Outdoor Photography How To

If you've never explored your camera's Spot Metering mode there's a good chance that your exposures are off when photographing outdoor scenes with complicated light. We're going to demystify this important tool in the tutorial below.

Instructor Ejaz Khan makes this bold claim: "Spot Metering is the ultimate tool for photographers aiming to master the creative use of light." In this 13-minute episode you'll learn when, why, and how to harness this technique for unmatched exposure control with precision.

Khan is an experienced wildlife and nature photographer who transitioned from years of working with renowned fashion magazines like Vogue. He now travels the world making instructional videos that turn seemingly complex techniques into actionable steps that anyone can master with ease.

This episode demonstrates why understanding the benefits of Spot Metering will significantly elevate your shooting skills, whether your passion is wildlife imagery, landscape photography, or even environmental portraiture. Khan promises that by following his advice you'll quickly "turn your photos into art."

The basic concept is this: The proper use of Spot Metering enables you to eliminate all the guesswork and emphasize specific areas of light and shadow within the frame to achieve superior results. All you have to do is enable your camera's Spot Metering mode and follow Khan's straightforward instructions.

This technique is especially essential when the brightness of a subject is considerably different, either lighter or darker, than other areas within the scene—like when photographing birds against a super bright sky. Conversely, Spot Metering is also a big help when the key object of a landscape scene is in shade and other elements are in direct sun.

You'll see why the size of the spot measured by the camera is a key consideration for optimum results. This spec varies from one model to another so may want to pull out your manual and determine what to expect. Positioning the spot properly is also part of the equation, as is understanding of how focus and metering settings interact.

There are a few more things to lean and Khan explains them all. We're pretty sure that you'll no longer ignore Spot Metering by the time this lesson concludes. Then head over to Khan's popular YouTube channel where you'll find many more instructional videos for upping your game.

And on a related note, don’t miss the earlier tutorial we featured with another accomplished pro who demonstrates a quick-and-easy Photoshop technique for fixing underexposed bird photographs in barely six minutes.