these are called Evaluative (which is called Matrix Metering on a Nikon) Spot Metering, and Centre Weighted.
Some cameras will have more, such as partial metering, or highlight weighted metering too. These are less common, but don’t panic, we’ll cover them all in this guide!
Now before we dive into each one, I want to rewind a little bit, and talk a little bit about what metering actually is, so you understand exactly why choosing the right metering mode is so darn crucial.
What is Metering in Photography?
Metering is simply how our camera assesses the amount of light in the scene, so it can set the correct exposure, or if you shoot in manual mode, tell you where the correct exposure is.
If you shoot in full AUTO mode, the in-camera metering system looks at the mount of light in the scene, and then combines the aperture, shutter speed and ISO values to give you the correct exposure (in theory at least!)
(As a little side note, you can’t change the metering mode when you use AUTO mode, which is yet another reason to move away from AUTO!)
If you shoot in any of the semi automatic modes such as Aperture Priority mode, then the same thing happens, except you’re choosing one or two of the settings yourself, and the camera takes up the slack and chooses the remainder.
Aaaand if you shoot in manual mode, you will still use your in-camera meter to assess the exposure, but this time you get to determine the aperture, shutter speed and ISO yourself. (a.k.a the best mode!)
But whatever mode you shoot in, knowing how the various metering modes work will help you get your exposure right first time, so you don’t have to continually look at your preview screen, and add or subtract exposure until you get it right.
As we said at the beginning, there are several different types of metering available, each with its own strengths and weaknesses, so let’s have a closer look at those 5 types of metering modes I mentioned, starting with Evaluative / Matrix Metering.
Evaluative (Canon) / Matrix Metering (Nikon)
Evaluative metering, also known as matrix metering, is the default setting on most cameras.
This mode divides the scene into multiple zones, and then combines the readings from each zone to calculate the final exposure.
It’s a bit like AUTO for metering - it’s simply taking a reading from every single part of the scene, and trying to give you a median (i.e middle ground) exposure.
(In this image below, the area shaded in yellow shows the area of the scene your camera is looking at when assessing the scene for exposure)
Just as with shooting in AUTO mode, this can sometimes be great, because in scenes where the light is fairly even and consistent, that “middle ground” exposure will be absolutely perfect.
And for you as the photographer, this can be really easy, because the camera is making all the decisions for you.
But just as when shooting in AUTO mode, the camera will also frequently get the exposure completely wrong in this mode!
In tricky light, or anywhere where the light isn’t consistent and even, you aren’t likely to get the correct exposure in this mode, since not all scenes will "even out" .
For example if you had really bright light behind your subject, the camera will pretty much always end up giving you an underexposed image, because it tries to dampen down all that bright light, which is definitely NOT what we want!
Remember, your camera is just a piece of equipment and can't read and see light in the same way we do, all it can do is make an educated guess, so in this situation, it’s no freaking wonder it gets it wrong - it can only ever try to get that middle ground, nothing more.
So although matrix metering can be a good all-rounder and is probably the easiest to use, especially if you’re just starting out, it really doesn’t give you the control you need.
Let’s move onto the next type of metering mode, and that is:
Centre-Weighted (Canon & Nikon)
In this mode, the camera still takes information from the whole frame, just as with matrix metering, but this time it gives more weight to the information it gets from the centre of the frame.
Again, you can see the area this exposes for shaded in yellow, so the entire frame, with greater consideration given to the centre of the frame.
Essentially, in this mode, the camera is assuming that the subject is slap bang in the centre of the frame, so it’s giving more consideration to that area, because it’s guessing that’s where your subject is.
Now it’s probably easier to predict how the camera will react using this mode (rather than evaluative) but the area it meters for is still quite large.
So whilst it will give a better result in some situations - usually portraits or when you have a good even mix of tones throughout the frame - it's not the ideal mode.
This is because for many photos we take - guess what! Our subjects’ aren’t positioned slap bang in the centre of the frame! That means it will probably give you an incorrect meter reading for what you’re actually trying to photograph.
It’s also still not the best mode for scenes that has a lot of contrast or uneven lighting.
Let’s move on now to the final one of the three main metering modes, and that is:
Spot Metering (Canon and Nikon)
Spot Metering does exactly what you would expect it to from the name; it tells the camera to meter from a very small specific spot of the frame, rather than the whole scene.
Therefore instead of judging exposure based on the entire scene, and trying to balance it out, it just focuses it’s metering on a very small area (around 3% of the frame)
Again, you guessed it, the area shaded in yellow shows the area of the scene your camera is looking at when assessing the scene for exposure in spot.
This is useful when you want to ensure that a particular area of the image is properly exposed, such as a person's face or a bright object in a dark scene.
By using a really small area of the scene to meter from, this helps the camera give you the correct exposure because you are telling the camera EXACTLY the area that you want to expose for.
(Just like when you have to list out for your kids exactly what you to do when you tell them to tidy your room, or they just fling a duvet over their dirty clothes and consider it done)
Because we’ve been super specific, it’s the most precise, and therefore gives you the most control over the exposure of your image.
And because of the metering is more accurate from the start, you will have less “chimping” and adjusting to get the correct exposure.
Righto, that’s the 3 main modes but there is another couple that some models may have:
Partial Metering
In some camera models you may also have a PARTIAL metering mode (or you may have this but not SPOT metering)
This works in a similar way as SPOT metering, but the area of the scene it meters from is larger - around 10- 15%.
So, if you find you don't have SPOT, you can use this instead as it works in the same way.
Highlight Weighted Metering
In some Nikon cameras, you may have “Highlight Weighted Metering”
In this mode the camera gathers information from the whole of the scene (just as it does with evaluative / matrix metering) but the greatest consideration is given for the highlights in the image.
In other words, this metering mode tries to “save” the highlights, and make sure you don’t clip them.
This might be useful in situations where the highlights are the most important element in the frame and you don’t have the time or inclination to use spot metering.
So, which metering mode should you use?
When you are starting out, you’ll probably want to stick with evaluative / matrix metering – it’s a good all rounder and in evenly lit scenes it will work reasonably well.
However, when you get more experience - and start experimenting with more challenging light - you will find it easier to move onto Spot Metering as this will give you a more accurate “reading” and therefore help you get your settings right quickly.
Although this may be more difficult to use to begin with, just until you get the hang of it, the upside is once you understand how to use on different subjects, you won’t need to make any big exposure changes, so it can be quicker to get your exposure right first time! Ding ding!
However, you do need to be shooting in manual mode for this mode - trying to use spot metering with aperture priority mode will drive you up the wall because your exposure will keep changing every 10 seconds 🤬
Metering for exposure (and shooting in manual mode) is something that we go over in depth in my Auto to Awesome course, because both are SO important for getting your images to look the way you want them to, but for now, here’s a little guide as to when each mode is useful.
(Psst! You might also want to download my FREE manual settings cheat sheet - this will help you know exactly what settings you should be using when!)
MATRIX / evaluative:
Scenes that are evenly lit, and there’s no big difference in tones throughout the scene
When using flash
Macro Photography (although sometimes the other modes will work better!)
CENTER-WEIGHTED:
Anytime the subject is in the centre of the frame (such as portraits)
SPOT metering:
Anywhere where the scene is not evenly lit, such as
Backlit images
Taking a Silhouette photo
Snowy scenes
Dark scenes
Concerts and stage performances
Scenes where your subject is not the largest element in the frame
Any scene where there is high contrast
PARTIAL metering:
If you don’t have spot metering available
HIGHLIGHT WEIGHTED METERING:
Concerts or other stage performances
Times when spot metering is unavailable (or not the best option) and the highlights are the most important element in the frame
So you can see that SPOT metering is the most useful in the majority of situations, which is why it’s the one I use most often (and I pretty much never move out of!)
As an example, this image below would be best taken with spot metering, so that we can get the scene to look exactly the way we want it to :-)
Links & Further Reading
FREE manual settings cheat sheet
Choosing Your Settings in Manual Mode
There you go - all the of main types of metering modes explained, and when to use each one!