Beginner question

[carla25]

Can someone help me understand how a light meter and WB calibration tool (ex: photovision calibration target) can be used together in the studio? Do you need both?
Thanks!

ETA: Also if you have both, would you meter first before you set WB or set WB then meter?

[SkipD]

Metering the lighting and dealing with white balance are two totally separate functions.

A light meter is critically important for photography, although with LOTS of experience some folks can fairly accurately guess at exposure settings in the studio.

There is, more than likely, a light meter built into your camera. A meter built into a camera can only measure light reflected from a subject and that light must be conventional constant lighting (not from a flash source). Most handheld meters, however, can read light falling on a subject (using the incident measurement mode) and many can read light from flash sources. I prefer to use a handheld light meter (mine is a Sekonic L-358 ) most of the time and seldom use the meter built into my camera except as a backup.

There are several ways to deal with white balance (for getting colors accurate in an image).

One way to deal with white balance is to simply choose the appropriate setting in the camera to match the type of light.

Another method is to set a "custom white balance" in the camera, requiring a "neutral" target. This is sometimes awkward to do for several reasons. The target must be held in the very same lighting as that which falls on the subject. I find the custom white balance procedure to be a bit of a pain in the you-know-where.

The method I like to use also involves a neutral target. I use a WhiBal card, but the Photovision Calibration Target would work equally well. After metering the scene and setting the camera for proper exposure, I place a WhiBal reference card in the scene in a way that will have it lit the same way as the subject. I shoot in RAW mode and use an "eyedropper" tool during the RAW conversion process to capture the proper settings for white balance. Then, I can enter those values into the software for a batch conversion of the rest of the images in the series. Using this method, it doesn't really make a difference what white balance setting you're using in the camera, but I try to choose the most appropriate setting just for starters.

[PhotosGuy]

There are several ways to deal with white balance (for getting colors accurate in an image). Another way that works well, especially if you shoot RAW for the extra lattitude: If you shoot white paper ON THE METER READING, it will photograph gray, just what the cam needs for Custom WB. Use that exposure for the WB set-up.
It's pretty good for adjusting exposure too, when there are bright highlights that aren't important in the frame.
Need an exposure crutch? (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=89123)

Gray Card…White Paper. What’s best? (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=58677)

[carla25]

Very great explanations! Thanks