I'm not trying to be snotty, or set myself up as an expert, but I
thought I'd add a comentary on what I did here and why. I'm sure that
lots of folks know all about this stuff (certainly some better than I
do), but maybe some folks don't, and would find this interesting.
Although I experiment with it from time to time, I don't usually use
the Pattern or "intelligent" exposure mode setting, which tends to be
the factory default in many cameras. I find that this type of
full-scene exposure metering doesn't do a very good job in
high-contrast situations, and if there isn't a lot of contrast, it
doesn't matter anyway.
My default metering mode is Partial or "center weighted" metering, and
I sometimes use Spot too (same idea, but smaller and more exclusive
"spot"). This shot would have been very difficult with Pattern
metering because the camera would have tried to lighten the dark
spaces so much that the flower would have been way over-exposed losing
all color and detail.
In this case I used Exposure Lock, another feature available on many
dSLR. You place the metering spot over the brightest (or most
interesting) part of the scene and press Exposure Lock, which does
exactly that for a few moments. Then recompose, focus and shoot with
the original exposure setting still in force. I had another shot with
center-weighted metering at the exact center of the image, but this
one was metered and locked over the brightest area. The other picture
is OK, but it lacks the dramatic punch of this one. The difference
was about 1.5 stops.
Although many simpler cameras don't have Exposure Lock, most will have
some kind of exposure compensation feature. In a strong-contrast scene
like this I would probably try a -2Ev setting, and even with
full-scene Pattern Metering, it would probably produce something
close.
My advice; don't be afraid to overrule the camera's selections, it
isn't really that smart anyway.
JD
Canon 1D-mkIII
EXIF Data Included
e-mail: blissful-wind(at)usa.net
Additional images at;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/john-pa/