My husband hates photos (of himself). But, at the beach one evening the sun had set and I caught a glimpse of him checking his phone (or playing a game, not sure). I was able to capture this image of him by simply pointing my camera on his skin in spot meter mode and setting the appropriate ISO, shutter speed, and aperture for the look I was going for and to attain correct exposure. The resulting shot was this:
I didn’t have to make any kind of fuss (which would have tipped him off and caused him to run from the camera), I find spot meter to be somewhat stealth and I know that his skin and my skin meter the same as a grey card. I know that sounds weird, but – want to meter your own skin? Pick up a grey card for around $5 at your local camera store. Meter it, then point the meter at your hand in the exact same location/lighting. Whatever the meter read against your hand is correct exposure, and you can then take this meter reading anywhere to get a correct exposure! (remember the camera is reading REFLECTED light not COLOR) Just be sure to put your hand and meter it in the same location as your subject. Happy stealthy shooting!!
