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Aniela is the middle name of Natalie Dybisz, a fine-art fashion photographer based in London, UK. Originating as a self-portrait artist in 2006, Miss Aniela's work has been exhibited internationally and featured in numerous media including NY Arts, El Pais, ALARM Chicago, Vogue Italia and BBC.
This photo was shot at f/5.6 at ISO 1600, 1/200 sec., at 200mm with the AF-S NIKKOR 200mm f/2G ED VR II lens. I used aperture-priority mode in this case, and selected highlight-weighted metering.
Choosing highlight-weighted metering allows me to best capture the brighter areas of my image, which can be particularly useful in situations with uneven lighting, and with subjects under a spotlight. In this picture, for example, the model is lit in the manner of a dancer on stage, spotlit from the front with a vast darkness behind her. Matrix metering would balance the exposure across the entire frame, thereby blowing out the whites in this image.
Choosing spot metering would normally be a better alternative, but even this isn't as precise as choosing the D810's highlight-weighted option, as the camera is able to intelligently expose for the greatest highlights within the frame. Matrix and spot metering also run the risk of metering only the brightness, leading to a bleached-out look, and exposure compensation is often required for the desired brightness, whereas highlight-weighted metering additionally takes into account the color of the highlights.
This is useful in situations where the subject is illuminated by colored lighting, which is common for performers onstage. To create this scenario, the subject here has been color-cast by the blue gel on the stage lighting.
For more about Highlight-Weighted Metering, click here:
