How to use a flashmeter

Techniques

24 October 2007 12:47

You can’t use the camera’s own built-in lightmeter built to meter studio flash exposures:  you’ll need a separate flashmeter to measure the exposure.

The most accurate way to use these handheld meters is a technique known as incident light metering. This measures the light falling on the subject rather than the light reflected by it. This means it won’t be affected by the colour or tone of the subject.

When using the flash meter you’ll see it has a small white dome (known as an invercone) that covers the light-sensitive cell.

Set up your lights in the approximate position you want them. Work out where the subject needs to be. Put the meter in front of your subject (or the space it will occupy) and point the meter directly back at the camera.

Firing the flash will allow the meter to measure the light falling on the subject, and give a digital read out showing the aperture you need to set.