Manual mode- metering question

When shooting a subject such as a person outdoors. Of course, the person should be in focus and the background blurred. My question is this, to give the shallow DOF using low aperture what should the metering mode be on? Spot metering, center weight or multi-segment metering.....

DOF is a function of aperture, not metering mode. The two aren't really related. If you set your aperture to something like f/2.8 or f/4, you'll have a fairly narrow DOF regardless of the metering mode or exposure.

In manual you choose the aperture, not the camera. You then use the meter to determine how you want to expose the scene. Normally I use spot metering on the subject to make sure they are exposed correctly or I'll meter something that I know will give me a neutral exposure; like grass.

mdaddyrabbit wrote in post #14939468
When shooting a subject such as a person outdoors. Of course, the person should be in focus and the background blurred. My question is this, to give the shallow DOF using low aperture what should the metering mode be on? Spot metering, center weight or multi-segment metering.....

In these examples, the camera happened to be in evaluative metering, but the only factors in having a shallow depth of field were the focal length, aperture and distance to the subject.

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If you want the person in your frame to be 100% in focus from head to toe the metering would not matter ?

mdaddyrabbit wrote in post #14939550
If you want the person in your frame to be 100% in focus from head to toe the metering would not matter ?

No. Not unless it affected the aperture, which it won't in manual mode.

mike_d wrote in post #14939589
No. Not unless it affected the aperture, which it won't in manual mode.

So, Mike can you give me a simple explanation of what & how to use the metering modes?

In an automatic mode, green box, P, Av, or Tv, the camera determines the "proper" exposure based on the meter reading. You can control how much of the scene is used to determine that exposure. Do you want the camera to evaluate the entire scene, just a small bit in the middle, or something in between? That's all metering mode is.

In those auto modes, the camera will always center the exposure needle, set the exposure, and take the shot. (Assuming you haven't dialed in any exposure compensation) In manual mode, you set the ISO, aperture, and shutter speed yourself, and you may or may not take the light meter's advice.

In manual mode, I usually use spot metering because I know what I'm pointing the camera at and have an idea how I want the exposure to go based off that. For example, if I'm shooting a fair skinned person in front of a grey sky, I can spot meter off their face and adjust the meter to read +1 because I know that's about right.

Evaluative metering takes into consideration the entire frame and tried it apply some artificial intelligence to determine the exposure. Honestly, the only time I use this is when I turn the mode dial to green box and hand the camera to someone. I find that its wrong more than its right and requires more work in Lightroom to fix.

Thanks Mike.

pick up a copy of "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. I think they might even have a Kindle edition now.