5 Questions about flash meters
One of the very first lighting accessories I brought was a flash meter, in fact the same meter gets used and abused almost every time I use manual flash. I’ve used my handheld flash meter with speedlights and studio flashes of all makes, I use it in the studio and on location. Honestly, I couldn’t work without it.
If you’re thinking of getting your own flash meter or already own one but are not sure how to get the best from it the video below should help answer some of the most common quesions.
Not a video viewer? No problem, try this instead.
1 Can’t I just use my camera meter?
Nope, you’re camera meter is designed to work with continuous light and can’t react fast enough to meter flash. However you can use your cameras LCD to review the photos and adjust the flash power based on what you see. This trial and error approach is OK but does have its drawbacks… see the video for more on this.
2 Do all meters work the same?
Well, they all meter the light so at a basic level they’re all the same. In my case I simply set the meter to match my camera’s ISO and shutter speed and when the flash fires I can read off the aperture.
Of course there’s plenty of advanced flash meters around that have features that might make life a lot easier for you. Some meters can measure the amount of ambient contamination in your shot, others can figure out lighting ratios and there’s even some which have pocket wizard radio triggers built into the meter itself.
3 How do I fire the flash?
That largely depends on the flash meter. On my Sekonic L-308s I prime the meter by pressing a button on the side and then fire the flash by pressing the “test” button on either the flash or radio trigger.
Other firing options include attaching a PC Sync cable from the flash to the meter or as I previously mentioned, finding a meter that has a built in radio system (such as Pocket Wizard)
4 Where do I point the meter?
This is the question that usually sets off much debate among photographers. For me it’s always… Point the meter at the light, however as you’ll see in the video, if the light is mostly coming from the camera position, the same exposure is recorded by pointing the meter at either the flash or the camera.
One mistake a lot of photographers make is to place the meter in the shadow cast by the chin or by the models hair etc. It’s easy done, so if the meter is telling you something that feels wrong, move the meter and try again.
5 Do I really need one?
No, you can do the trial and error way of working and get very good exposures. However if you move or modify the light you’ll need to do the same work all over again.
A flash meter saves time on a shoot and gives you extra confidence in nailing the correct exposure. However it’s always worth remembering that correct exposure isn’t the same as perfect exposure so it’s a good idea to ignore the meter from time to time and get a little experimental with your shots.
Lastly there’s one more reason for using a flash meter and it has nothing to do with how it works… Just like shooting with a big camera, the untrained eye can equate using a flash meter to knowing what you’re doing. Now, whether that’s a good or bad thing I’ll leave up to you.
“do I really need one?”…if you shoot (or ever think you might shoot) film…you’d better have one…also…one with a “spot meter” is a big plus
Has anyone found an app that works reasonably well as a light meter?
Not sure you’ll find one.
Gav your bril mate. I really like your easy straightforward style
Hi Gav, just bought myself a flash meter and was wondering if shooting high key, what power do i set the speedlights on the backdrop to in relation to the key light on the subject. Looking to give myself the perfect white background, not over exposed but also not to bleed onto subject. Thanks, Tony.
I set the background light(s) up to 1 stop brighter then the key and then check the light that hits the back of the models head is equal or less then the key light.
I have a Minolta Auto Meter IIIF from my film shooting days but the readings I get from it sure don’t seem to be right for the exposures I’m getting with my Canon 7D. Is there a good way to adjust the light meter to get it more in synch with the camera? The meter can be adjusted but I’m not sure how best to go about adjusting it so it’s in better synch with the camera sensitivity. Any recommendations would be appreciated! Thanks!
Hi Gavin. I watched a YouTube tutorial where you used a soft box as a quick white background for head shots. I tried to do the same to take some passport photos but kept getting a lot of glare or haze as the softbox fired back into my lens. I ended up having to turn off the flash in the box that was 1 stop over main. but then I have to photoshop the creases out. Better solution ?
Ps. love your tutorials. thanks for doing them.
A better solution is more space between the subject & background… like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=278sWkxpLTY
With your cheap-o-meter if your want to determine the flash to ambient contribution of a scene do your do the math to determine the stop difference between flash and no flash or do you just from past experience have an understanding of what flash contribution is necessary. If the answer is the later then I have a problem because my experience is limited.
I use the camera meter to tell me what the ambient exposure is. I then underexpose the camera by the amount I feel is right (trial & error). I then use the flash meter to set the flash so it exposes to the camera setting. End result is the flash exposure is correct and the ambient is underexposed. Much easier to do the describe!