Originally posted by Mans Hagberg But is there no way to make the camera expose for highlights? After all you (and the others) show ways to work around the camera´s limitations, not make it expose for the sky.
Obviously I made a mistake in naming the thread title. It should read "How make the camera expose for highlights".
You won't make the camera do that. I don't know of any camera that is programmed as such.
This is actually a very complex subject but in the end you have to learn your gear and how it works. For example I would read the manual and learn each of the different metering modes. Learn how each behaves.
The biggest thing though is a more broad topic of lighting itself. The term 'chasing light' is a real thing. It all depends on how and what you are after. I don't know what kind of images you want but I will talk more in depth about myself and stuff I look for. I had to learn to see the light. Literally. Where it was coming from (direction), what it was hitting, what color that object was, what was the background, and many many other things. I actually have a book that is solely on this specific subject. It will take years and years to master.
Anyway you have direct light and then you have reflected light. By direct light that could be light that is more unobstructed to your lens. Say for example the bright sky. That is not really reflecting off of anything.
Then you have reflected light. This is light that say bounces down and hits a wall and then reflects off the wall to your lens. Light bounces off of things in different ways depending on what they are and what color the object is. Dark colors, light colors, all reflect light differently. You might not think of that wall as 'reflected light' but it is reflected light. Light colored objects and especially shiny objects can and do reflect light much more intensely. Even things like leaves on a tree can bounce light almost directly to your lens, so what you could have in that situation would be 'shiny spots'--or small (or large) areas of your frame that are way overexposed even though the rest looks ok.
When you start mixing direct light with say reflected light all in the same frame then things can get complicated. You need to know what direction the light is coming from in relation to your subject. Is it high, low, side, front, back? If it's in back you have a opportunity (or probability) for a silhouette.
You also need to look for things like filtered light. For example if a big rain storm comes through and there are a lot of clouds. The sun's brightness is there still, it is just being filtered and softened by clouds and in some cases different spectrums of light are filtered out leaving you with unique opportunities. Say for example like 30 min before dark if you pay attention there is the 'blue hour' where light is filtered and appears totally different.
If you are taking photos of people and the sun is directly over head their eyes can become shadows. How does all this get filled in so you don't lose the detail of the subject?
Again I just list a few things here---there are literally books written on this subject.
I mention all this because I think you are thinking too one track minded. You need to take all these other factors into account when talking about this subject. I mention this because if you take a much more broad approach first off your photography will improve greatly and in the process of understanding the principles of how light operates (and how your camera records it) you will answer your own questions along that path.
If you go around trying to eliminate the skill and observation needed to get all this right-- odds are you will resort to blaming (or trying to blame) your equipment. Trust me, that blaming process happens all the time. Long story short though is if you can get the whole light concept right you will jump leaps and bounds and at the same time realize that a lot of the time it's user error. What your eyeball sees and what your camera can or can't record are two different things a lot of the time.
A few years ago I did an interview for the forum with a friend of mine. I encourage you to read it and pay attention to the photos. Even if you shoot photos with a point and shoot if the light is right you can come out with better shots than the most expensive of cameras.
Take a look and try to glean relevant ideas from the interview.
Sean Davey Exclusive Interview - Photography | PentaxForums.com
Again the skill is yours to develop. It's not simply a mode you can dial into on the camera.