A grey card exposure sets the _____ to be the true tone of the subject.

• A. Diffused highlight
• B. Specular highlight
• C. Midtone
• D. Shadow detail

Answer: (A)

Using a grey card for exposure anchors the camera’s metering to a neutral reference. A grey card is designed to reflect about 18% of the light, so metering off it or dialing exposure to place it in the frame tells the camera that this neutral tone should read as middle gray. That sets the midtones of the scene to the correct brightness, which in turn helps the rest of the subject fall into a natural, true-to-life range without blowing out highlights or losing shadow detail. In short, the grey card establishes the midtone level as the true tone of the subject, while highlights and shadows still depend on the lighting and the camera’s dynamic range.