There's a huge difference between "I don't use a light meter" and "I no longer use a light meter having acquired the mental database of what light power does in X circumstance over the first half of my career"
Totally agree. As a beginner, it's all guesswork and time-wasting to get the right exposure. Having a Light meter is a timesaver especially when you're working with clients who are impatient. In fact, you can set up your light exposure before the client even arrives on the set...Lol
Hi, you can use any software such as Lightroom, Capture One or even the basic software that comes with a camera to shoot tethered. You can of course get light values to match exactly by measuring the RGB values at a specific point and then adjusting your lights to make those values again (it's just about 3 times more accurate tethered as light meters only work in 1/10th of an fstop). But unfortunately you have missed the overall point which was simply do you want to 'colour by numbers' or do you want to create? Choosing how YOU light a subject is the creative part and it's much more creative when you make all the decisions based on taste and not a recipe.
So Karl, I understand why you don't use a light meter, but here are a couple of good reasons to use one. They are a good educational tool if you don't have years of experience. Also, it depends on type of photography you are concerned with. In cases like crime scene/forensic photography, it is important to show the scene/evidence as it exists. There should be no creativity, just accuracy. It's good to get that incident measurement. Really like your work and the channel.
@@Skux720 My answer is to 'look' until you get the right exposure. Teach yourself to actually 'see' in photography and then you won't have to chimp at your light meter.
As a corporate headshot photographer, that shoots almost exclusively on location, you won't catch me without my light meter. I work anywhere from offices with no windows and horrid fluorescent lights to ones with giant south facing windows. For this reason, other than 'environmental' shots, I always use aperture and shutter speed to kill the ambient and create my own light. Everything is done with strobes and the varying available light from job to job would mean guessing my starting flash output every time. A light meter lets me arrive at a clients office, set up everything by myself as they continue their day to day work and get my lights very close to where I need them quickly before having them step in front of the camera. Lawyers, probably 60% or more of my clients, don't like standing around while you to take 'test shots' and fiddle with lights. That's time they could be racking up billable hours. In my case a light meter is indeed faster, at least from my clients perspective.
If u take the one size fits all approach? Then sure! But Karl is talking about creatIve portraits not production line! or ( school photos)I used to do actors headshots for years & I found different textured skin, different colored skin, different type of skin (oily or dry) required a different lighting approach as well as different face/shapes and considering the look your trying to achieve, i never used any set lighting ratios as they usually made the subject look too generic, For example for Brunettes my kick/hair light was usually twice the power of blonde hair and where on some skin a beauty dish worked well, other skin types it look average and I would need to switch to a soft box or other diffuser, i also used different lenses to achieve a different look. What Karl is talking about is not your generic formal graduation photos but rather commercial/Advertising work for creatives.
In your comment, I assume you meant an external handheld meter. Great, I’m sure that works. If your camera has iTTL, it has a built in meter that could save you even more time, perhaps. That’s more money in your pocket. Use the tools that work for you. Joe McNally favours TTL, David Hoby does not. They rented a bus a few years ago and toured the US, kindly making stops near the border for us Canadians, and I learned from both of them.
If you are shooting the same lighting set up at different locations and you want to create the exact same setup I believe a light meter will save you time.
@@shaolin95 agree, but he's not entirely wrong. Actually, a good practice on studio locations is to set your flash power, shutter speed and F stop aperture (high as in stomped down iris aperture) high enough to cut out all ambient light and have more control of your strobe lighting. Of course, on location, where you usually want to actually capture ambient light, light meters can be more useful to replicate lighting setups
Totally agree and very good analogy with cooking food BUT ! You stopped using a lightmeter after 11 years of usage. You stopped using it after 11 years of great experience of how light reacts to changes and subjects. It gave you the opportunity to learn, feel and mould your light to your creativity. I still use a lightmeter in my academy classes because from experience it gives confidence to students and some sort of “control” on a set. Once I see that they get that confidence I start to learn them to get creative with the receipe. But I would never say “don’t use a lightmeter”. It is a very useful tool for learning and understanding. Great video and daring insight. 👍🏻
I meter and shoot tethered. Honestly I’m just to the point where I’m tired of taking test shots....with the meter I can get my exposure in 1-2 shots..looking all in the in the computer screen is bla bla bla. As much as I love lighting I’m finding myself wanting to focus less on it and turn my attention to the execution of the concept and the model emotion. I also pre light so there’s that too. Overall y’all I say keep metering and get the lighting part over with.
@@VisualEducationStudio Wenn man sich nur unter seines Gleichen bewegt, dann kommt das zustande. Vielleicht doch mal mit Profis zusammentun, die doch einen Belichtungsmesser verwenden ;-) Den Horizont wieder zu erweitern, hilft das eigene Ego wieder zurecht zu rücken. Die eigene Art als die einzig Richtige darzustellen ist schlicht überheblich und auch falsch.
Respectable, I only buy the creativity part, I think the light meter it´s just one part of all the technology we have, and as every of those elements, we need to use it to help our process and not to limit the creativity for not to having one.
Based. Most will hate on this video, but in digital photography, it's mostly true. What is a much BETTER investment for digital photographers is a COLOUR METER!
I only use manual focus lenses because the autofocus is killing my creativity. Just kidding. 70% of my work is taking photos of people. I like to have my light set before the model enters the scene. So to set the light without having someone to take a test shot a light meter is necessary. I also need it to set the light ratios that I like. And it’s very helpful to balance ambient light and strobes. I would say in all cases where you need the lights to be set before the model enters the scene you need a light meter. I think it’s too much trial and error just checking the screen.
I totally agree with Karl's comments here, however as a newbie I am using a meter as a learning tool. I use it to measure flash ratios to put in my notes. My strobes are not digital and it can be difficult to dial in a desired ratio accurately. Over time I imagine I will develop the skills, but for now it's a valuable asset to accelerate my understanding. For example, I will set the strobes by eye with test shots, then measure the ratio and put that value in my notebook for future reference.
In the rush to brag about low-light capability, manufacturers are fudging the ISO values of their cameras, Because ISO isn’t reliable, I find the meter readings off the mark and no more reliable than my eye. Having said that, most cinematographers use light meters. I wouldn’t like to tell Roger Deakin that he isn’t creative...
Totally agree. I've never seen a proper DP not use a light meter. Try pussyfooting around with a union Grip and asking him to constantly swap out heavy lights until "it looks right on the screen." You will have mutiny in no time.
I had a friend who was an engineer for Sony. Years ago, he told me all digital sensors post 2005 could shoot clean photographs at any ISO, from 50 to infinity. Basically, he said that camera manufactures unnecessarily replicated "digital iso" to sell more cameras.
IMO the difference between a pro and an average photographer is that the pro can adapt and adjust accordingly under various circumstances. I personally think it is important to not use a meter when starting out.
Your tether working system is one giant, far more intricate meter than any physical meter out there. You have also gotten to a point where you understand light. Telling someone who doesn’t have years of experience to get rid of a light meter is actually hurting their education process. You need to learn to crawl before you can walk. Every photographer who I have ever personally seen that doesn’t use a meter doesn’t come to 10% the skill level you have achieved. Once they learn how to harness and understand light, fine. If at that point they want to ditch the meter so be it. However telling newbies to do so is hurting their learning curve. If you truly believe this never read any pixel values again off your computer screen ever again. Simply eyeball everything you do. That is what a newbie is hearing when you say this.
Hi Bruce, I'm afraid I don't agree - all photographers can access a tethered shooting setup for less than $50 these days as all the camera manufacturers have some basic form of tethering software included and you only need a cable. Some of them are a bit clunky but Lightroom works pretty well and then there are other excellent ones such as Capture One for a couple of hundred dollars. I also don't consider not using a light meter as a walk before you run scenario, that's not what this video is about. This video is primarily about learning to 'see' light than to be 'told' by a machine what light should be, that for me is actually an easier and more intuitive way to learn and will help new photographers far more than referring to a 'calculator' every time they move a light. By training your eye to decide if something is too bright or too dark is what evolves style, technique and vision. There is also nothing really that difficult about arriving at the best exposure, you should have already decided what aperture you're shooting before you start, you should never change the aperture to suit the lights (or light meter) as you've destroyed the first step of the creative process. If you've already decided the aperture then what's left? Only the power of the light setting! Put it on its mid power, is it too dark on the first test or is it too bright? Then simply turn it up or down based on what you see (just like turning the volume up and down on your music system based on what you hear, we don't get a sound meter out for that!). Then you take another test shot and then with another up or down tweak you'll be there without having to take a single reading. What this does is teaches you to 'see' light and allows photographers to become very skilled in recognising what one stop or two and half stops too much light looks like or half a stop under actually looks like. In doing so you craft your vision to understand and see light and know what needs fixing without ever having to pick up the calculator. And just for the record I very rarely check the values on screen anyway, I just wanted to show in this video that you can because it's useful for repeatability without having to write anything down (all the info is stored in the shot). I've taught photography at the highest level for 13 years following a 30 year successful career in photography - karltaylor.com/ - in simple terms, dare I say it, I know what I'm talking about. I've also spent half my career using light-meters because they were essential tools in the days of film but they're not anymore, in fact they can slow you down and bias your opinion which is what this video was pointing out. Even without tethering and just using the camera preview screen and zooming in and panning around can show you enough, especially if you check the histogram too, all the light-meters we need are in our brain, eyes and the information on the screen big or small. There are many people who disagree with me at first on this but the ones I've convinced to try it for their next 3 shoots, never go back to a light-meter. And besides it's not that big a deal if photographers want to use one or don't, we're not curing diseases here or working on astrophysics, we just make pictures and I was just offering an opinion based on my experience. No one has to listen.
@@VisualEducationStudio As you know better than anyone here, the "machine" is not telling you what that light should be. It tells what that light IS. You, then, decide what that light should be by moving it closer or farther from the subject or altering its intensity. As you probably do with your tethered "light metering" method. Not everyone has his own studio, not everyone has computers and monitors available at their rental studios - not to mention on location. So, learning to use and owning a lightmeter, in my opinion, is an important part of learning about how light works and how you control it. Be it for film or digital, since knowledge and practice will give you the right exposure, no matter which media you're using. By the way you're putting it, this method - that works perfectly for you because of your needs, investment, team around and history that led you to it - might be taken as a must for many. And it might keep them from starting with a cheap, used lightmeter, because they believe that's not worth it. I can't see how $50 will buy you a cable, computer and monitor to theter your camera but it might buy you a used lightmeter you can use anywhere. As I see it, knowledge is more important than equipment. You can do a lot by using the sunny 16 rule. The more you know, the more you understand what you really need and what you don't. You've come to this setting as you way of mesuring light. That's an amazing setting and fine it works for you. For all who are at the same level as you, a lightmeter might be useless too. But not many of us out there are on the same level, specially those who do not live in your country and have a much toughter time to access equipment and knowledge. Maybe you could share yours on the use of a light meter. Like on a simple backlit window portrait, for example. Thank you! My best!
@@joseerazevedo I do know better than probably most people here which is why I also show how your eyes and visual perception tell you what light is and then you can make your decisions from there. There isn't a photographer on the planet who doesn't have a computer or a tablet because they all edit there images, in fact all of them are making 'lighting decisions' by eye afterwards in the post production anyway, so why not just do it at the time of capture. If they all have a computer then buying a tethering cable is nothing. As soon as photographers start thinking of light like a volume control on their music system then the faster they will progress. You have to set the aperture as your first choice for creative reasons so the amount of flash you need has to be matched to that - up or down it's not complicated.
@José Eduardo R Azevedo For me, learning to train your eyes is more important. Then using types of equipment, It's like for drawing your tracing a work that already done. Rather than figuring out how the work is done, using tools, as flexible equipment, helps the work. But skips the knowledge, you need. It is my opinion though, I got my tether, less than 5$ as a beginner in Photography. You can even, make a studio inside your house for free, I got a personal studio only to focus my art. I want to learn the knowledge, using methodology and techniques. Because it opens your imagination, and more flexible to choose from whats the right taste for your Work. Hm, as an artist, who has been open to the art industry. We need to understand skills, methods, then relying on materialisms. I want to gather the information, on how they do it in a rough procedure. And if I had good learning, I use types of equipment to simplify time. To be prepared for a Photography field, you shall need to invest in specific requirements also. Doesn't mean you need to buy, a lot of softboxes or equipment. Natural light can help you, enhance works. It's how you need to understand, the freedom of creative choice. It's not only, the light meter tells you what light should be, you are like to cheat. Like tracing paper and a pencil. Don't make the equipment direct you if you have the mind to be open to choosing the right sprinkle to your works. Be open in a lot of ways, rather than equipment telling you. Practice your mind, learn how to goes, open to various ideas. It makes your eyes understand, how light works. I don't even have a light meter, but I want to learn the science behind light. How light spreads, how light reflects, how light bounces, what is light? If you put a light meter you will miss a lot of parts. Unless you want to buy one, and you have a certain field in photography that has a lot of products, and needs precision. Sample E-Commerce, white background and you just want the light to be balanced. To go one, with continuous shooting. But you can use the histogram in your camera, and other methods, what if you got no light meter? How will you open to the methods you need if your only depending on equipment? This is my point of view btw, thanks.
I think Karl Taylor is a brilliant and articulate photographer. Granted in today’s digital photography world one really doesn’t need a light meter especially in the studio. However I can’t agree with the principles outlined in this lecture as it applies to landscape photography. This is especially true when photographing in the golden hour. In this circumstance I find a 1 degree spot meter very useful. Required no helpful absolutely.
100% agree, as a cinematographer i worked with guys who trained at Uni who would be very methodic with setups and when the Director said he wanted the camera to be used like a paintbrush they were bemused and lost.
If the values a light meter gives away takes away "one's ability to make decisions based purely on the emotional reaction," then certainly the RGB values you pulled up on the screen would do the same. You seem to be contradicting yourself.
Hi OnPortaits, I don't. I measure RGB values to check colour or to check the values of highlights if it's critical. Everything else is done by eye. In the video I showed how you could use the RGB values if you wanted to measure your light with 3 times the accuracy of a light meter or if you wanted to save the measurements if you had to repeat the same shot. I don't do that either but I thought I should point it out in the video as it seems to be a favourite argument for using a light meter.
When I was a professional photographer back in the day I used a light meter and understood why I was using it. It never inhibited my creativity at all! Now many years later as an amateur photographer getting back into film I am definitely going to re-aquaint my self with the humble, old skool, light meter.
Well I think it depends on what type of photography you focusing on, not all photography is about creativity, such as forensics photography, and I would still use a light meter if I am photographing a 10 by 10 foot art painting for catalogs, so I m sure every parts of it are evenly lit to show it’s true tone, fine retouching or color enhancement is not the requirement for such work. And light meter reading is just a reference, it shouldn’t stop you and make any photography not to be creative, for example, with good use of a meter you can get a good idea what the reflected and incident light ratio which could help out some location shoot for beginners. And the only reason why good and experiences photographers don’t need a light meter are because they have years of experience, they know instantly what they are after, they can even tell what the exposure is the moment they arrived on a outdoor location, which isn’t something a beginner can do.
If you put 4 small grey cards, 1 in each corner of your painting and use the tethered method measuring the RGB values you could get your exposure values accurate to 1/30th of an fstop instead of 1/10th.
Karl Taylor unfortunately it doesn’t work for us, most the time, we aren’t allow to place anything on the object which could worth millions, so it wouldn’t be as accurate. And the slight change of an angle of the grey card can be misleading too. Anyway all I’m saying some tools exist for a purpose, there is always a situation they can make our life easier, even a shutter release, these days we could use timer, wifi sync on our phone, or tether to computer but I couldn’t tell people they shouldn’t use one as there are times they just make life easier such as when we are shooting Aurora at -20 outdoor with thick gloves on etc
Ive been an advertising photographer for 30 years now. I havent used a lightmeter since 2002 apart from specific situations. To get a pure white background I need a difference of 1.5 stops difference in exposure from the foreground to background light. This works for both fashion or tabletop shooting on perspex. For me the time of using a light meter in those 2 situations is faster than tethered shooting because I understand the ratio. However thats an infrequent situation and I can do those without a light meter if I have to.
It's not a tool that has any requirement to master if shooting digitally. It's a bit like using a separate tyre pressure gauge when your car already measures them and displays the pressure on your dashboard with 1psi accuracy. Additionally what can you expect the light meter to tell you? It says 'set your lights to this' - when you can just look at the result on screen and set them to what will looks best for the mood or emotion you are trying to convey.
Karl Taylor all depends on your setup, on your studio setup you are tethered to high end computers, not everyone works that way as in not everyone has the built in digital tyre pressure but I get exactly what you are saying
@@shaolin95 lol..Its just Photography guys. What works for one doesnt work for another..find your path and follow it. You want a Light Meter get it..you dont want a Light meter don't get it. My car doesn't display the my Tire pressure so I have to get a handheld one until I can afford a car that digitally Displays my car tire pressure.
@@MikeWeeks In the video Karl mentions he stopped using light meters with his first digital camera...he wasnt (I suppose) as much much hight tech equipped back then as now, but the point is, you should not reject what your eyes like, because the light meter says otherwise....Today, we can see the photos we take instantly on the screen - you either like it or don't. What happens if the light meter tells you OK, but your feeling/eyes says NOK? You discard the photo?? I can understand the other side, but for me (still being a novice though) I tried to rely on the light meter, but actually can't find a reason to...it reads evaluated estimations, which I often don't like and actually I have a different perspective for the photo then the meter...its OK I'd say, in my limited knowledge, to have it as an estjmate if you want to use one, but being crucial....I don't know...🤷♂️
For Film cameras without meters I need a meter . With my mirrorless I don’t need an external meter.. it’s that simple. I can more or less guess the setting and be in the right range . I can fine tune rapidly without taking a shot. Digital has given me time to be creative.. my film stuff is because I enjoy the gear.
Lol you using the computer to measure the light with even more control than a handheld light meter , so apart from that contridition yes once you've taken enough pictures you know how you want the light to work but you still need a measure of sorts
Hi not really, I was showing how you can record measurements if you want to note them down for repeatability if you had to recreate the same lighting setup. I use the RGB values to check colour, and highlights aren't blown but that's about it.
@@VisualEducationStudio true , I don't use a meter now mainly because I feel quite competent about light , but I used one religiously for many years as I wanted it to be a certain way . Don't get me wrong I was the worst offender for experimenting and creating but you need a constant to start and a meter is useful for that
A light meter is just a tool. It doesn't limit your creativity. You do. I find light meters speed up the process during set-up and helps guarantee accuracy of light output before the camera is set. Professional photographers and assistants constantly use it on set. Yes, a good digital monitor with tethering helps but if you're doing multiple set ups/changes, a light meter helps drastically to save time. Also, light meters should be recommended to aspiring photographers to help them understand light and how to use it.
Hi Brent, I'm a professional photographer and so are many of my friends, colleagues and peers. We've all worked on big shoots for big companies and campaigns, we never use light meters unless shooting film so that argument just doesn't wash. Each of your other points I've counter argued and proven to be incorrect in this video.
@brent agreed. One size fits all usually doesn’t work but such mental models owe their prevalence to current societal reductionist tendencies. Glad you reminded me of my ownership of my outcomes. Thank you.
@@VisualEducationStudio Sich auf professioneller Fotograf zu berufen ist nonsens. Schlisslich gibt es genug professionelle Fotografen, die einen Belichtungsmesser verwenden - oder willst du alle deine Berufskollegen dann zu Amateuren abstempeln? Und einen Belichtungsmesser nutzt jeder - denn der in der Kamera ist auch immer aktiv ;-) Widerlegt wurde im Grunde nichts, nur der eigene Workflow aufgezeigt...
Hi Karl, as one who uses a light meter, I watched this with some interest. I found myself agreeing with what you said in a number of areas, like accuracy and to some extent, repeatability. When I was learning to shoot, I was taught to do basic lighting setups - i.e.: understanding lighting ratios - without looking at a monitor or even through the viewfinder. The reason was that if I could learn to do at least a basic setup by eye, it would save time and all I would need was a single exposure reading. I never used Polaroids and perhaps in the same way as you view light meters, I never understood why others did, even with sheet film. However, while this was simple enough in a studio, it was a different matter outdoors, where repeatability is often a matter of luck. In those cases, even in the digital world, having a light meter is an advantage. In studio, if you’re using a complex system like Profoto, adjusting flash power reliably to one tenth of a stop and checking it on screen is a simple, if expensive, way to do it. Not everyone can do that. Constantly checking the monitor is what I was taught not to do. You have far more control than you do outdoors. I’m not in anyway criticising your work methods or making any claim that what I do is better. You’re a professional and I’m retired and haven’t shot professionally for seven years. Your requirements and your workflow are different from mine. I never had your level of studio setup either. But I find that using a light meter, even in the digital world, still has some value. I also do a lot of low light photography where the viewfinder of a modern mirrorless camera is almost useless. A light meter, especially a spot meter, can be very helpful here for establishing black points, etc.. Yes, you can do it with a test shot, no question. I just prefer the meter process (and no one can see me doing it in the dark anyway!😁).
thanks Karl for your inputs. I agree with you. i was just a bit surprised to see you use your Minolta flash meter throughout your video LED Photography Lights v Studio Flash: Which Is REALLY Better? 😂
Ha ha yes although I wasn't using it for the purpose of creating pictures only to compare the actual specified output of each light! :) I still have fond memories though of using that very same meter back in the days of film.
I don't agree. In my case i get my exposure simply in one shot. First all I meter the key light; highlights and contrast and after i will shot tethered to calibrated screen but when im shottin in outdoor and I cannot control or I'm not sure about the brightness of the screen, here the light meter becomes the perfect tool and Friend.
What Karl means is. You don’t need a £100 light meter because you’re £2000 computer and software of your choice does the same as your light meter only even more accurately. Oh and 30 plus years of experience. My old boss would lick his finger and give f5.6 15s in an office and be close but 40 years ago I didn’t have that experience. So this time Karl I think your wrong. For the beginner they need to learn and understand light before they can break the rules and master their creativity
Hi Gary, I've had beginners in my studio, new assistants, school groups visiting and all of them I've shown how to decide on the aperture first, set your light to a mid power and then take a test shot. Look at the result and then decide do you need to turn the light up or the light down, they all grasp the concept in minutes. My assistants have learned to hone their vision and get in the ballpark in a few shots. None of these people have ever touched a light meter and in a short space of time they know how to instinctively manage light by looking at it. The £2000 computer and software isn't the deciding factor as every photographer has a computer and the out of the box camera software for any DSLR can give you the information I'm talking about if you need to use it. We actually only measure RGB values for colour or occasionally to check highlights the rest we do by looking (and yes a calibrated Eizo screen helps with the looking). Many photographers can think I'm wrong or they can consider that I've used a light meter and not used a light meter probably for longer than they have so I've been on both sides of the fence and from that experience I know when it's appropriate or not. I've done both, so I suggest any photographer currently using one to try my technique a few times and to get in the habit of 'seeing' and not measuring.
Sort of but I'm mostly using my eyes. Yes you need to rely on a good screen to do this. I only measure RGB values to check colour or if I need to make sure the highlights are still under control or if I want to note down values to repeat in the future. Everything else is done on observation and trying to bring it where I want it from an emotional point of view for the viewer. Many photographers forget that photography isn't actually for them it's for the people who will be looking at the images and we should be creating images that will hold their attention or we've failed.
Ages ago I bought a hand meter because I was talked into believing that without it I would not be able to tackle the technique of photography. Now I hardly ever use it. At best it can accomplish 2% of what is needed in a photograph. This is the approximate technical settings of a photograph. Now comes the other 98%, That is the artistic aspect needed the do the final finish on the photograph. In the end it’s the art that makes the photo.
I think it would be better titled with, why I don't use a meter, I agree with the knowing your gear in a static environment but on the go, no way :) Love your videos tho :)
As a sports/outdoor wear photographer. I don't have the false color or anything can check my images on my camera LCD in a field. And you can try watch the screen on 3000 meter altitude with a clear sky above your head. Let's see how good you are to get the light ratio right. I really really hope camera company gives me a false color check in EVF, so I could seal my light meter for good.
So this only really applies to tethered photography in a studio. I wouldn’t work on any film or TV set without a light meter. There’s this thing call pre lighting where you don’t have the camera there or it’s doing something else and so having a light meter is key. And most of the light meters now are also spectrometers which are incredibly useful in variable conditions.
After 35 years of shooting professionally I can confidently say that in 95% of all situations I can get my exposure correct without using either a lightmeter, or the LCD screen on the back of my camera. I definitely don't need to use RGB values when tethered shooting. Learning to assess light, by studying where shadows fall, understanding how surfaces reflect and absorb light and also understanding how both film and digital sensors work comes with years of practice and learning. Just because I don't need one, doesn't mean I don't use one. I keep my Sekonic meter with me whenever I go on a shoot. I wouldn't have been able to learn how to assess light as well as I can without it all those years ago and I will continue to use it to help me make the right technical decisions to achieve the creative decision. The creative decision I chose to make, BEFORE I took the meter out of my bag. I use my meter in exactly the same way you use your RGB values when tethered shooting. Stop being so pompous, if you want get a point across demonstrate the pros and cons, and prove a point.
I really like zone-system metering with a spot meter on location to get a good idea of what I wanna do creatively with my highlights within a limited span of time. it's really useful for shooting fleeting expressions of urban life and other incidental situations that don't get a chance to repeat themselves. some scenes might call for full latitude, others depend upon flattening or boldening dynamic range to really nail a mood.
In a controlled studio with a static subject... and time I have to agree, but a light meter can be invaluable if you are proficient using one analytically and in a hurry. As a teaching/ learning tool, they can answer many questions. regardless, your tutorials are over the top, informative and beyond inspirational! Cheers
Good if you can afford that gear! Good points, however Light meter is a good starting point. You are coming from many years of experience. All coming through tethered capture. Your point is valid. I use a light meter, doesn't stop my creativity. It's a starting point before a client arrives, once set up then flavour the lighting by adjusting up or down or even move the light and modifier. Using strobes and trigger system that talks to each other you can adjust from camera Position. Good points you made though.
As a studio portrait photographer of fashion, I have to deal with clients who want their garments to have punch and great colour. The face of the model is only important because I go against the trend and I ask the model if she feels good wearing that garment. So a natural smile is an asset. To me, things like aperture and film speed are fixed, like f5.6 of f8 and 200/s, So my only adjustments can be ISO and flash power. I like to have everything close to correct, in focus front to back, even before the model takes position. I can't waste their time buy taking lots of test shots. So I use a light meter on the dress beforehand to get in the ball park. They might have 12 garments to model in a shoot and a good model is costing $500 an hour just to be there.
wow, never knew you shot with a sinar, maybe add some of this knowledge to the broncolor collaborations' you do, or for eg. an analogue version of the Hasselblad hts1.5x product shoot video, aka how you would do this, setting up flashes, and the movements, etc. for 4x5 film, to help us "beginners" to 4x5 out, esp. if we have picked up a monorail from studio seconds, or a new Shen hao, toyo, chamonix or other 'field' camera.
You know I didn’t use a light meter until a photographer that I really revere, sings the gospel about light meters so I returned to it. I shoot in very much the way that you do Karl, intuitively. And exactly what you said, I feel is what hinders me. I now refer to the light meter as the rule for which to shoot by and it conflicts with how I naturally work. (The photographer I mentioned shoots film a lot so there’s that) So now I am not going to go back to not using it which excites me. I think using it gave me more anxiety. Thank you so much for this video
I totally agree, and that is exactly why I *do* use a light meter... ;-) I use a lot of film (because I think it is fun and because I like the workflow, I am not a pro so speed and costs are a different consideration). However, when I'm using a digital camera (mostly for macro), I definitely don't need a light meter, as the result (i.e. 3 RGB histograms) can be seen immediately after making a photograph. But when I go out with my Mamiya M645 1000S, I do bring a light meter, because it might take a few days before I developed the film. Putting my opinion aside, I do think that Karl made some very good points about creativity, speed and emotion that can be impaired by (supposedly very important) technique. The immediate visual feedback and evoked emotion in the digital photography process is very valuable, and actually the biggest pro as compared to film.
I do not necessarily disagree with any assertion you make; however, why do I then still think that because you are a professional photographer, you should have a better contextual awareness of the intellectual paradigm of this, your assertion signifying this video? The mark of a good teacher is that s/he does not and has not _forgotten_ the struggle for having learned the subject in the first place, which is indeed then being taught. Everyone starts as a beginner. Or, to use the analogy for what I (also) know: billiards. I´ve seen trickshot experts perform _miracles_ attempting and succeeding at low-percentage multi-bank shots. What is the criterion for where s/he aims? The “worst“ will exhort the beginner to just “feel the ball.“ The better ones will expound upon geometric analyses, rules-of-thumb, recommendations, and practise methods implicit in efficiently conveying skill -- which is not to be necessarily conflated with success; however, the _best_ will at least preface the matter by mumbling something about muscle memory, and practise, practise, practise.... My friend, it´s a process. There is never a “reason“ _not_ to use a light exposure meter. _Never._ _Even if that light meter is_ you.
Agreed. Light meters are for film shooters (actually, I am considering getting a second hand 645 for fun, maybe meter then would be in order). The only case when I need a meter (and for that I use a free phone app) is when I need to set up light for shooting flat artwork to check how even is the lighting across the whole picture.
There are hundreds of light meters out there to buy.... some no doubt very good... Remember in my teens learning about photography I would use a weston meter.... after a while I started testing myself....to see if my brain was as good as a weston it often was as good if not better..... Nowadays ppl still promote sunny 16 which is good..... It should be said light meter apps only work on reflected light and are not as great as hand held meters.... metering for highlights or shadows only.... Old saying "expose for the highlights and let the shadows do their thing"!!!!
Hi Karl, I'm an ameture photographer who mainly shoots medium format black and white film. I've recently purchased a sekonic 308 light meter to try and learn more about contrast in my shots. Is this something that would only be possible with an applicable light meter, or is there a way I can assess my environment to get an idea of how it will translate into shots. I try to keep test shots to a minimal as not to burn through my film. Great video btw.
Hi Nathan, yes I consider Light Meters and essential piece of kit for film photography and as I mentioned in the video I also used to use one back in my film days. For B&W you should also be thinking about the zone system and how that will apply to your B&W paper grades and printing. Look into the work of Ansel Adams and other master B&W photographers/printers to learn more. There are also different film stocks that yield different contrast results but mostly it is in the printing stage.
@@VisualEducationStudio thank you for the reply and advice Karl, I've recently purchased (I th8nk) book Ansel Adams book number 2, the print and have been reading about the works of Henri Cartier-Bresson. I mainly use Ilford delta 100 and like to frequently play with low iso Adox films. Thank you for your time Karl and for all of your helpful and informative videos. 👏
Reason #1: I don't take photographs. Reason #2: I left my camera @ home. Otherwise, we are humans, fallible and fragile, and unable to determine light levels. Of course, there are perhaps a few of us who were born with calibrated light sensors, I must rely on my light meters unfortunately. You can use Sunny Sixteen if you are 16 and the Sun is shining, but otherwise avoid him and don't let your daughter date him either. My thoughts.
It seems to me that using nothing but a histogram would be useless when it comes to calculating lighting ratios for portraiture. You can't really balance it correctly unless you're using a hand held incident light meter. You could get the overall exposure correct with the histogram, but it is otherwise useless in such a situation. For a photo of a somewhat large group of people - who cares? No lighting ratio calculations would be necessary. But if it's an engagement couple ... then you might want to get those ratios just right, as well as get the background just right - your canvas or whatever. Experience taught me, and not even very much experience - that it is almost somewhat like getting 3 or 4 different exposures correctly (individually) and then combining the result. Kinda / sorta. If you have film, then you don't want to waste too much of it getting everything wrong, simply because of the financial cost. But with digital, who cares? Because you're only going to send the final result to your digital lab, or inkjet print it yourself if your wizardry & dollars also extend in that direction. So yes ... this is a case when a hand held light meter is quite handy.
Imagine having super costly studio with kinda insane gear and give advices to common users like " you know lightmeter usless" yeah well kinda true but..
I have APHANTASIA ... look that word up, and then ask me again, WHY on heavens earth I make photos ... This for sure do not make any sense. I have huge problem understanding and learning new thing. I must have the parts in my hands before I get just a little bit of understanding of things. Also, we are "some" people here, that don't use expensive Mac computers or other "high-end" stuff, simply, we can't afford it. So what do we do? We go and use Linux and all the free apps there instead. Can I shoot teethered there? ehhh no .. do not work, have tryed :) Do I own a Light Meter? Nope, can't afford it. I own a used camera and a speed light, I hope some day, I can figure out all those (for me) fancy word, like exposure, f-stop ect. There is no good information for me in my own language, so I am forced to see what other do here on youtube, and all is on english. I am super duper happy there is SUBS here! - That have helped me a lot! Thanks for awesome work an congrats on your very extreme skill level, that many of us never will be able to reach, even if we tryed hard! Still I enjoy my own goofy pictures, no one else see them either way :)
I stopped watching when he said "... when I bought my first digital camera". Besides of shooting digital I love using my old film camera so I really rely on an external light meter. At least when the light situation gets a bit difficult.
Hehe the title is so click-bait. I mostly agree with Karl, though. When I'm on digital cameras, I very rarely use external lightmeters. Set the metering mode into spot meter, take a test shot, examine the histogram, and take another shot with some adjustments Well, I'm not a studio photographer with all lightning gears and displays/LCD are calibrated, though. 90% of my shots are outdoor: sometimes street photography, sometimes landscape, ocasionally portrait. But when I'm with 35mm or medium format film cameras, my Sekonic/Gossen is always ready. I don't want to mess with Polaroid backs. So far, lightmeter helps me because I always start with visualiation in mind, then consult the lightmeter how to achieve that. Well perhaps after I gain more experience, I can ditch it? :D
It just depends. When I was a 1st for miles Aldridge (and many others) we'd prelight sets without a tech on set. Having meter to rough everything in was paramount. But if you have a tech or a digital camera metering makes no sense. Even when repeating lighting skin tones change so the key will vary. Shit, these days when I shoot 4x5 or 6x9 I just use an app on my phone to work out ratios and values.
Hi EFD, I'd need the laptop anyway as I'm nearly always shooting tethered unless it's fashion on location and then I'm using the preview screen. But the video isn't really about that it's more about how I feel a light meter pushes you in a preconceived idea based on a computers decision. I already know if I put my light on at X distance with Y modifier on mid power level that if I set f11 it's going to be in the ballpark, eyeballing it from there helps me concentrate on whether it looks right rather than a device telling me it is right.
@@VisualEducationStudio EDF hat schon Recht, aber man muss es auch mal selbst verstehen, was man da betreibt. Ob es jetzt der Handbelichtungsmesser einrichtet, wie es der professionelle Fotograf oder auch Amateur haben möchte oder doch ein Monitor, läuft doch auf die gleiche Sache hinaus. Wer es vorher schon visualisieren kann, was wie wird, nur noch einmisst und nicht mal einen Monitor braucht um zu kontrollieren, der ist nicht nur Profi sondern Meister seines Fachs ;-)
Wow, what horrible advice. You also shouldn’t read your camera manual, because, you know, that’s just technical stuff that takes away from your creativity. Nonsense. It’s fine if you understand how a light meter works, why it’s useful, and then decide you don’t need one for whatever reason. But “teaching” beginners and amateurs bad practices like this can actually limit their development and understanding *a lot* . This isn’t education - it’s just one dude’s opinion. Fine. But there are also a million reasons why a light meter is an insanely useful tool, for photographers of all levels. It has nothing to do with experience either - the very top photographers and cinematographers who shoot digitally have camera assistants who yes, *do* use light meters to set up their shots. Maybe not always, but very often. A light meter does not limit your creativity either - that is such a simplistic perspective. It’s a tool that can actually enhance your creativity if used properly.
I get it, almost like the whole program modes vs full manual argument. Does the photographer control the light, or does the light control the photographer? 😂 In practice though, it's not feasible to have a tethered setup in every part of the industry. It makes sense in the commercial side, but not as much for ppl who need speed, like weddings.
I think I can still get paid 10k for a photography work without using a light meter even if I get paid 10K if I use it. Like Karl says if using a light meter makes you happy just use it!
Horrible. Everything depends on the shoot. Sometimes I use a meter, sometimes I don't. The meter never hampers my creativity as the meter is a recommendation just like the needle in dslr and the Ev in mirrorless. Sometimes I want "perfect exposure 30% flash" like for head shots. The meter will make that much faster to achieve. Everything has its place, if you dont want to work with one fine, others like me, like them in their place.
a light meter is more precise than my eyes so sorry i'll use a light meter at least i know my shot is in 18% middle gray after that i have the ability to place whatever light i want in the dynamic range of the camera , i don't count on the histogram when i shoot raw i don't have the experience you have maybe after i can use my eyes i'm not there yet plus i don't have the precise tools you have metering in 1/30 increments
the type who use light meters are like the type that gotta have storyboards for shooting a movie. It's a working style, either I think is fine. For me, I'm strictly a no storyboarding, no TTL and no light meters dude
I never use a light meter when i shoot film. I can tell the exposure I want just by looking. Joel meyerowitz measured light on the street by looking at his hand. No meter
To each his own, we say.... I don't manage any paid contracts without a color meter and a light meter. When on simple photo walks, I don't use a light meter...just the distance meter in the flash when needed.
Karl is basically telling you. That light meter can teach you about light but wont train your eyes becuase you will become too dependent on it. You guys are complaining about "light meter can be a learning tool" well so can learning how to actually use your digital camera and the features it has. You camera gives you a lot of information and lots of new photographers and intermediate ones disregard those features. Photography is not all technical it is an art. So train your eyes to understand your capture tool better. I worked in the cinema industry for over a decade and super color critical work and never used a light meter. There are some fundamentals that needed to be learned when using you camera its not just a point and click tool it is so your light meter if you learn how to fully use your tool.
I'm just trying to are a picture of a painting I've done to make prints. I plan on taking pictures from my paintings from here on, so this is great help. I do not own a camera right now, except what I have in my smart phone for now. I know this must sound ridiculous but you have to stat somewhere.
I agree with the premise of this video but I still occasionally use a light meter at wedding receptions. A meter can be helpful when the subject isn't in place so there's nothing to test shoot. I often have to setup for a first dance or speech before there's anyone there to test shoot. Being able to go out on the floor myself and set my lights "in the ball park" without the aid of another person to stand there has been helpful. In the end, it usually takes me several shots of the real thing to tweak the lights by appearance and disregarding what the meter originally said.
i won't dislike but "for digital photography" should be in the name of the video and it's not that i wasted 4 minutes it's that for 4 minutes i thought i can maybe not spend my money on it ;(
I find a light meter gets me in the ball park fast. I then tweak settings a bit to be creative. Like an old friend, bring your old tools into your studio and celebrate their goodness.
When I transitioned from film to digital, around 2004, I also quickly stopped using a light meter. Fast forward to just a few years ago when I found out there was a light meter that also can control my monolights wirelessly I was intrigued. It's now very handy to adjust power for each individual head directly from my light meter. I don't consider myself dependent on it, I know what exposure I want for a particular situation it just helps me adjust my lights quicker.
No longer producing color film transparency images is one of the core reasons why the once required incident or in-view camera metering probe is no longer really needed. Digital images in real time is a Very Different method of image making and image results.
It are digital meters and cameras that are a waste of money. The digi meter gives you one exposure setting and the digi camera has a menu which is impossible to remember which is why everyone has it on Automatic.
I'm not born speaker and I really love Your pure English. Understable English which You have during explainig of photography issues and topics. Thank You so much for You work what You do for other peoples to better understanding of photography.
As an landscape photographer and working with slide film I mostly use incident light metering. Light conditions change sometimes very quickly. So I get more constant and color correct slides with my Gossen light meters. Some create photos, some calculate them digital and some used trial and error... everyone as he could.
@@VisualEducationStudio Totally agree with your message here. Just trying to be cheeky :) Great content on your channel. I also like the Angry Photographer too. There's nothing wrong with your workflow if you find it works for you.
There's a huge difference between "I don't use a light meter" and "I no longer use a light meter having acquired the mental database of what light power does in X circumstance over the first half of my career"
Thats True xD
Also "I no longer use a light meter since I switched to using cameras that are functionally their own light meter."
Totally agree. As a beginner, it's all guesswork and time-wasting to get the right exposure. Having a Light meter is a timesaver especially when you're working with clients who are impatient. In fact, you can set up your light exposure before the client even arrives on the set...Lol
Hi, you can use any software such as Lightroom, Capture One or even the basic software that comes with a camera to shoot tethered. You can of course get light values to match exactly by measuring the RGB values at a specific point and then adjusting your lights to make those values again (it's just about 3 times more accurate tethered as light meters only work in 1/10th of an fstop). But unfortunately you have missed the overall point which was simply do you want to 'colour by numbers' or do you want to create? Choosing how YOU light a subject is the creative part and it's much more creative when you make all the decisions based on taste and not a recipe.
Playing the TH-cam click bait game.
So Karl, I understand why you don't use a light meter, but here are a couple of good reasons to use one. They are a good educational tool if you don't have years of experience. Also, it depends on type of photography you are concerned with. In cases like crime scene/forensic photography, it is important to show the scene/evidence as it exists. There should be no creativity, just accuracy. It's good to get that incident measurement. Really like your work and the channel.
There's ALWAYS exceptions to to everything... thats a gimme!
There are people that shoot analog today (again! - Just for the fun and the cool look of film!) and they'll definitively need a light meter 😅
I'm agree and some of those actually don't shoot film just for fun, many comercial and fine photography is coming from film cameras
So you traded your light meter for a tether and a larger screen to meter your image 😝
Terry Breedlove He did mention that you could use the screen on the back of your camera too, if you bothered watching the video to the end.
He correctly said tethering is a better option where it takes less time.
philaw123 true but on board screens have a life of their own.
Yeah lol his answer to light meters is "chimp until you get the exposure right"
@@Skux720 My answer is to 'look' until you get the right exposure. Teach yourself to actually 'see' in photography and then you won't have to chimp at your light meter.
As a corporate headshot photographer, that shoots almost exclusively on location, you won't catch me without my light meter. I work anywhere from offices with no windows and horrid fluorescent lights to ones with giant south facing windows. For this reason, other than 'environmental' shots, I always use aperture and shutter speed to kill the ambient and create my own light. Everything is done with strobes and the varying available light from job to job would mean guessing my starting flash output every time.
A light meter lets me arrive at a clients office, set up everything by myself as they continue their day to day work and get my lights very close to where I need them quickly before having them step in front of the camera. Lawyers, probably 60% or more of my clients, don't like standing around while you to take 'test shots' and fiddle with lights. That's time they could be racking up billable hours. In my case a light meter is indeed faster, at least from my clients perspective.
You are absolutely right. I think that Carl Tailor could be right in a studio situation or displaying the image in a calibrated display.
If u take the one size fits all approach? Then sure! But Karl is talking about creatIve portraits not production line! or ( school photos)I used to do actors headshots for years & I found different textured skin, different colored skin, different type of skin (oily or dry) required a different lighting approach as well as different face/shapes and considering the look your trying to achieve, i never used any set lighting ratios as they usually made the subject look too generic,
For example for Brunettes my kick/hair light was usually twice the power of blonde hair and where on some skin a beauty dish worked well, other skin types it look average and I would need to switch to a soft box or other diffuser, i also used different lenses to achieve a different look. What Karl is talking about is not your generic formal graduation photos but rather commercial/Advertising work for creatives.
In your comment, I assume you meant an external handheld meter. Great, I’m sure that works. If your camera has iTTL, it has a built in meter that could save you even more time, perhaps. That’s more money in your pocket. Use the tools that work for you. Joe McNally favours TTL, David Hoby does not. They rented a bus a few years ago and toured the US, kindly making stops near the border for us Canadians, and I learned from both of them.
If it can't be measured, it must be magic. That's why I use a light meter.
If you are shooting the same lighting set up at different locations and you want to create the exact same setup I believe a light meter will save you time.
@@shaolin95 agree, but he's not entirely wrong. Actually, a good practice on studio locations is to set your flash power, shutter speed and F stop aperture (high as in stomped down iris aperture) high enough to cut out all ambient light and have more control of your strobe lighting.
Of course, on location, where you usually want to actually capture ambient light, light meters can be more useful to replicate lighting setups
Totally agree and very good analogy with cooking food BUT ! You stopped using a lightmeter after 11 years of usage. You stopped using it after 11 years of great experience of how light reacts to changes and subjects. It gave you the opportunity to learn, feel and mould your light to your creativity. I still use a lightmeter in my academy classes because from experience it gives confidence to students and some sort of “control” on a set. Once I see that they get that confidence I start to learn them to get creative with the receipe. But I would never say “don’t use a lightmeter”. It is a very useful tool for learning and understanding. Great video and daring insight. 👍🏻
I meter and shoot tethered. Honestly I’m just to the point where I’m tired of taking test shots....with the meter I can get my exposure in 1-2 shots..looking all in the in the computer screen is bla bla bla. As much as I love lighting I’m finding myself wanting to focus less on it and turn my attention to the execution of the concept and the model emotion. I also pre light so there’s that too. Overall y’all I say keep metering and get the lighting part over with.
@@shaolin95 I fine tune my shots much faster without a light meter and so do the actual pros I know
@@VisualEducationStudio Wenn man sich nur unter seines Gleichen bewegt, dann kommt das zustande. Vielleicht doch mal mit Profis zusammentun, die doch einen Belichtungsmesser verwenden ;-) Den Horizont wieder zu erweitern, hilft das eigene Ego wieder zurecht zu rücken. Die eigene Art als die einzig Richtige darzustellen ist schlicht überheblich und auch falsch.
Respectable, I only buy the creativity part, I think the light meter it´s just one part of all the technology we have, and as every of those elements, we need to use it to help our process and not to limit the creativity for not to having one.
Based. Most will hate on this video, but in digital photography, it's mostly true. What is a much BETTER investment for digital photographers is a COLOUR METER!
Who want's to buy mine? LOL... Haven't used it or needed it (Minolta 4m) in 15-20 years.
I only use manual focus lenses because the autofocus is killing my creativity. Just kidding. 70% of my work is taking photos of people. I like to have my light set before the model enters the scene. So to set the light without having someone to take a test shot a light meter is necessary. I also need it to set the light ratios that I like. And it’s very helpful to balance ambient light and strobes. I would say in all cases where you need the lights to be set before the model enters the scene you need a light meter. I think it’s too much trial and error just checking the screen.
I totally agree with Karl's comments here, however as a newbie I am using a meter as a learning tool. I use it to measure flash ratios to put in my notes. My strobes are not digital and it can be difficult to dial in a desired ratio accurately. Over time I imagine I will develop the skills, but for now it's a valuable asset to accelerate my understanding. For example, I will set the strobes by eye with test shots, then measure the ratio and put that value in my notebook for future reference.
In the rush to brag about low-light capability, manufacturers are fudging the ISO values of their cameras, Because ISO isn’t reliable, I find the meter readings off the mark and no more reliable than my eye. Having said that, most cinematographers use light meters. I wouldn’t like to tell Roger Deakin that he isn’t creative...
Totally agree. I've never seen a proper DP not use a light meter. Try pussyfooting around with a union Grip and asking him to constantly swap out heavy lights until "it looks right on the screen." You will have mutiny in no time.
Conspiracy theory? Or is your assertion evidenced?
I had a friend who was an engineer for Sony. Years ago, he told me all digital sensors post 2005 could shoot clean photographs at any ISO, from 50 to infinity. Basically, he said that camera manufactures unnecessarily replicated "digital iso" to sell more cameras.
IMO the difference between a pro and an average photographer is that the pro can adapt and adjust accordingly under various circumstances. I personally think it is important to not use a meter when starting out.
Your tether working system is one giant, far more intricate meter than any physical meter out there. You have also gotten to a point where you understand light. Telling someone who doesn’t have years of experience to get rid of a light meter is actually hurting their education process. You need to learn to crawl before you can walk. Every photographer who I have ever personally seen that doesn’t use a meter doesn’t come to 10% the skill level you have achieved. Once they learn how to harness and understand light, fine. If at that point they want to ditch the meter so be it. However telling newbies to do so is hurting their learning curve. If you truly believe this never read any pixel values again off your computer screen ever again. Simply eyeball everything you do. That is what a newbie is hearing when you say this.
Hi Bruce, I'm afraid I don't agree - all photographers can access a tethered shooting setup for less than $50 these days as all the camera manufacturers have some basic form of tethering software included and you only need a cable. Some of them are a bit clunky but Lightroom works pretty well and then there are other excellent ones such as Capture One for a couple of hundred dollars. I also don't consider not using a light meter as a walk before you run scenario, that's not what this video is about. This video is primarily about learning to 'see' light than to be 'told' by a machine what light should be, that for me is actually an easier and more intuitive way to learn and will help new photographers far more than referring to a 'calculator' every time they move a light. By training your eye to decide if something is too bright or too dark is what evolves style, technique and vision. There is also nothing really that difficult about arriving at the best exposure, you should have already decided what aperture you're shooting before you start, you should never change the aperture to suit the lights (or light meter) as you've destroyed the first step of the creative process. If you've already decided the aperture then what's left? Only the power of the light setting! Put it on its mid power, is it too dark on the first test or is it too bright? Then simply turn it up or down based on what you see (just like turning the volume up and down on your music system based on what you hear, we don't get a sound meter out for that!). Then you take another test shot and then with another up or down tweak you'll be there without having to take a single reading. What this does is teaches you to 'see' light and allows photographers to become very skilled in recognising what one stop or two and half stops too much light looks like or half a stop under actually looks like. In doing so you craft your vision to understand and see light and know what needs fixing without ever having to pick up the calculator. And just for the record I very rarely check the values on screen anyway, I just wanted to show in this video that you can because it's useful for repeatability without having to write anything down (all the info is stored in the shot). I've taught photography at the highest level for 13 years following a 30 year successful career in photography - karltaylor.com/ - in simple terms, dare I say it, I know what I'm talking about. I've also spent half my career using light-meters because they were essential tools in the days of film but they're not anymore, in fact they can slow you down and bias your opinion which is what this video was pointing out. Even without tethering and just using the camera preview screen and zooming in and panning around can show you enough, especially if you check the histogram too, all the light-meters we need are in our brain, eyes and the information on the screen big or small. There are many people who disagree with me at first on this but the ones I've convinced to try it for their next 3 shoots, never go back to a light-meter. And besides it's not that big a deal if photographers want to use one or don't, we're not curing diseases here or working on astrophysics, we just make pictures and I was just offering an opinion based on my experience. No one has to listen.
@@VisualEducationStudio Super insightful video and reply. Thank you!!
@@VisualEducationStudio As you know better than anyone here, the "machine" is not telling you what that light should be. It tells what that light IS. You, then, decide what that light should be by moving it closer or farther from the subject or altering its intensity. As you probably do with your tethered "light metering" method.
Not everyone has his own studio, not everyone has computers and monitors available at their rental studios - not to mention on location. So, learning to use and owning a lightmeter, in my opinion, is an important part of learning about how light works and how you control it. Be it for film or digital, since knowledge and practice will give you the right exposure, no matter which media you're using.
By the way you're putting it, this method - that works perfectly for you because of your needs, investment, team around and history that led you to it - might be taken as a must for many. And it might keep them from starting with a cheap, used lightmeter, because they believe that's not worth it. I can't see how $50 will buy you a cable, computer and monitor to theter your camera but it might buy you a used lightmeter you can use anywhere.
As I see it, knowledge is more important than equipment. You can do a lot by using the sunny 16 rule. The more you know, the more you understand what you really need and what you don't. You've come to this setting as you way of mesuring light. That's an amazing setting and fine it works for you. For all who are at the same level as you, a lightmeter might be useless too. But not many of us out there are on the same level, specially those who do not live in your country and have a much toughter time to access equipment and knowledge. Maybe you could share yours on the use of a light meter. Like on a simple backlit window portrait, for example.
Thank you! My best!
@@joseerazevedo I do know better than probably most people here which is why I also show how your eyes and visual perception tell you what light is and then you can make your decisions from there. There isn't a photographer on the planet who doesn't have a computer or a tablet because they all edit there images, in fact all of them are making 'lighting decisions' by eye afterwards in the post production anyway, so why not just do it at the time of capture. If they all have a computer then buying a tethering cable is nothing. As soon as photographers start thinking of light like a volume control on their music system then the faster they will progress. You have to set the aperture as your first choice for creative reasons so the amount of flash you need has to be matched to that - up or down it's not complicated.
@José Eduardo R Azevedo For me, learning to train your eyes is more important. Then using types of equipment, It's like for drawing your tracing a work that already done. Rather than figuring out how the work is done, using tools, as flexible equipment, helps the work. But skips the knowledge, you need. It is my opinion though, I got my tether, less than 5$ as a beginner in Photography. You can even, make a studio inside your house for free, I got a personal studio only to focus my art. I want to learn the knowledge, using methodology and techniques. Because it opens your imagination, and more flexible to choose from whats the right taste for your Work. Hm, as an artist, who has been open to the art industry. We need to understand skills, methods, then relying on materialisms. I want to gather the information, on how they do it in a rough procedure. And if I had good learning, I use types of equipment to simplify time. To be prepared for a Photography field, you shall need to invest in specific requirements also. Doesn't mean you need to buy, a lot of softboxes or equipment. Natural light can help you, enhance works. It's how you need to understand, the freedom of creative choice. It's not only, the light meter tells you what light should be, you are like to cheat. Like tracing paper and a pencil. Don't make the equipment direct you if you have the mind to be open to choosing the right sprinkle to your works. Be open in a lot of ways, rather than equipment telling you. Practice your mind, learn how to goes, open to various ideas. It makes your eyes understand, how light works. I don't even have a light meter, but I want to learn the science behind light. How light spreads, how light reflects, how light bounces, what is light? If you put a light meter you will miss a lot of parts. Unless you want to buy one, and you have a certain field in photography that has a lot of products, and needs precision. Sample E-Commerce, white background and you just want the light to be balanced. To go one, with continuous shooting. But you can use the histogram in your camera, and other methods, what if you got no light meter? How will you open to the methods you need if your only depending on equipment? This is my point of view btw, thanks.
I think Karl Taylor is a brilliant and articulate photographer. Granted in today’s digital photography world one really doesn’t need a light meter especially in the studio. However I can’t agree with the principles outlined in this lecture as it applies to landscape photography. This is especially true when photographing in the golden hour. In this circumstance I find a 1 degree spot meter very useful. Required no helpful absolutely.
The light meter does not limit your creativity in any way. And it’s a must if you shooting film. Metering incident light gives you better consistency.
100% agree, as a cinematographer i worked with guys who trained at Uni who would be very methodic with setups and when the Director said he wanted the camera to be used like a paintbrush they were bemused and lost.
If the values a light meter gives away takes away "one's ability to make decisions based purely on the emotional reaction," then certainly the RGB values you pulled up on the screen would do the same. You seem to be contradicting yourself.
Hi OnPortaits, I don't. I measure RGB values to check colour or to check the values of highlights if it's critical. Everything else is done by eye. In the video I showed how you could use the RGB values if you wanted to measure your light with 3 times the accuracy of a light meter or if you wanted to save the measurements if you had to repeat the same shot. I don't do that either but I thought I should point it out in the video as it seems to be a favourite argument for using a light meter.
Definitely thought you were talking about not using one with film. Guess I'll still be using one
When I was a professional photographer back in the day I used a light meter and understood why I was using it. It never inhibited my creativity at all!
Now many years later as an amateur photographer getting back into film I am definitely going to re-aquaint my self with the humble, old skool, light meter.
Using my Leica IIIF a lightmeter is very usefull ;-).
Well I think it depends on what type of photography you focusing on, not all photography is about creativity, such as forensics photography, and I would still use a light meter if I am photographing a 10 by 10 foot art painting for catalogs, so I m sure every parts of it are evenly lit to show it’s true tone, fine retouching or color enhancement is not the requirement for such work.
And light meter reading is just a reference, it shouldn’t stop you and make any photography not to be creative, for example, with good use of a meter you can get a good idea what the reflected and incident light ratio which could help out some location shoot for beginners. And the only reason why good and experiences photographers don’t need a light meter are because they have years of experience, they know instantly what they are after, they can even tell what the exposure is the moment they arrived on a outdoor location, which isn’t something a beginner can do.
If you put 4 small grey cards, 1 in each corner of your painting and use the tethered method measuring the RGB values you could get your exposure values accurate to 1/30th of an fstop instead of 1/10th.
Karl Taylor unfortunately it doesn’t work for us, most the time, we aren’t allow to place anything on the object which could worth millions, so it wouldn’t be as accurate. And the slight change of an angle of the grey card can be misleading too. Anyway all I’m saying some tools exist for a purpose, there is always a situation they can make our life easier, even a shutter release, these days we could use timer, wifi sync on our phone, or tether to computer but I couldn’t tell people they shouldn’t use one as there are times they just make life easier such as when we are shooting Aurora at -20 outdoor with thick gloves on etc
There are a few of us still shooting analog you know. ;-)
Ive been an advertising photographer for 30 years now. I havent used a lightmeter since 2002 apart from specific situations. To get a pure white background I need a difference of 1.5 stops difference in exposure from the foreground to background light. This works for both fashion or tabletop shooting on perspex. For me the time of using a light meter in those 2 situations is faster than tethered shooting because I understand the ratio. However thats an infrequent situation and I can do those without a light meter if I have to.
It all depends whether you are a slave to the meter or it is just another tool that you have mastery of IMHO
It's not a tool that has any requirement to master if shooting digitally. It's a bit like using a separate tyre pressure gauge when your car already measures them and displays the pressure on your dashboard with 1psi accuracy. Additionally what can you expect the light meter to tell you? It says 'set your lights to this' - when you can just look at the result on screen and set them to what will looks best for the mood or emotion you are trying to convey.
Karl Taylor all depends on your setup, on your studio setup you are tethered to high end computers, not everyone works that way as in not everyone has the built in digital tyre pressure but I get exactly what you are saying
@@shaolin95 lol..Its just Photography guys. What works for one doesnt work for another..find your path and follow it. You want a Light Meter get it..you dont want a Light meter don't get it. My car doesn't display the my Tire pressure so I have to get a handheld one until I can afford a car that digitally Displays my car tire pressure.
@@MikeWeeks In the video Karl mentions he stopped using light meters with his first digital camera...he wasnt (I suppose) as much much hight tech equipped back then as now, but the point is, you should not reject what your eyes like, because the light meter says otherwise....Today, we can see the photos we take instantly on the screen - you either like it or don't. What happens if the light meter tells you OK, but your feeling/eyes says NOK? You discard the photo?? I can understand the other side, but for me (still being a novice though) I tried to rely on the light meter, but actually can't find a reason to...it reads evaluated estimations, which I often don't like and actually I have a different perspective for the photo then the meter...its OK I'd say, in my limited knowledge, to have it as an estjmate if you want to use one, but being crucial....I don't know...🤷♂️
Let my people go
For Film cameras without meters I need a meter . With my mirrorless I don’t need an external meter.. it’s that simple. I can more or less guess the setting and be in the right range . I can fine tune rapidly without taking a shot. Digital has given me time to be creative.. my film stuff is because I enjoy the gear.
Lol you using the computer to measure the light with even more control than a handheld light meter , so apart from that contridition yes once you've taken enough pictures you know how you want the light to work but you still need a measure of sorts
Hi not really, I was showing how you can record measurements if you want to note them down for repeatability if you had to recreate the same lighting setup. I use the RGB values to check colour, and highlights aren't blown but that's about it.
@@VisualEducationStudio true , I don't use a meter now mainly because I feel quite competent about light , but I used one religiously for many years as I wanted it to be a certain way . Don't get me wrong I was the worst offender for experimenting and creating but you need a constant to start and a meter is useful for that
A light meter is just a tool. It doesn't limit your creativity. You do. I find light meters speed up the process during set-up and helps guarantee accuracy of light output before the camera is set. Professional photographers and assistants constantly use it on set. Yes, a good digital monitor with tethering helps but if you're doing multiple set ups/changes, a light meter helps drastically to save time. Also, light meters should be recommended to aspiring photographers to help them understand light and how to use it.
Hi Brent, I'm a professional photographer and so are many of my friends, colleagues and peers. We've all worked on big shoots for big companies and campaigns, we never use light meters unless shooting film so that argument just doesn't wash. Each of your other points I've counter argued and proven to be incorrect in this video.
@brent agreed. One size fits all usually doesn’t work but such mental models owe their prevalence to current societal reductionist tendencies. Glad you reminded me of my ownership of my outcomes. Thank you.
Why make it so personal....just relax...
@@VisualEducationStudio Sich auf professioneller Fotograf zu berufen ist nonsens. Schlisslich gibt es genug professionelle Fotografen, die einen Belichtungsmesser verwenden - oder willst du alle deine Berufskollegen dann zu Amateuren abstempeln? Und einen Belichtungsmesser nutzt jeder - denn der in der Kamera ist auch immer aktiv ;-) Widerlegt wurde im Grunde nichts, nur der eigene Workflow aufgezeigt...
Hi Karl, as one who uses a light meter, I watched this with some interest. I found myself agreeing with what you said in a number of areas, like accuracy and to some extent, repeatability.
When I was learning to shoot, I was taught to do basic lighting setups - i.e.: understanding lighting ratios - without looking at a monitor or even through the viewfinder. The reason was that if I could learn to do at least a basic setup by eye, it would save time and all I would need was a single exposure reading. I never used Polaroids and perhaps in the same way as you view light meters, I never understood why others did, even with sheet film.
However, while this was simple enough in a studio, it was a different matter outdoors, where repeatability is often a matter of luck. In those cases, even in the digital world, having a light meter is an advantage.
In studio, if you’re using a complex system like Profoto, adjusting flash power reliably to one tenth of a stop and checking it on screen is a simple, if expensive, way to do it. Not everyone can do that. Constantly checking the monitor is what I was taught not to do. You have far more control than you do outdoors.
I’m not in anyway criticising your work methods or making any claim that what I do is better. You’re a professional and I’m retired and haven’t shot professionally for seven years. Your requirements and your workflow are different from mine. I never had your level of studio setup either. But I find that using a light meter, even in the digital world, still has some value.
I also do a lot of low light photography where the viewfinder of a modern mirrorless camera is almost useless. A light meter, especially a spot meter, can be very helpful here for establishing black points, etc.. Yes, you can do it with a test shot, no question. I just prefer the meter process (and no one can see me doing it in the dark anyway!😁).
thanks Karl for your inputs. I agree with you.
i was just a bit surprised to see you use your Minolta flash meter throughout your video LED Photography Lights v Studio Flash: Which Is REALLY Better?
😂
Ha ha yes although I wasn't using it for the purpose of creating pictures only to compare the actual specified output of each light! :) I still have fond memories though of using that very same meter back in the days of film.
Very well put together .... Bravo !!!
Internet should be thankful for this video
You might not be using a hand held light meter but you are absolutely using a light meter.............................
I completely agree with that.
I don't agree. In my case i get my exposure simply in one shot. First all I meter the key light; highlights and contrast and after i will shot tethered to calibrated screen but when im shottin in outdoor and I cannot control or I'm not sure about the brightness of the screen, here the light meter becomes the perfect tool and Friend.
What Karl means is. You don’t need a £100 light meter because you’re £2000 computer and software of your choice does the same as your light meter only even more accurately. Oh and 30 plus years of experience. My old boss would lick his finger and give f5.6 15s in an office and be close but 40 years ago I didn’t have that experience. So this time Karl I think your wrong. For the beginner they need to learn and understand light before they can break the rules and master their creativity
Hi Gary, I've had beginners in my studio, new assistants, school groups visiting and all of them I've shown how to decide on the aperture first, set your light to a mid power and then take a test shot. Look at the result and then decide do you need to turn the light up or the light down, they all grasp the concept in minutes. My assistants have learned to hone their vision and get in the ballpark in a few shots. None of these people have ever touched a light meter and in a short space of time they know how to instinctively manage light by looking at it. The £2000 computer and software isn't the deciding factor as every photographer has a computer and the out of the box camera software for any DSLR can give you the information I'm talking about if you need to use it. We actually only measure RGB values for colour or occasionally to check highlights the rest we do by looking (and yes a calibrated Eizo screen helps with the looking). Many photographers can think I'm wrong or they can consider that I've used a light meter and not used a light meter probably for longer than they have so I've been on both sides of the fence and from that experience I know when it's appropriate or not. I've done both, so I suggest any photographer currently using one to try my technique a few times and to get in the habit of 'seeing' and not measuring.
What is the problem to double-check with a light meter? You still can take your creative decisions …. Like with everything in life …. 😊
So true.
I came here to see if I needed a light meter for film...first couple minutes of video "I couldn't work without one in film days"....Ok I'm good lol
Yes Andrew if your using film then you definitely need one.
He is still using a light meter, but just in a different form. Instead of using a portable device, he is using a tethered setup.
Sort of but I'm mostly using my eyes. Yes you need to rely on a good screen to do this. I only measure RGB values to check colour or if I need to make sure the highlights are still under control or if I want to note down values to repeat in the future. Everything else is done on observation and trying to bring it where I want it from an emotional point of view for the viewer. Many photographers forget that photography isn't actually for them it's for the people who will be looking at the images and we should be creating images that will hold their attention or we've failed.
Ages ago I bought a hand meter because I was talked into believing that without it I would not be able to tackle the technique of photography. Now I hardly ever use it. At best it can accomplish 2% of what is needed in a photograph. This is the approximate technical settings of a photograph. Now comes the other 98%, That is the artistic aspect needed the do the final finish on the photograph. In the end it’s the art that makes the photo.
Yes totally agree with that
I think it would be better titled with, why I don't use a meter, I agree with the knowing your gear in a static environment but on the go, no way :) Love your videos tho :)
Good point!
As a sports/outdoor wear photographer. I don't have the false color or anything can check my images on my camera LCD in a field. And you can try watch the screen on 3000 meter altitude with a clear sky above your head. Let's see how good you are to get the light ratio right.
I really really hope camera company gives me a false color check in EVF, so I could seal my light meter for good.
Yes you dont need a 500€ lightmeter if you have 250.000€ monitor light system Hasselblad broncolor xD i Will keep shooting film
You could do everything I showed in this video with a basic DSLR tethered into LR or Capture One.
@@VisualEducationStudio yes thanks i was making a fun comment, i wish i had all that stuff . I have a bronica and a weston master 3 instead :(
So this only really applies to tethered photography in a studio.
I wouldn’t work on any film or TV set without a light meter. There’s this thing call pre lighting where you don’t have the camera there or it’s doing something else and so having a light meter is key. And most of the light meters now are also spectrometers which are incredibly useful in variable conditions.
After 35 years of shooting professionally I can confidently say that in 95% of all situations I can get my exposure correct without using either a lightmeter, or the LCD screen on the back of my camera. I definitely don't need to use RGB values when tethered shooting. Learning to assess light, by studying where shadows fall, understanding how surfaces reflect and absorb light and also understanding how both film and digital sensors work comes with years of practice and learning.
Just because I don't need one, doesn't mean I don't use one. I keep my Sekonic meter with me whenever I go on a shoot. I wouldn't have been able to learn how to assess light as well as I can without it all those years ago and I will continue to use it to help me make the right technical decisions to achieve the creative decision. The creative decision I chose to make, BEFORE I took the meter out of my bag. I use my meter in exactly the same way you use your RGB values when tethered shooting. Stop being so pompous, if you want get a point across demonstrate the pros and cons, and prove a point.
I really like zone-system metering with a spot meter on location to get a good idea of what I wanna do creatively with my highlights within a limited span of time. it's really useful for shooting fleeting expressions of urban life and other incidental situations that don't get a chance to repeat themselves. some scenes might call for full latitude, others depend upon flattening or boldening dynamic range to really nail a mood.
In a controlled studio with a static subject... and time I have to agree, but a light meter can be invaluable if you are proficient using one analytically and in a hurry. As a teaching/ learning tool, they can answer many questions. regardless, your tutorials are over the top, informative and beyond inspirational! Cheers
This is B.S. exposure is critical and “eyeballing it” is a huge waste of time.
Good if you can afford that gear! Good points, however Light meter is a good starting point. You are coming from many years of experience. All coming through tethered capture. Your point is valid. I use a light meter, doesn't stop my creativity. It's a starting point before a client arrives, once set up then flavour the lighting by adjusting up or down or even move the light and modifier. Using strobes and trigger system that talks to each other you can adjust from camera Position. Good points you made though.
You don't need expensive gear, you could tether almost any DSLR into Lightroom or Capture One and do exactly the same as I demonstrated in this video.
As a studio portrait photographer of fashion, I have to deal with clients who want their garments to have punch and great colour. The face of the model is only important because I go against the trend and I ask the model if she feels good wearing that garment. So a natural smile is an asset. To me, things like aperture and film speed are fixed, like f5.6 of f8 and 200/s, So my only adjustments can be ISO and flash power. I like to have everything close to correct, in focus front to back, even before the model takes position. I can't waste their time buy taking lots of test shots. So I use a light meter on the dress beforehand to get in the ball park. They might have 12 garments to model in a shoot and a good model is costing $500 an hour just to be there.
wow, never knew you shot with a sinar, maybe add some of this knowledge to the broncolor collaborations' you do, or for eg. an analogue version of the Hasselblad hts1.5x product shoot video, aka how you would do this, setting up flashes, and the movements, etc. for 4x5 film, to help us "beginners" to 4x5 out, esp. if we have picked up a monorail from studio seconds, or a new Shen hao, toyo, chamonix or other 'field' camera.
You know I didn’t use a light meter until a photographer that I really revere, sings the gospel about light meters so I returned to it. I shoot in very much the way that you do Karl, intuitively. And exactly what you said, I feel is what hinders me. I now refer to the light meter as the rule for which to shoot by and it conflicts with how I naturally work. (The photographer I mentioned shoots film a lot so there’s that) So now I am not going to go back to not using it which excites me. I think using it gave me more anxiety. Thank you so much for this video
I totally agree, and that is exactly why I *do* use a light meter... ;-)
I use a lot of film (because I think it is fun and because I like the workflow, I am not a pro so speed and costs are a different consideration). However, when I'm using a digital camera (mostly for macro), I definitely don't need a light meter, as the result (i.e. 3 RGB histograms) can be seen immediately after making a photograph. But when I go out with my Mamiya M645 1000S, I do bring a light meter, because it might take a few days before I developed the film.
Putting my opinion aside, I do think that Karl made some very good points about creativity, speed and emotion that can be impaired by (supposedly very important) technique. The immediate visual feedback and evoked emotion in the digital photography process is very valuable, and actually the biggest pro as compared to film.
I do not necessarily disagree with any assertion you make; however, why do I then still think that because you are a professional photographer, you should have a better contextual awareness of the intellectual paradigm of this, your assertion signifying this video?
The mark of a good teacher is that s/he does not and has not _forgotten_ the struggle for having learned the subject in the first place, which is indeed then being taught. Everyone starts as a beginner.
Or, to use the analogy for what I (also) know: billiards. I´ve seen trickshot experts perform _miracles_ attempting and succeeding at low-percentage multi-bank shots. What is the criterion for where s/he aims? The “worst“ will exhort the beginner to just “feel the ball.“ The better ones will expound upon geometric analyses, rules-of-thumb, recommendations, and practise methods implicit in efficiently conveying skill -- which is not to be necessarily conflated with success; however, the _best_ will at least preface the matter by mumbling something about muscle memory, and practise, practise, practise....
My friend, it´s a process. There is never a “reason“ _not_ to use a light exposure meter. _Never._
_Even if that light meter is_ you.
I have a gossen starlite, can't get dial to turn at all from 1° to 5° to __. Any ideas?
Agreed. Light meters are for film shooters (actually, I am considering getting a second hand 645 for fun, maybe meter then would be in order). The only case when I need a meter (and for that I use a free phone app) is when I need to set up light for shooting flat artwork to check how even is the lighting across the whole picture.
There are hundreds of light meters out there to buy.... some no doubt very good...
Remember in my teens learning about photography I would use a weston meter.... after a while I started testing myself....to see if my brain was as good as a weston it often was as good if not better.....
Nowadays ppl still promote sunny 16 which is good.....
It should be said light meter apps only work on reflected light and are not as great as hand held meters.... metering for highlights or shadows only.... Old saying "expose for the highlights and let the shadows do their thing"!!!!
I find your statements to not always apply to someone starting out.
Hi Karl, I'm an ameture photographer who mainly shoots medium format black and white film. I've recently purchased a sekonic 308 light meter to try and learn more about contrast in my shots. Is this something that would only be possible with an applicable light meter, or is there a way I can assess my environment to get an idea of how it will translate into shots. I try to keep test shots to a minimal as not to burn through my film. Great video btw.
Hi Nathan, yes I consider Light Meters and essential piece of kit for film photography and as I mentioned in the video I also used to use one back in my film days. For B&W you should also be thinking about the zone system and how that will apply to your B&W paper grades and printing. Look into the work of Ansel Adams and other master B&W photographers/printers to learn more. There are also different film stocks that yield different contrast results but mostly it is in the printing stage.
@@VisualEducationStudio thank you for the reply and advice Karl, I've recently purchased (I th8nk) book Ansel Adams book number 2, the print and have been reading about the works of Henri Cartier-Bresson. I mainly use Ilford delta 100 and like to frequently play with low iso Adox films. Thank you for your time Karl and for all of your helpful and informative videos. 👏
Misleading title IMHO, I don't use light meter but I read RGB values instead, hum... still a measurement anyway.
Reason #1: I don't take photographs. Reason #2: I left my camera @ home. Otherwise, we are humans, fallible and fragile, and unable to determine light levels. Of course, there are perhaps a few of us who were born with calibrated light sensors, I must rely on my light meters unfortunately. You can use Sunny Sixteen if you are 16 and the Sun is shining, but otherwise avoid him and don't let your daughter date him either. My thoughts.
Does this advice hold for 4x5 or 10x8 landscape photographers in 2023. I think slowness is an important part of the process
It seems to me that using nothing but a histogram would be useless when it comes to calculating lighting ratios for portraiture. You can't really balance it correctly unless you're using a hand held incident light meter. You could get the overall exposure correct with the histogram, but it is otherwise useless in such a situation. For a photo of a somewhat large group of people - who cares?
No lighting ratio calculations would be necessary. But if it's an engagement couple ... then you might want to get those ratios just right, as well as get the background just right - your canvas or whatever. Experience taught me, and not even very much experience - that it is almost somewhat like getting 3 or 4 different exposures correctly (individually) and then combining the result.
Kinda / sorta. If you have film, then you don't want to waste too much of it getting everything wrong, simply because of the financial cost. But with digital, who cares? Because you're only going to send the final result to your digital lab, or inkjet print it yourself if your wizardry & dollars also extend in that direction.
So yes ... this is a case when a hand held light meter is quite handy.
Imagine having super costly studio with kinda insane gear and give advices to common users like " you know lightmeter usless"
yeah well kinda true but..
I have APHANTASIA ... look that word up, and then ask me again, WHY on heavens earth I make photos ... This for sure do not make any sense.
I have huge problem understanding and learning new thing. I must have the parts in my hands before I get just a little bit of understanding of things.
Also, we are "some" people here, that don't use expensive Mac computers or other "high-end" stuff, simply, we can't afford it.
So what do we do? We go and use Linux and all the free apps there instead. Can I shoot teethered there? ehhh no .. do not work, have tryed :)
Do I own a Light Meter? Nope, can't afford it.
I own a used camera and a speed light, I hope some day, I can figure out all those (for me) fancy word, like exposure, f-stop ect.
There is no good information for me in my own language, so I am forced to see what other do here on youtube, and all is on english.
I am super duper happy there is SUBS here! - That have helped me a lot!
Thanks for awesome work an congrats on your very extreme skill level, that many of us never will be able to reach, even if we tryed hard!
Still I enjoy my own goofy pictures, no one else see them either way :)
I stopped watching when he said "... when I bought my first digital camera". Besides of shooting digital I love using my old film camera so I really rely on an external light meter. At least when the light situation gets a bit difficult.
Hehe the title is so click-bait.
I mostly agree with Karl, though. When I'm on digital cameras, I very rarely use external lightmeters.
Set the metering mode into spot meter, take a test shot, examine the histogram, and take another shot with some adjustments
Well, I'm not a studio photographer with all lightning gears and displays/LCD are calibrated, though.
90% of my shots are outdoor: sometimes street photography, sometimes landscape, ocasionally portrait.
But when I'm with 35mm or medium format film cameras, my Sekonic/Gossen is always ready. I don't want to mess with Polaroid backs. So far, lightmeter helps me because I always start with visualiation in mind, then consult the lightmeter how to achieve that. Well perhaps after I gain more experience, I can ditch it? :D
It just depends. When I was a 1st for miles Aldridge (and many others) we'd prelight sets without a tech on set. Having meter to rough everything in was paramount.
But if you have a tech or a digital camera metering makes no sense. Even when repeating lighting skin tones change so the key will vary.
Shit, these days when I shoot 4x5 or 6x9 I just use an app on my phone to work out ratios and values.
people use light-metres just to look professional. They don't know $h*t about photography.
So you gave up the light meter for a laptop screen. And it's not time consuming to set up either.
Hi EFD, I'd need the laptop anyway as I'm nearly always shooting tethered unless it's fashion on location and then I'm using the preview screen. But the video isn't really about that it's more about how I feel a light meter pushes you in a preconceived idea based on a computers decision. I already know if I put my light on at X distance with Y modifier on mid power level that if I set f11 it's going to be in the ballpark, eyeballing it from there helps me concentrate on whether it looks right rather than a device telling me it is right.
@@VisualEducationStudio EDF hat schon Recht, aber man muss es auch mal selbst verstehen, was man da betreibt. Ob es jetzt der Handbelichtungsmesser einrichtet, wie es der professionelle Fotograf oder auch Amateur haben möchte oder doch ein Monitor, läuft doch auf die gleiche Sache hinaus. Wer es vorher schon visualisieren kann, was wie wird, nur noch einmisst und nicht mal einen Monitor braucht um zu kontrollieren, der ist nicht nur Profi sondern Meister seines Fachs ;-)
This is illogical nonsense. You are substituting a basic tool for another far more complex alternative. Both inform subjective decisions.
Wow, what horrible advice. You also shouldn’t read your camera manual, because, you know, that’s just technical stuff that takes away from your creativity. Nonsense. It’s fine if you understand how a light meter works, why it’s useful, and then decide you don’t need one for whatever reason. But “teaching” beginners and amateurs bad practices like this can actually limit their development and understanding *a lot* . This isn’t education - it’s just one dude’s opinion. Fine. But there are also a million reasons why a light meter is an insanely useful tool, for photographers of all levels. It has nothing to do with experience either - the very top photographers and cinematographers who shoot digitally have camera assistants who yes, *do* use light meters to set up their shots. Maybe not always, but very often. A light meter does not limit your creativity either - that is such a simplistic perspective. It’s a tool that can actually enhance your creativity if used properly.
I get it, almost like the whole program modes vs full manual argument. Does the photographer control the light, or does the light control the photographer? 😂 In practice though, it's not feasible to have a tethered setup in every part of the industry. It makes sense in the commercial side, but not as much for ppl who need speed, like weddings.
I think I can still get paid 10k for a photography work without using a light meter even if I get paid 10K if I use it. Like Karl says if using a light meter makes you happy just use it!
Horrible. Everything depends on the shoot. Sometimes I use a meter, sometimes I don't. The meter never hampers my creativity as the meter is a recommendation just like the needle in dslr and the Ev in mirrorless. Sometimes I want "perfect exposure 30% flash" like for head shots. The meter will make that much faster to achieve. Everything has its place, if you dont want to work with one fine, others like me, like them in their place.
a light meter is more precise than my eyes so sorry i'll use a light meter at least i know my shot is in 18% middle gray after that i have the ability to place whatever light i want in the dynamic range of the camera , i don't count on the histogram when i shoot raw i don't have the experience you have maybe after i can use my eyes i'm not there yet plus i don't have the precise tools you have metering in 1/30 increments
the type who use light meters are like the type that gotta have storyboards for shooting a movie. It's a working style, either I think is fine. For me, I'm strictly a no storyboarding, no TTL and no light meters dude
I never use a light meter when i shoot film. I can tell the exposure I want just by looking.
Joel meyerowitz measured light on the street by looking at his hand. No meter
To each his own, we say.... I don't manage any paid contracts without a color meter and a light meter. When on simple photo walks, I don't use a light meter...just the distance meter in the flash when needed.
Karl is basically telling you. That light meter can teach you about light but wont train your eyes becuase you will become too dependent on it. You guys are complaining about "light meter can be a learning tool" well so can learning how to actually use your digital camera and the features it has. You camera gives you a lot of information and lots of new photographers and intermediate ones disregard those features. Photography is not all technical it is an art. So train your eyes to understand your capture tool better. I worked in the cinema industry for over a decade and super color critical work and never used a light meter. There are some fundamentals that needed to be learned when using you camera its not just a point and click tool it is so your light meter if you learn how to fully use your tool.
I'm just trying to are a picture of a painting I've done to make prints. I plan on taking pictures from my paintings from here on, so this is great help.
I do not own a camera right now, except what I have in my smart phone for now.
I know this must sound ridiculous but you have to stat somewhere.
White peoples make trivial things scientific. This is great. You saved me a lot of money.
I agree with the premise of this video but I still occasionally use a light meter at wedding receptions. A meter can be helpful when the subject isn't in place so there's nothing to test shoot. I often have to setup for a first dance or speech before there's anyone there to test shoot. Being able to go out on the floor myself and set my lights "in the ball park" without the aid of another person to stand there has been helpful. In the end, it usually takes me several shots of the real thing to tweak the lights by appearance and disregarding what the meter originally said.
i won't dislike but "for digital photography" should be in the name of the video and it's not that i wasted 4 minutes it's that for 4 minutes i thought i can maybe not spend my money on it ;(
Your a studio photographer that uses Digital. This is why you don't need a light meter.
I find a light meter gets me in the ball park fast. I then tweak settings a bit to be creative. Like an old friend, bring your old tools into your studio and celebrate their goodness.
When I transitioned from film to digital, around 2004, I also quickly stopped using a light meter. Fast forward to just a few years ago when I found out there was a light meter that also can control my monolights wirelessly I was intrigued. It's now very handy to adjust power for each individual head directly from my light meter. I don't consider myself dependent on it, I know what exposure I want for a particular situation it just helps me adjust my lights quicker.
Makes sense. Cheers.
If you do know where and how to measure the light, precisely, and how to use a flashmeter, this is THE perfect tool.
@@VisualEducationStudio Das widerspricht aber dem Inhalt des Videos komplett, aber zustimmen ist gut ;-)
I have a good Minolta light meter. I use it always when using strobes. It’s a guide…not a God.
No longer producing color film transparency images is one of the core reasons why the once required incident or in-view camera metering probe is no longer really needed. Digital images in real time is a Very Different method of image making and image results.
It are digital meters and cameras that are a waste of money. The digi meter gives you one exposure setting and the digi camera has a menu which is impossible to remember which is why everyone has it on Automatic.
I use lightmeter to learn light and photography
I'm not born speaker and I really love Your pure English. Understable English which You have during explainig of photography issues and topics. Thank You so much for You work what You do for other peoples to better understanding of photography.
Thank you! 😃
As an landscape photographer and working with slide film I mostly use incident light metering. Light conditions change sometimes very quickly. So I get more constant and color correct slides with my Gossen light meters. Some create photos, some calculate them digital and some used trial and error... everyone as he could.
I don't know, but I use it all the time if I could. It save my time and effort too.
The Angry Photographer is, well, getting more angry.
I'll accept that, but I'd say passionate would be more appropriate especially when there is a point that I feel needs emphasising.
@@VisualEducationStudio Totally agree with your message here. Just trying to be cheeky :) Great content on your channel. I also like the Angry Photographer too. There's nothing wrong with your workflow if you find it works for you.
Digital cameras still have metering display for ambient light. I don't fell myself less creative using it.
But I appreciate your point of view.
8:47
Just an opinion? That's not how the title of the video sounds.
If you shoot film use a light meter. If you shoot digital throw that pointless light meter away.
Exactly Ferhan. Cheers.