This week we learned more about how a camera meters for exposure. With spot metering, we can place the focus point on a mid-tone and get a good reading of the scene. This is ideal when shooting outdoors and you want to preserve detail throughout the image. However, some of you will be photographing fast-moving subjects or small children, and metering off a mid-tone won’t always be possible.

In those situations, I often meter off a face when I don’t have time to find a mid-tone. So this week, play around with identifying mid-tones and see how your camera handles exposure. Remember, it’s more important to get a good image than to obey your meter. If you look at your screen and the photo appears underexposed, address it by adjusting your ISO for indoor shooting or your shutter speed for outdoor shooting.

This is just one way to meter, but I prefer it because it gives me a lot of control. I’ve been metering this way for nearly ten years, and it has become second nature to me. If you’re not comfortable with this approach yet, watch this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0waR8f5CBiM

This week:

  • Shoot every day, focusing on finding mid-tones.

  • Get to know your white balance. Pay attention to the type of light in a room and try to match it in your camera. White balance changes are especially noticeable in rooms with very yellow light.
    Because I shoot RAW and edit all my photos, I keep my white balance set to “Cloudy.” I don’t worry about matching the scene exactly in-camera because it’s easy to correct in editing. I prefer “Cloudy” over Auto because Auto white balance makes adjustments from shot to shot. Consistency makes post-processing much easier.
    If you shoot JPEG, or if you don’t edit yet (and if you don’t plan to edit, you should shoot JPEG), keep your white balance on Auto.

  • Try backlighting. Place a subject in front of a window and expose for the subject. If you get too much haze, try filtering the light with a thin white cloth or place a larger object between the subject and the window. Experimenting like this is incredibly important—you learn by doing.

We didn’t get very far in our study of composition, so I started with what I believe is the most important compositional tool: figure to ground. This means your subject should clearly stand out from the scene. This concept isn’t just for portrait photographers. If your landscape photo doesn’t have a subject, chances are it isn’t a strong image.

One way to achieve figure to ground is by placing a light subject against a dark background or a dark subject against a light background. You can also achieve it by making sure there is space around your subject, so it isn’t overlapping with competing elements. This is an essential part of composition.

Here is an excellent, quick article that explains this in more detail. Eric Kim, who wrote it, is a fantastic teacher, and I’ve learned a great deal from him. If you enjoy the article, bookmark the site and return to it whenever you want to learn something new.

This week, even when your camera isn’t with you, practice seeing the world like an artist. Use your phone to take photos with strong figure-to-ground relationships. Set a goal of finding five images per week that strengthen your compositional skills. For me, composition is what separates my work from amateurs. I never take an image without considering figure to ground. At the very least, always look around your subject and notice how clean the background is.

Photographers move—a lot. They stand on things, lie on the floor, rearrange backgrounds, and get bossy when directing their subjects.

https://erickimphotography.com/blog/2013/10/07/street-photography-composition-lesson-2-figure-to-ground/