How to Use a Light Meter in Corded Flash Mode
Light meters are invaluable tools used by nearly every professional photographer. Modern cameras have built-in light meters, it's true, but none can ever be as accurate or as versatile as a dedicated model. These meters allow a photographer to quickly assess the necessary exposure to produce an image under any sort of ambient light just by pressing a button. Studio photographers also employ light meters when setting up a shot with flashes. In corded flash mode, when the lights are connected to the meter by a PC cord, the meter triggers the flashes and simultaneously takes an exposure reading.
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Instructions
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Light the scene you are about to photograph. It's important to position the lights the same distance from the subject that they will be when you take the photograph.
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Turn on all your lights, battery packs and your light meter.
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Select the ISO/ASA that you are shooting at in your light meter.
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Set the light meter to take an incident reading. If necessary, attach the white semi-sphere used for incident readings, which resembles a halved ping-pong ball. This dome evenly distributes the light across the meter's sensor and is designed to approximate the exposure on a curved surface, like an apple or a human face.
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Set your light meter to corded flash mode. This is usually shown as a bolt of lightning with an arrow at the bottom (the universal symbol for "flash") with a "C" nearby. On most light meters it is accessed by pressing the "Mode" button several times --- your meter's User's Manual has exact instructions.
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Plug the PC cord that connects the flashes to the camera into the light meter. This connection allows the light meter, rather than the camera, to trigger the flashes.
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Shut off the room lights, if there are any.
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Hold the light meter directly in front of the subject with the measurement head pointed back toward the camera's lens.
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Press the button to measure the exposure. When you press this button, the flashes will fire and the meter will take a reading in the fraction of a second that they are lighting up the scene.
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Check the meter's LCD screen for the appropriate aperture setting. You don't need to consult the shutter speed as it won't have any effect on the exposure of a scene lit solely with flashes.
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Tips & Warnings
If you do not have the dome required for an incident reading, you can use half of a white ping-pong ball.
References
- Photo Credit modern light meter image by jimcox40 from Fotolia.com
