A demonstration showing how to use a light/flash meter for single light setups as well as 2:1 ratio lighting in a studio setting. Filmed and edited by Chloe DeYoung - / @chloedeyoung
@@eotceotc so that doesn’t matter you are setting up one light at a time, then checking over all exposures, you won’t be using your lights at full outputs almost never..do you not know the inverse square law?
BEST tutorial ever. Super simple, doesn’t skip over fundamentals and really breaks it down. No extraneous talking, explanations. Clear and straightforward. Thank you!!!!!
I watched 5 other videos on metering and none of them answered any of the questions i had fully.....your video answered ALL of them and then some ! Thank you
Everything made sense except one thing and I'm wondering if you can explain. For the 2:1 ratio, you indicated that we needed less light on the second light and that made sense, but you indicated that going from f/8 to f/5.6 reduced light by 1 stop. Doesn't f/5.6 give a stop of light more than f/8? It made sense to take the flash from 1/16 to 1/32 because that reduces the light...I just didn't understand how going from f/8 to f/5.6 was reducing light since an aperture of 5.6 gives more light than an aperture of f/8. Thank you for the clarification
When the second light power is reduced by half (1 stop) the exposure meter reading shifts from f/8 to f/5.6 in order to maintain the correct exposure with the light at the reduced power. However, the actual photo would be taken at f/8 with both flashes operating, the first flash provides full exposure on one side of the bottle and the second light half exposure on the other side of the bottle resulting in the 2:1 ratio.
That was a splendid explanation. Just one thing that bugged me, you did not show any examples of the final shot using the metered 1:1 vs 2:1 lighting. If at the end you could show the 1 light, with 2 lights at F8 1:1, then 2 lights with 2:1, that would've been the cat in the bag.
I'm currently using Kodak Ultra F9 film camera. It has a fixed aperture, no built-in light meter. How do I know if I need to use flash or not by using this device/method?
Hi Professor! Thank you for this video. Before we all get cross-eyed, how do we adjust the readings to account for crop factor? i.e. 1.5x for APSC and 2x for Micro 4/3, etc.
Thank you so much for this! This was super helpful. Question: When one light gives you a perfect exposure and you meter the lights separately, wouldnt adding second light (even 1 stop down) overexpose the whole image when they are flashing together?
When I was training 50 years ago, I was taught to take meter readings as you describe. Pointing the meter at the camera so that the meter records the light that the camera will see being reflected from the subject. Yet, I see so many videos of the light meter being pointed at the light... surely this is not correct?
Well if you open the bulb thingy then you can meter "away" from you. That would be reflected light i think. The metering in the video shows the direct light metering. Correct me if i'm wrong.
Thank you for this tutorial, very well explained, especially for a light meter newbie like me! I have one lingering question. Do you need to get a final reading with BOTH lights on to properly expose the “mixed” light?
Actually, you do one light at a time to meter each light independently. As long as the lights don’t overlap too much, the reading will be accurate. If they overlap quite a bit, then you will need to have both lights on to get a reading in the middle where they intersect. Thank you for the question!
Correction to get more of accurate light metering always best to point the light meter towards the light source, not necessarily towards the camera.great vid BTW
So, I don't like to deal in absolutes as a teacher. You're correct that you can get an accurate reading by aiming the meter towards the light, but that will give you an accurate reading for just that single light. I should have covered both methods in the video, that's an oversight on my part and I might redo the video to make that clarification. If you want to get an overall exposure correct, you need to point the meter towards the camera, if you want just that one light to be correct, point it towards the light. In hindsight, that's definitely what I should have done in this video to explain both processes. I appreciate your comment as I was blind to my oversight. Thank you!
@@chaunceyhuffman861 oh thnxs for the update that would be great to see👍. Alot of times especially with myself you just get taught one way or the other no one really talks about both ways
I agree that method can give you more accurate readings for a single light at a time. I should have covered both methods in the video, that was an oversight on my part. I appreciate your feedback!
Light meters have an "ambient" light setting and some meters have a spot reading. Ambient lighting mode can be used to sample natural light and give a reading to help you figure out your exposure. A spot meter can give a reading of a very specific "spot" that you aim the meter towards.
Do you point the light meter to the light or the camera? You stated to point to camera, however I've seen other video's that say to point it to the light.
Both methods are used actually, depending on what you want to achieve. If you want to get proper exposure for the scene, you point towards the camera. If you want proper exposure for a single light you point towards the light. I should have covered both methods, that was an oversight of mine. Thank you for your feedback!
Thanks so much I've always been confused on the meter, but you've made it much clearer. I've always pointed the meter back to the light source not back to the camera.
Well, that's not incorrect to point back to the light. It depends on what you're trying to achieve. If you want the entire scene exposed correctly, point back to the camera. If you want just one light exposed correctly, you can point to the light. But if you do that, you'll want to use more than one light because other portions of the image may be completely underexposed since the light meter is only metering where that single light is hitting, not the rest of the scene as well.
It was quite useful, had never thought of using it. But it can be useful in certain scenario. Just made test shots and adjusted. But it looks useful tool. Many thanks Chauncey.🙏
Absolutely subscribing to your channel. Bought my first light meter the other day and couldn’t find a simple straight forward video on how to use it until now. Thank you.
If you don't have to, don't! These things are ridiculously overpriced (payed 260 bucks for my Seconic which is the same as in the video) and they are cheaply made and feature not more technology than a cheap calculator and on top of it are mostly redundant for metering light these days unless you shoot an analog camera that has no built light meter. There is apps for your phone that do a cery decent job metering your light. Also with mire skill comes feel. Spare yourself the money
It absolutely depends of what your budget is and what you feel comfortable with. Many people do not use light meters and get amazing results! As an educator, I find that using a light meter helps people understand lighting and equivalent exposures better. They can put light and exposure into quantifiable terms that help them understand the relationships between the components of exposure (the triangle). Thanks for your comment!
