Bull Elk Bugling, Moraine Park, Rocky Mountain National Park.

What do you meter when your subject has multiple tones? You could let your camera meter the whole scene and hope that gives you a good exposure, but that isn’t very precise and it won’t always give you the best exposure. It certainly wouldn’t give you a good exposure for this photo of a very dark bull elk at sunset.

The key to the best exposure of a scene with multiple tones is to pick the right tone to meter, and then apply some exposure compensation when necessary. To find out how, read Using Reflected Light Meters, Part Two.

This is the fourth in a series of articles that is being revised and expanded. The series begins with Why Is Exposure So Important?