Meters

Many digital cameras today include a built-in flash meter. While some standard cameras also contain the built-in meter, most professional photographers still use a hand held flash meter.

Flash meters measure light. The meters in cheaper digital cameras calculate the light from every angle inside the view finder. From there it attempts to decide how much, or little light is required to illuminate the scene. A half click of a digital camera's flash button helps the meter fix its guess. A full click forces the meter and flash to work within a second.

This type of flash meter is fine if outside on an overcast day. What if the subject is indoors, like a theatre, or stage? A regular flash tries to compensate for the darkened areas without adjusting for the lighted. The result is an overexposed photo where the subjects look washed out.

Hand held light meters help photographers get better film and photo exposures even with a camera's built-in flash. Meters have two types of readings, reflective and incident. A reflective meter measures the light reflecting off the subject. An incident meter measures the lighting falling onto a subject, which works well for most photography. An incident measurement provides more accurate exposures than a reflective meter. Some hand held and built-in meters come with both settings.

When using a flash meter, set the dial to the appropriate film speed you will be using. Some models include a button to lock in the setting, while others allow the photographer to move around the subject to find the correct exposure levels. More expensive flash meters let the photographer take shadow and highlight readings as well.

Using an incident measurement it helps to aim the camera directly at the light in the subject in order to get an accurate reading. Aiming at the shade will produce an incorrect reading.

Spot metering uses reflective measurements. This narrows the metering cell angle to point at specific areas on the overall subject. Photographers suggest this be used only as a guide since reflective measurements are broad and to take many readings to determine the final setting. Use a spot meter if you are familiar with how to adjust for exposure levels.

Grey cards are available for photographers who want the metering effects, but don't want to go out and buy a meter right away. Just hold up one of these cards between the camera and the subject to get an effect similar to an incident reading.