When is the best time to use spot or partial exposure metering, instead of the evaluative metering mode?

Jaccqui Parks, Norfolk

Brian Says… Spot and partial metering measure from a small zone at the center of the frame, so you need to be precise. If you are great at spotting mid-tone elements in the scene then you may get on well with spot or partial metering.

One pitfall to avoid is, unlike evaluative metering, there’s no automatic exposure lock when the focus locks in One Shot focus mode. If you use automatic exposure, then you’ll get used to the exposure lock button.

Most of the time I find evaluative metering works well for the subjects I shoot, so I don’t habitually use spot or partial metering. For track-based motorsport I have often used partial to read the exposure from the track surface and locked the exposure before the competitors enter into view.

Spot metering from the mid-tone steps in front of the white building gave the correct exposure for this scene