- Settings and Features to Make Great Portraits
- Poring Over the Picture
- Automatic Portrait Mode
- Using Aperture Priority Mode
- Metering Modes for Portraits
- Using the AE Lock Feature
- Focusing: The Eyes Have It
- Classic Black-and-White Portraits
- The Portrait Creative Style for Better Skin Tones
- Using Face Detection and Registration
- Portraits on the Move
- The Rule of Thirds
- Tips for Shooting Better Portraits
- Chapter 6 Assignments
Using the AE Lock Feature
There will often be times when your subject is not in the center of the frame but you still want to use the Center or Spot metering modes. So how can you get an accurate reading if the subject isn’t in the center? Try using the AE (Auto Exposure) Lock feature to hold the exposure setting while you recompose.
AE Lock lets you use the exposure setting from any portion of the scene that you think is appropriate, and then lock that setting in regardless of how the scene looks when you recompose. An example of this would be when you’re shooting a photograph of someone and a large amount of blue sky appears in the picture. Normally, the meter might be fooled by all that bright sky and try to reduce the exposure. Using AE Lock, you can establish the correct metering by zooming in on the subject (or even pointing the camera toward the ground), taking the meter reading and locking it in with AE Lock, and then recomposing and taking your photo with the locked-in exposure.
Shooting with the AE Lock feature
- Find the AEL button on the back of the camera and place your thumb on it.
- While looking through the viewfinder, place the center focus point on your subject.
- Press and hold the AEL button to get a meter reading. A star will appear in the bottom right of your viewfinder or LCD, letting you know that the exposure has been locked. Continue to hold the AEL button.
- Recompose your shot, and then take the photo.
- To take more than one photo without having to take another meter reading, just hold down the AEL button until you are done using the meter setting.