Pattern metering, or Partial metering, covers a slightly larger area than spot metering and is useful for scenes with a dominant foreground object but where the center is not the absolute focus. This 18% gray standard is a statistical average of the luminance found in nature, from white snow to black asphalt.
TTL Metering Explained Simply: Understanding How Your Camera Measures Light
It bridges the gap between the scene as the human eye sees it and the limited dynamic range of a digital sensor or piece of film. Exposure Compensation is the tool for this job.
Without accurate metering, photographers rely on guesswork, often resulting in images that are either washed out with lost highlights or murky with blocked shadows. This is indispensable when you have a bright background and a dark subject, such as a backlit portrait.
Understanding TTL Metering for Accurate Exposure</answer>
Reflected metering, which is what your camera does, measures light bouncing off the subject, meaning a white dress will influence the reading differently than a black turtleneck. Incident metering, done with a handheld meter facing the camera, measures the light falling on the subject, which is unaffected by the subject's color.
More About Exposure metering
Looking at Exposure metering from another angle can help expand the discussion and give readers a second clear paragraph under the same section.
More perspective on Exposure metering can make the topic easier to follow by connecting earlier points with a few simple takeaways.