Meredith Gradle, CEO & Founder of Iris Works, has been a photographer for over 6 years now. And one of her favorite ‘tricks’ is spot metering – and here’s why.
How I picked this metering mode
When I picked up my first camera, I had no idea what spot metering was and how it could help! I attended a photography conference in New Orleans early in my career – and spot metering was the first topic in the hands-on workshop portion. Before using spot metering, I always just used center weighted metering. I got frustrated pretty quickly with this method – it just never seemed to work for me. I wanted more control over my images – and although I was using manual mode, I wanted to get to my desired exposure faster.
Once I started playing around with spot metering, I realized how quickly I could achieve proper exposure of my subject. Shooting with my Nikon D700 made it pretty darn easy, too – the Nikon metering system using the focal point for the spot meter. So when my focal point is on my subjects face, it’s metering off of that point.
Ever since that conference, I have never moved my meter off of spot metering – it’s quick, easy and accurate (most of the time). And when it’s not accurate, I can easily adjust my settings because I’m shooting in manual mode.
Don’t be afraid to play with different settings
Just like Kelvin White Balance, it’s easy to learn if you just give it a try. Play around with shooting in Manual Mode, spot metering, and using Kelvin – and you’ll have so much more creative control over your images. These three pieces give you the opportunity to truly create the art you want to create – and put your own creative spin on your work.
Meredith Gradle was searching for a studio management system to fulfill her business needs for her photography business – after much research, she realized there was no program made just for portrait photographers like herself. So she set out to create Iris Works, the only all-inclusive studio management program made just for photographers. Offering solutions for nearly every aspect of a photographer’s business, Iris Works launched in April of 2015 and has far surpassed all expectations. The company continues to grow at a rapid rate, striving to meet customer requests and needs.
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