I'd like to stress what Wayne is saying... Whatever *you* pick to take your
meter reading from, the exposure system will try to render that as 18 0ray.
So, if you DO NOT want any exposure compensation, and you want to just get a
'normal' exposure and there's nothing tricky in the scene, you have to meter
something that's as close to 18 0ray in reflectance. This, of course, can be
a gray card, the front or back of your hand (depending on your skin type),or
something in the scene, such as grass.-- just be sure to hold your card or
hand in the same light that's falling on your subject-- IOW- don't hold your
hand in the shadow of your body.
It takes a little practice and experience to recognize what scenes could
benefit from spot or multi-spot metering and to learn what to spot meter on.
In the meantime, if the scene is normally lit, and you don't need any special
metering considerations, trusting the camera's auto exposure may be the best
bet.
George S.
wayneharridge@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
Ok,
Pick an area of your subject which you want to be rendered as 18 0rey, make
a single spot reading, expose at that reading. On the final print the area
you chose should be 18 0rey (assuming some standard process between
exposing and printing which preserves that 18 0rey). If the area you chose
was darker that 18 0rey it will be rendered as 18 0rey on the print, and
consequently all other tones in the original scene will be rendered lighter
on the print too, except for something which was very bright in the original
scene, it can't be rendered any brighter than the white of the paper base.
The specifix way the tones in the print are altered from the tones in the
original scene are very dependent on the characteristics of the materials
you use (film, developer (type, time, temperatire, agitation), paper, etc.,
etc.). You can consult data sheets, read books, etc. or experiment to find
the answers. Ansel Adams wrote 3 books on this "simple" topic !
...Wayne
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