Hi all, I too have been frustrated by this, especially on wide shots of plants with pale flowers and dark foliage (all Hymenocallis, and many Crinum and Zephyranthes). Mark Wilcox helped me out with this last year and the trick I use now is turn on spot metering and center focus. On my camera spot metering is indicated on the display as a cross-hair in the center, while the center focus is indicated by a small square in the center. Then I point the camera so that the cross-hair is on one of the pale flowers and press the shutter button down partway to lock the focus and exposure. Then I point the camera to compose the shot I want while still holding the shutter button. When satisfied with the composition I press the shutter button down all the way. If the shot comes out too dark, and the foliage looks black, I can adjust the exposure level up a little to compromise (my camera increments in steps 0.3, 0.7, 1.0...). Usually 0.7 seems to work best but I have sometimes used 0.3 and 1.0 depending on the subject and the lighting. I don't think I have ever gone beyond 1.0. You may have to experiment with your camera for a while before you get a good feel for it, but you do get instant feedback, so experimenting is not very painful. Hope this helps. Regards, Jay