Photoshop How To

The handheld light meter is an extremely powerful accessory that was far more popular in the days of 35mm photography. But this versatile and precise tool is just as valuable when shooting with modern digital cameras, and this tutorial explains why, when, and how.

The meters in today's DSLRs and mirrorless cameras are very sophisticated, but they lack many of the capabilities of hand-held units, including the ability to measure  incident light, save previous settings, and other features that enable you to determine the optimal exposures for perfectly balanced images.

Our instructor Hamed explains various techniques for using accessory meters to achieve consistent and accurate results under a wide variety of lighting conditions. Along the way you'll also pick up a few valuable tips for making the most of your camera's built-in light meter and achieving greater precision.

In basic terms there are two types of meters, beginning with those that only measure reflected light like the meter in a camera. But full-featured handheld units can do that as well taking incident readings. Understanding the difference between these two types of readings and what they accomplish can be very significant depending up the specific scene at hand.

Hamed explains that reflective metering measures the light bouncing off a subject and entering the camera. This approach assumes that you're photographing an "average" subject that reflects a value of 18% gray, and inconsistencies can occur when shooting brighter or darker subjects unless you compensate accordingly.

On the other hand, benefits include the convenience of taking reflected reading from the camera position, rather than by approaching the subject. Incident meters work differently by measuring the amount of light that falls directly on a subject. This approach can yield far more accurate results under difficult light.

With this technique you position the meter at the subject's location, pointing back toward the light source. As Hamed says, "This method is independent of a subjects reflectivity, making it far more accurate in many cases.

There are numerous advantages of incident metering, including the fact that they provide accurate exposure settings regardless of a subject's color or texture. They're also ideal for scenes with complex lighting or extreme contrast. And they work particularly well when shooting environmental portraits.

Be sure to visit Hamed's instructional YouTube channel where you'll find gear recommendations and an abundance of shooting and post-processing advice.

And speaking of getting the light right, be sure to watch an earlier tutorial we featured with another accomplished pro who demonstrates a variety of iPhone exposure tips and techniques that will take your mobile photography to the next level.