metering mode help pls

[sparky]

what might be the better metering mode to be in when taking photos of birds in flight,I use a canon 40d, with a sigma 150 x 500 lens,and I am very much a beginner,the photo I have attached I had the metering mode set in "partial metering",any help or tips to work from would be of great help,the more you ask, the more you find out,and you ow boys have been of great help with other stuff I have asked about.
ps.sorry if this post is in the wrong place..

[miketoll]

I am not an expert BIF shooter (in fact I am not an expert anything ) but when I try to do BIFS I find that if the bird is against a plain sky I often need to dial in +1.5 stops or there a bouts to stop under exposure of the bird but the amount varies on an individual basis. I am sure others will be able to tell you much more.

[Roy C]

For BIF manual metering is reckoned to be the best Sparky. The trouble with any of the auto modes is that the metering is almost always influenced by the background that the bird is flying through, as the background changes the metering will be all over the place. The gull in your shot has been over exposed because the metering is picking up some if the darker background, if the background was darker still then the bird would be over exposed even more.

As Mike indicates if you use an auto mode then you must dial-in some exposure compensation, the amount will vary depending on the tone of the bird, the tone of the background and how much of the frame the bird is occupying.

With manual metering you set the correct exposure for the bird in the ambient light and the exposure will be correct regardless of the background it flies through.

Of course manual metering is a whole new thing to learn but once you get it weighed off I can almost guarantee that your BIF will be a lot better exposed.

Just my 2p worth.