Spot metering is a camera metering mode that measures light from only a small circle of the frame, usually about 1 to 5 percent of the picture, and ignores everything else. It lets you set exposure for one exact thing, such as a face, a performer under a spotlight or the moon, when the rest of the scene is much brighter or darker. On most cameras the spot mode icon is a small dot inside a rectangle or circle.
Because the camera reads so little of the scene, spot metering is the most precise mode and also the least forgiving: aim it at the wrong tone and the whole exposure follows. The rest of this page explains how it works, when to use it, how to use it step by step, and how to adjust for subjects that are lighter or darker than average.
Want to see what the spot reads? In the camera simulator, open the Live music scene, choose Spot and tap the singer: the exposure follows her and ignores the dark arena.
How Spot Metering Works
Every reflected light meter, including the one in your camera, assumes that whatever it measures is a middle tone, often called middle gray. It sets exposure to make that area come out middle gray in the photo. In matrix or evaluative metering the camera averages and analyzes the whole frame, so one bright or dark patch only nudges the result. In spot metering only the small spot counts, so the camera makes exactly that spot middle gray, however bright or dark everything around it is.
The spot is usually in the center of the frame. On many cameras it can be linked to the active autofocus point instead, so it measures wherever you are focusing. Check your camera’s menu for this option, because it changes where you need to aim. Handheld spot meters work the same way with an even narrower view, often a single degree, and are used in landscape and film work where exact readings of small areas matter.
The other metering modes sit between the two extremes:
| Mode | Area measured | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Matrix or evaluative | The whole frame, analyzed in zones | Most everyday scenes with even light |
| Center-weighted | The whole frame, with extra weight on the center | Portraits and centered subjects with predictable results |
| Partial (on some cameras) | A larger central circle, around 6 to 10 percent | Backlit subjects that are too large for a spot |
| Spot | A small circle, about 1 to 5 percent | Small subjects in very different light from the background |
When to Use Spot Metering
- A small subject against a much brighter or darker background. A singer in a spotlight on a dark stage, a bird against bright sky, a person in a doorway.
- Backlit portraits. Meter the face to keep it properly exposed and let the bright background go light.
- The moon. Matrix metering sees a mostly black frame and overexposes the moon to a white blob. A spot reading on the moon itself gets the surface detail.
- Silhouettes. Spot meter the bright sky beside the subject, and the subject falls to black.
- Measuring the range of a scene. Take spot readings of the darkest and brightest areas you care about to see how many stops apart they are, and whether your camera’s dynamic range can hold both.
- Careful landscape and studio work, where you want to decide exactly how each tone will fall, as in the zone system.
Skip spot metering for fast, changing scenes where you cannot aim carefully, and for evenly lit scenes where matrix metering already gets it right.
How to Use Spot Metering, Step by Step
- Select spot metering in the camera’s menu or with the metering button. Look for the dot icon.
- Find a middle tone in the light you care about. Mid-tone grass, a gray rock, weathered wood, a pair of jeans, or a gray card all work. If your subject is a middle tone, meter the subject.
- Put the spot on it. Center it in the frame, or move the focus point there if your camera links the two.
- Lock the reading. Press the exposure lock (AE-L) button, or in manual mode set aperture, shutter speed and ISO until the meter reads zero. Without a lock, the reading changes as soon as you move the camera.
- Recompose and shoot. The exposure stays set for the area you metered.
- Check the result. Look at the histogram and the highlight warning, not just the screen, and adjust if needed.
Manual mode is often the easiest way to work with spot metering. Once the settings are made for the light on your subject, they stay put no matter where you point the camera, so a passing bright or dark background cannot change them.
Adjusting for Light and Dark Subjects
Since the meter turns whatever it reads into middle gray, a spot reading on something lighter or darker than middle gray needs correction. Use exposure compensation in the auto modes, or set the meter’s needle off zero in manual mode.
| What you spot meter | Starting adjustment |
|---|---|
| Fresh snow or a white wall in sun, keeping texture | About +1.5 to +2 stops |
| Light skin | About +2/3 to +1 stop |
| Green grass, gray stone, a gray card | 0 (these are close to middle gray) |
| Dark skin | About 0 to -1 stop, depending on the tone |
| Black fabric or dark fur, keeping detail | About -1.5 to -2 stops |
These are starting points. Check the histogram after the first frame and refine. If you spot meter the brightest area where you still want detail, such as a white dress, most cameras can place it about 2 to 3 stops above middle gray before it clips. Test your own camera to learn its limit, then you can meter a highlight and add that amount with confidence.
Want to know why middle gray is the target? Metering explains how a camera meter reads a scene.
Spot Metering and the Zone System
The zone system divides tones into steps one stop apart, from black to white, with middle gray as Zone V. A spot reading tells you where a tone would fall at the metered exposure: Zone V. You can then place it deliberately. For example, spot meter a shadow you want dark but with texture, then stop down two stops to place it in Zone III. A highlight two stops above middle gray falls in Zone VII. Working this way turns metering from a guess into a plan. The zone system page explains each zone and how to use it on digital.
Common Mistakes
- Metering the wrong spot. A spot that drifts off a face onto a bright window can change exposure by several stops. Aim carefully and lock the reading.
- Forgetting to lock. In an auto mode, recomposing moves the spot and the exposure with it.
- Metering a white or black subject without compensation. Snow turns gray and black fur turns muddy.
- Leaving spot metering on. The next scene, metered with a spot that lands somewhere random, comes out badly exposed. Switch back to matrix when you are done.
- Not knowing where your camera’s spot is. If it follows the focus point and you think it is centered, you are metering something else.
Try This
Set your camera to aperture priority and spot metering, and find a scene with a sunlit area beside deep shade. Take one photo with the spot on the bright area, one with it on the shadow, and one on something mid-toned such as grass or pavement. Then take a fourth in matrix metering. Compare the four on the histogram and screen. You will see the spot turn each area into middle gray, and you will learn how many stops apart sun and shade are. It takes about ten minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is spot mode on a camera?
Spot mode means spot metering: the camera sets exposure from a small circle in the frame, usually the center or the active focus point. It has nothing to do with a spotlight, though it is very useful for photographing subjects lit by one.
What is a spot meter?
A spot meter is a handheld light meter that reads reflected light from a very narrow angle, often one degree, so you can measure a small, distant area exactly. The spot metering mode in a camera does the same job with a wider circle.
When should I use spot metering instead of matrix metering?
Use spot metering when a small subject is in very different light from its surroundings, such as a backlit face or a performer on a dark stage. For evenly lit scenes, matrix metering is quicker and usually just as accurate.
Is spot metering good for portraits?
Yes, especially when the background is much brighter or darker than the face. Meter the skin, add about two thirds to one stop for light skin, and the face is exposed correctly regardless of the background.
Does spot metering follow the focus point?
On many cameras it can, either always or as a menu option. On others it is fixed in the center. Check your camera’s manual or menu.
Not sure which mode to leave the camera in day to day? Metering modes compares them side by side.