In a scene with a bright background, trusting the meter reading will cause the main subject to be what?

• A. Underexposed and too dark in the print
• B. Overexposed and washed out
• C. Properly exposed
• D. No change in exposure

Answer: (A)

In scenes with a bright background, reflective metering tends to bias exposure toward a midtone across the whole scene. Because the background is so bright, the meter suggests a exposure that preserves that brightness, which reduces the amount of light reaching the subject. The result is that the main subject ends up underexposed, appearing too dark in the final print. To avoid this, you’d typically compensate by brightening the exposure (or meter on the subject and add fill light) so the subject isn’t lost against the bright background.