Basic lightmeter questions

Using a Sekonic 478D and taking a portrait with natural light

1. Should I always have the dome all the way out when measuring overall exposure on the subjects face?
2. How close should I place the unit to the subjects face?
3. I’m in a room naturally lit and the window is about 12 feet a way so there is no direct light shining on the subject. Should I still point the done in that direction?

Thanks

The hemisphere dome should be out for ALL BUT the shooting of flat objects (e.g. paintings).

The retracted dome should be used for

1. the shooting of flat objects (e.g. paintings), or for
   
2. taking readings of individual light sources to calculate ration of light emitted on the subject by each source
   

1. Why wouldn't you?
2. Right at the face, with the dome pointing at the camera if you want to average the light & shadows. Dome pointing at the light if you just want to measure the highlights.
3. "no direct light shining" from what direction? In most cases, I would go with #2.

Edit: Wilt beat me by 56 seconds! ; D

Any idea how accurate this meter is? Is it a good overall meter? I purchased it used.

Thanks.

The Sekonic 478 should be a superb meter. My own personal bias is against color displays on any product that will be used outdoors in bright sun...like trying to use your smartphone, it often washes out!

I’m still fairly new to photography and lighting, so I’m trying to make sense of all of this. When using studio lighting, I will have the key light shining on one side of the subject’s face, and a reflector reflecting light on the other side of the subjects face, so that side will be in partial shadow.

1. What is the best approach for using the meter for taking a reading of both sides of the subject’s face? I can get a reading on the lit side showing a good exposure, though what should I be looking for on the side that is more in shadow?

Thanks.

kat.hayes wrote in post #18539444
I’m still fairly new to photography and lighting, so I’m trying to make sense of all of this. When using studio lighting, I will have the key light shining on one side of the subject’s face, and a reflector reflecting light on the other side of the subjects face, so that side will be in partial shadow.

1. What is the best approach for using the meter for taking a reading of both sides of the subject’s face? I can get a reading on the lit side showing a good exposure, though what should I be looking for on the side that is more in shadow?

Thanks.

1. Retract the hemisphere.

   Point the meter at the Main (Window), take a reading
   

   Point the meter at the Fill (reflector), take a reading

2. Compare 2:3 to derive contrastiness of lighting (3:1 not contrasty; 5:1 moderate contrast; 7:1 high contrast)
   (e.g. f/4 reading 2, f/2.8 reading 3 = not contrasty 2:1 (...Main is 1EV brighter than Fill (if Fill does not cover the full face overlapping area lit by Main)
   
3. Raise the hemisphere, point meter at the lens, take a reading...set on camera.
   

1. Why retract the hemisphere in this scenario?
2. The reflector is positioned at an angle to the subject and the camera. Do I point the meter at the reflector from the camera’s current vantage point, or do I reposition myself to get a better reading of the reflector?
3. You mentioned “e.g. f/4 reading 2, f/2.8 reading 3 = not contrasty” what is the “2” value in the f/4 reading 2,” and the “3” value from the f/2.8 reading 3?
4. After going through and comparing the contrastiness of the lighting, what is the purpose of taking the final reading in your step 5?

Thanks for your help!

Read about Incident Light Meters: https://jimdoty.com …_meter/exp_inc_​meter.html

https://photography.tu​tsplus.com …ed-photographs--cms-24142

This might help:

https://www.rangefinde​ronline.com …itive-and-source-methods/

There's good information in the thread already. You might find it helpful to view some of the tutorials that Sekonic has on their web site. As a start, the following video seems to answer many of your questions.

https://www.sekonic.co​m …for-better-portraits.aspx

kat.hayes wrote in post #18539430
Any idea how accurate this meter is? Is it a good overall meter? I purchased it used.

Thanks.

Head outside at noon on cloudless day. Point the meter at the sun Sunny 16 rule. Should be dead on. If not calibrate it.

Thanks everyone for the great info. Been reading through all of it.

What is a good approach to using the light meter when using a 70-200mm and shooting from a distance, with moving subjects like kids or a dog when there are clouds changing the lighting, or it is golden hour and the lighting is changing while the subjects are also moving?

Thanks.

Unless you are in the shade or under a bright lamp, your subjects are under the same lighting conditions you are. So take a reading at your location and shoot away. That's what I do when doing landscape photography.

kat.hayes wrote in post #18540951
What is a good approach to using the light meter when using a 70-200mm and shooting from a distance, with moving subjects like kids or a dog when there are clouds changing the lighting, or it is golden hour and the lighting is changing while the subjects are also moving?

Tough question to try to answer all the options here. What did you do before you bought this light mener?