Light Meters- Use It or Lose It

[Gary@Red Photo]

To be a professional photographer you should know how to use a light meter. I see so many students that have never learned how to use a meter, or just never use it. In my recent post about the importance of light in photography, 'Photography - It's All About the Light', I spoke of how important light is to photography and that people really need to consider it as a compositional element. So if seeing the light is step one, and using it is step two, then think of the light meter as step one and a half. Knowing how to make a proper exposure is key to producing great photographs. You have to have the technical side of photography down so that you can freely play in the creative side. Knowing and properly using a light meter is going to get you to that end. To begin your knowledge path, here are types of light meters.

1. Reflected

These are the types of light meters that you find in your camera. They read the light that is reflected from an object. Reflective light meters are calibrated to read the world as 18% gray. If you took a 'normal' scene, mixed it all together and took out the color, then you would be left with 18% gray as the tonal value. Because of this reflected light meters are often fooled by scenes with lots of white, black, or one predominant light or dark color. To correct for these you will have to make exposure compensations. For example, if I photograph a white house with a white fence and I take a reading with the light meter inside my camera and use those settings, the image will be underexposed. Since the camera is expecting a 'normal' scene with many tonal values, and I am taking a scene with lots of bright values. It thinks that my scene is 'normal', 18% gray, and it underexposes it. To correct this I have to consciously overexpose an image with lots of white or bright tones in it and underexpose a scene with lots of black or dark colors in it. You can read more about exposure here. This is a good argument for not using your camera on program mode. For more tips you can read '5 Common Digital Photography Mistakes' here. Exposure compensation is commonly used in wedding portraits; white dress or black suit.

2. Incident

Incident light meters measure the light falling on a subject. They differ from reflected light meters in that since the light they are measuring in not reflected off of a surface they are not effected by color. So in the example above with the white house with the the white fence, the incident light meter reading would be correct and no exposure compensation would be needed.

3. Spot

Spot light meters are a subcategory of reflected light meters but they read a much narrow field. Typical reflective light meters see about a 30 degree angle. Spot meter normally see from 1 to 5 degree angles. These are very handy in landscape work, especially black and white, where you need to know precise exposures. Spot meters are great for non-flash portrait sessions because you can take a meter reading on the subject's skin tone and not worry about the other elements of the image as much.

4. Flash

Flash meters are a form of incident meters that are made to record the very short bursts of light from a flash unit. Where incident and reflected types of meters measure continuous light, flash meters measure bursts of light.

My preferred meter is a Sekonic L-758 dr. This is a combination meter and contains a reflective, incident, flash, and spot meter. These are a great investment for any serious photographer and a must have item for a professional. So you people out there who are not even using the meter in your camera, but instead are using the inaccurate screen on the back, learn how to use a light meter today. Once you put in the time, read the manual, and get good with it, you may never go back. If you are not using a light meter you are losing out on making your photography better. And hey, it looks cool when you are walking around with it taking readings.

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[ravncat]

And remember that such hand held meters without viewing through the lens, cannot take light loss into account.

Light loss depends on a number of factors (Sensor design / micro lenses , Filters, Lens design, number of lens elements and coatings...) As a result - don`t forget to use filter factors - and bracket to compensate for the changes in transmissivity

[wulf]

What difference do you think the advent of digital cameras has made to the relative importance of light meters, with instant review of results including tools like histograms and blinking highlights to check exposure? In what situations would it be quicker to measure, calculate and shoot than shoot, evaluate and adjust?

Wulf

[bdbolin]

I agree with Wulf. They may have been necessary years ago, but not now. I know many pro photographers that no longer use light meters.I suppose it also depends on the specific type of photography, perhaps commercial photographers would use it more yet?

[Sime]

Interesting post, interesting reply - Wulf. I've used one, once... doesn't really work so well with live music / concert lighting... but I've assisted many times and in all occasions have used a light meter -- hmmm...

[wulf]

I have used a light meter. Many years ago, when I was doing an A Level in art, I borrowed my Dad's old film camera to take photos of some sculptures I was studying. To be honest, I can't remember quite how it work or even exactly what the camera was but I got some usable shots.

It was essential then; otherwise I could have burned through a roll of film and got nothing. Nowadays though (FWIW, using mainly non-metering lenses), my first few shots are metering shots. Rather than reading numbers off a display and calculating what settings to use, I'm looking at the result with various overlays (histogram / blinkies). To me, that seems a better user interface.

For those who do use light meters, does immediately reviewing your results play any part in your approach?

Wulf

[oldwolf]

I've got a basic light meter. I've used it a few times but mostly in studio or on location where I'm pressed for time and need to dial in the flash the first time the client sits in front of the camera. When I'm in studio I use it all the time because the flashes fire wirelessly and are manual.

Now with that being said, I meter once and unless something drastic changes like we're using different backdrops, props, big difference in distance to flash or something along those lines then I don't meter again. So for instance if it's a boudoir session then I'll meter for the client standing up and I'll meter again if they are laying down on a bed or the lights are moved to a different location. Even with using the light meter I will still chimp but I look at composition first and lighting second.

I've only used a light meter once at a wedding at that was after the reception had been going full swing for quite some time and I pulled the bride and groom off to the side to get some final shots.

For other stuff like outdoor sessions I don't use a light/flash meter. I just set up the lights if they're needed, take the shot, chimp, adjust the lights and shoot again. It normally only takes a couple shots to get the lighting just right if I add any light at all.

edit: To be a professional I do not think you "need" a certain piece of equipment. To be a professional is in how you conduct yourself when dealing with others.

[jdepould]

There are still situations where an incident meter is desirable. If you're lighting something with strobes, it makes life much easier. You can't really calculate ratios without it.

[Gary@Red Photo]

It is a vital tool with strobes or hot lights in a set up shot because it allows you to set the lights for the effect that you want. Yes, you could just take an image, look at it, adjust, rinse and repeat. But with the meter you can set it up, meters, fine tune the lights, and start shooting. Outdoors I do not use one very much, but it can still come in handy in tricky lighting situations where you are trying to balance lights and shadows. It can also give you dead on readings for skin tones in any situation by using the spot meter.

[Bigcrustyape]

Particularly if you are using multiple light sources, whether that be multiple strobes or strobes and the sun or any other light source (lets forget about white balance for the moment), trying to balance out an image can take some time when you are shooting and then looking at the back of your camera and trying to adjust. Yes, the histogram is going to give you some important information, but it's not until you download your image on to your computer that you will really know what your image is going to turn out like. A quick couple of readings with a light meter will instantly tell you what the light is doing to your subject and you are also reading the light coming towards your subject, not the light bouncing off your subject and then being metered back through your lens. A meter is not the sort of thing that you want to be carrying around with you all the time ideally, but when it's critical and when time is precious on a shoot, taking your light meter readings is by far the quickest and most accurate way of understanding what the light is doing.