Just to clarify, I was point the dome towards my computer monitor because I wanted to expose for the monitor, not the amount of ambient light reaching the monitor. The ambient light in my room was far less "brighter" than the monitor itself, so I figured if I were to expose FOR the monitor, I should have pointed the dome towards the monitor and not the camera. Is this the right thought process?
It sure would have been nice to have my digital camera still. THen I would be able to do some test shots with the light meter and see how it would affect the final image in camera. Can't do this with film, well especially because I don't have the time right now.
Thanks again guys for your help. Hope I'm not giving you guys any headaches!
The incident meter measures the light falling on the meter. If you place the incident meter at the subject's position, and point it generally toward the camera, it will measure how much light is falling on the subject. The reason that the incident meter uses a dome (and the reason you don't have field of view numbers for your meter in incident mode) is that the meter measures all the light falling on that side of the subject, even if it is coming from a number of different directions.
If you have a large, diffused light source (such as a cloudy sky) the light coming from the side, or above, or below may have a large affect on the exposure.
In contrast, when you use the meter in reflected mode, you are measuring how much light is reflecting back off the subject. That reading is greatly affected by the subject itself. Dark subjects reflect less, so the meter will suggest something that will tend to lighten them. Light subjects will reflect more, so the meter will suggest something that will tend to darken them.
The L-358 can be used in either mode.
If the subject is reasonably evenly lit, I tend to measure the light in incident mode, and then gauge whether or not to adjust my camera exposure based on my observations of the subject and my experience. Basically, I look at the subject and estimate whether or not I want to give more exposure, because the darker portions of the subject are of most interest, or less exposure, because the lighter portions of the subject are of most interest.
If the subject is lit unevenly (e.g. part is in shadow, and part isn't), I'll take at least two incident readings, so as to determine how much light is hitting each part. I'll then choose my final exposure, based on which portions of the subject are of most interest to me, favoring either the exposure suggested by the shadow reading, or one of the other readings instead. This is a bit trickier, because usually you want shadows to appear as shadows, just a little lighter than they might otherwise turn out. Having some idea about the Zone system and how it works is useful here.
I think I prefer the incident mode because it allows me to separate my thinking into two parts - first I use the meter to help me measure and consider the light intensity and quality, and then I use my observations concerning the subject's tones and reflectance.
I try to keep things simple as possible. For general photography, I carry a grey card and meter it in the same light as the subject. I find, also, a meter reading taken from the palm of my hand (in the same light as my subject), plus one stop for actual exposure, works for 99 44/100s percent of the time. Dinosaur that I am, I still use a Weston Master V. My Gossen Luna-Six has a spot meter attachment but i rarely use it.
Just to clarify, I was point the dome towards my computer monitor because I wanted to expose for the monitor, not the amount of ambient light reaching the monitor. The ambient light in my room was far less "brighter" than the monitor itself, so I figured if I were to expose FOR the monitor, I should have pointed the dome towards the monitor and not the camera. Is this the right thought process?
Jason
Jason:
This only works in incident mode (i.e. with the dome) if you are using the monitor as a source for light, rather than as the subject of the photograph. If you point your incident meter toward the monitor, your meter measures how much light is coming from your monitor.
You might do this, for instance if you were trying to take a photograph of someone's face while they were working at the computer, where the light illuminating their face came from the monitor itself.
You wouldn't use the meter this way if you wanted a photograph of the monitor itself.
Just to add to the already informative posts, I have been using an L-358 almost four years. It has been incredibly reliable, and I find that I can trust it implicitly. Sekonic have a great classroom on-line for metering:
Once you get use to thinking about the light falling upon a subject, then you are thinking correctly for incident reading. Of course, you can still adjust a bit over or under exposure. You could also bracket a roll of film, while taking many notes, and see how your technique and metering coincide. I did a bracket test when I first got my L-358, and that was the start of me trusting this meter, intead of the camera.
Just to clarify, I was point the dome towards my computer monitor because I wanted to expose for the monitor, not the amount of ambient light reaching the monitor. The ambient light in my room was far less "brighter" than the monitor itself, so I figured if I were to expose FOR the monitor, I should have pointed the dome towards the monitor and not the camera. Is this the right thought process?
...
Jason
Nope. For the reasons already stated by others. That would work (sort of) if you were taking a reflected reading, but not an incident one.
"Incident" in this context means the light incident upon (i.e. "falling" on) the subject*. So no, not the light being emitted by the subject or reflected by it. Just get the idea fixed that you are measuring the light falling on (incident upon) the subject and it should become clear.
Cheers, Bob.
* incident, a.1 II. 7. Falling or striking upon or against; acting upon anything from without. esp. of light: Falling or striking upon a surface often in photographic contexts. Const. upon. - OED
Well do I feel smart! Thanks for clearing that up guys. I guess I was trying to make an incident reading to be like a reflected reading. I have one more night to do some more "testing" before I'm off for my trip, but seeing as it may rain while I'm in Yosemite, I just may learn how to use my meter in my hotel room
Thanks again guys, I appreciate your time and help!
Lets hope for some snow
Jason
And thanks for the link Gordon! Checking it out right now...
Yeah, just to beat a dead horse , the reading you were taking would be great if you were taking a picture of a subject (a person) sitting in front of the monitor at the same location that you were metering from. In other words, a picture of someone illuminated by the light of the monitor...
So then, if I needed to expose for the monitor itself, or lets say a bright neon light, I would have to take a reflective meter reading as opposed to the incident reading correct?
Just to clarify, I was point the dome towards my computer monitor because I wanted to expose for the monitor, not the amount of ambient light reaching the monitor. The ambient light in my room was far less "brighter" than the monitor itself, so I figured if I were to expose FOR the monitor, I should have pointed the dome towards the monitor and not the camera. Is this the right thought process?
No. The meter now thinks the monitor is the light source and is giving you a reading for a subject illuminated by that source. This should give you a picture of a totally white monitor screen... as if you took a picture of a light bulb, but exposed for an object lit by the bulb.
To take a picture of the monitor, you need to meter the screen with a reflected light meter. BUT this will result in placing the monitor screen on Zone V, which is medium gray. Is your monitor screen gray? Probably not; so you would need to adjust the reading to make the screen appear as it does to your eye.
Do you have a Kodak gray card? You should get one, it's a very valuable tool. If you have one, place it next to your monitor screen and take a reading off it, and another reading off the screen. Set your camera for the reading from the card, and the screen should look "normal" in a photo.
Linear Mode
