Light meter alternative

[danielyamseng]

I'm trying to solve the problem of having to bracket the shooting for outdoor shooting with difficult lighting and studio shoot with flash.

Beside there any workaround beside using a light meter?

[cdifoto]

Meters take away the guesswork. That's why they exist.

[Titus213]

A meter is always good to have and use, especially with tough lighting.

[danielyamseng]

That means there's no workaround for it,right?

[Gatorboy]

Are you shooting a person? Zoom in tight, and fill the frame with their cheek (not in focus), and check your histogram. You don't want it pegged to the right, but rather about 3/4 of the way.

[Milner]

Take a gray card with you, set the camera to spot meter, zoom in tight on the card and take your reading. As mentioned, a cheek will work, I've also used the back of my hand....

[TMR Design]

Take a gray card with you, set the camera to spot meter, zoom in tight on the card and take your reading. As mentioned, a cheek will work, I've also used the back of my hand....

While this method will get you in the ballpark for ambient light it doesn't help at all for flash or strobes. If you're not going to use a light meter then you're back to guessing, shooting, checking, shooting, checking, etc..

[Wilt]

While I am a staunch advocate of hand held metering, I will state that even 'in the old days' of film shooting, in difficult lighting situations the meter would get you close to the mark, but studio pros (especially for product photography, where facial expressions of the subjects are not a factor) very often relied upon bracketing to nail the exposure.

[gryphonslair99]

I'm trying to solve the problem of having to bracket the shooting for outdoor shooting with difficult lighting and studio shoot with flash.

Beside there any workaround beside using a light meter?

There is always the SWAG & CHIMP method. Personally I prefer a meter. Much quicker.

[PaulBradley]

Not really any workaround. All the alternatives are less convenient. You could use FEL to meter a neutral bit of the scene, or you could chimp. Neither is going to replace a meter.

[PhotosGuy]

shooting for outdoor shooting with difficult lighting Need an exposure crutch? (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=89123) and studio shoot with flash. My 1-cent flash "meter" in images 5S & 6S.
Simple 2 Light Portrait Set-up (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=128857)

[Mark1]

Lick your finger and hold it up!... no wait.........that is to check for wind. :)