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Photography vocabulary · Exposure

Metering

Meaning in photography, with examples

/ˈmiːtərɪŋ/nounCommon term

In photography, metering means: The way a camera measures the light in a scene to decide the exposure. Different metering modes look at the whole frame, the center or a small spot.

In Turkish: ışık ölçümü, ölçüm modu

How it is used

The main modes are evaluative or matrix metering (whole frame), center-weighted and spot metering; names differ by brand. The built-in light meter aims for a middle gray, which is why very bright or very dark scenes can fool it.

Example sentences

  1. Switch to spot metering and meter off her face; the background is much brighter.

  2. Matrix metering works well for most landscapes.

Common collocations

  • spot metering
  • matrix metering
  • center-weighted metering
  • metering mode
  • light meter
  • exposureThe amount of light that reaches the camera's sensor or film when you take a picture; it decides how bright or dark the final image looks.
  • exposure compensationA setting that tells the camera to make its automatic exposure brighter or darker, usually in steps of a third of a stop, shown as +1 or −0.7.
  • histogramA graph that shows how the tones in a photo are spread out, from pure black on the left to pure white on the right.
  • aperture priorityA semi-automatic mode, marked A or Av, in which you choose the aperture and the camera chooses the shutter speed for a correct exposure.

More terms: Exposure

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