What is the difference between reflected light and incident light

Here are a few quick tips for you:. You can also purchase a gray card or a reflector that comes with one on the back of the case and use that to meter. Just remember to use spot metering, and target only the gray card area. Set your exposure using manual mode to the setting you get when you meter off of the gray card. Have your subject hold it in the scene like this:. The second method of measuring the light is called incident metering. This is where you use a handheld light meter to measure the amount of light falling on the subject.

It is not affected by the brightness or tonality of the subject and will give you a more accurate reading right off the bat. Incident metering is done by placing the meter by the subject, pointing it at the light source and taking a reading.

Each brand or model of incident meter is slightly different, but basically what it will tell you is what to settings to use on your camera to get a good exposure. You can also scroll up and down to see different pairings — for example:.

Most professionals use incident metering for portraits and things that are stationary, like studio work or still life subjects. It is more accurate, and also allows you to measure things like off-camera flash set to manual exposure and ratios. Zoid: What do you mean by "failed" Nikon light meters? Are they more "failed" than others? I've never met a meter that saw things quite my way, and don't expect that I ever will.

That's a big undercurrent in this discussion. Chris: LOL. No I mean the growing number of photomic finders out there that aren't being repaired. I knew several years ago, that the resistive part that the photomics used was at the time getting scarce, and I encouraged a friend to get his F's photomic meter repaired while he still could which he did indeed get repaired.

I don't know if the parts ever dried up, but in what I remember from 8 years ago, parts were getting pretty scarce. So, in short, whenever I see an F, or an F2 with an inoperative meter, I wonder now if they're still repairable assuming the resistive part is the failure point. As far as having a light meter see light your way, that is where working with colored lights gets to be a bit of a challenge.

If one wishes to use colored lights to invoke a mood, well, that could be grounds for throwing much of the 'standard' exposure rules out the door. Normally daylight exposure works with a varying orange to white to blue tweaking of deg. K light or something thereof. Dusk can get even more colorful to work with. I haven't worked with such types of photography outside of magenta filters for the old fluorescent lighting days , but now I think I'd rather fill with flash.

I know concert photographers have done very non-standard things with film and, in particular, slide film pushing and such to get results and effects that have turned out to be quite desirable. The only other instance where I can think of color correction being critical is with slide film in which color balance was 'critical. That was something that I had not realized with digital cameras was the inherent ability to use them as a crude color meter.

Zoid: Thanks for your clarifications and further thoughts. As an old reversal film guy, I like to set my cameras to 'Daylight' generally. Good then, good now, but a mistake to take that as a mantra. Shoot a Whibal or equivalent , then season to taste.

Shooting stage, keep in mind that most stage lights are K. I set for that and let things fall as they may and they fall all over the map, but that falls to the lighting designer.

Pushing slide film was a major expense with questionable results. Pushing Ektachrome ? Glad that's over. If one shoots a neutral reference, it's not necessary to measure color temperature. Complete correction is not always desirable.

But we digress from the original topic The Apprentice learns the rules. The Journeyman knows the rules. The Master knows how and when to modify the rules. Ellis: Thanks for your thoughtful and informative contributions.

I always appreciate you insightful writing. While I don't agree that incident readings generally are more 'accurate,' it's a small thing.

Keep it coming! There's nothing quite like a meter thread. Love them. With my M6 built in meter I am learning to just do what it tells me and it's nearly always right. I've seen meter threads recently where capable people have all sorts of variations on how to set exposure with a built in meter, including different techniques for slides and color negative. One user takes a reflective reading from the sky and opens one stop for slides.

In a way that is tantamount to an incident reading. Hi Lex, I have a brand new Nikon resistor ring I could install. I just haven't felt the need to do so.

I repair cameras, and have quite a large selection of parts. Thanks for the info. Were trendsetters like Coltrane and Ornette also savants? Were geniuses like Mingus and Ellington also savants? I do not have to carry a gray card. Chris: I learned a lot about lighting when I went to lighting design school as an engineer in training. One interesting aspect of lighting design is dealing with reflectance and we studied why it is important to consider reflectance in lighting design my photographic mind was in high gear when we hit that aspect.

Latitude, and CC aside, K is not a bad guess, but in practice, I had at one time trained my eyes to recognize variances as much as K, to K for particular cases.

It's been a few years since I've had to do that, but I will agree that there is a certain loveliness to finding 'quick' and 'optimum' white balance in many situations. The biggest difference I can see and somewhat have experienced at a meager level between shooting for hobby and shooting for name is the difference between a good image, and a good image.

In my experiences, it has always come down to getting the shot. In the end, that is what matters most. Whether a photographer chooses to do more work in the field, or in PP is a matter of personal taste, the subject under exposure, the time constraints of shooting, and of course Digital is here to stay.

I take no offense to its presence in the photographic industry. I will say that when it comes to photography as a form of art, I sincerely hope that the industry will at least offer film for those who still wish to use it.

Grain in itself, can be a texture added to an image. And done well, grain can be quite lovely to encounter in a photograph. I suppose I'm stuck somewhere between the Journeyman and the Master both in digital, and film mediums. Tough times these days. John: Yes, in the literal sense. Less sure about Ornette. Zoid: I agree with your opinions and observations.

However lighting designers don't use much white light. No matter what the temp, you get blue, red, orange, etc. Green performers are the worst, I think.

Edward at covered the question very well, IMO. Without getting into types of reflective ie spot, matrix, center weighted etc. Just know that incident meter reading has to be taken at the point of the subject. If the subject is in different light than the camera is, you have to take the reading at the subject. If this is impractical, such as many landscapes, I would suggest using the reflective meter. If that meter is a spot meter it can really help bring control to the exposure.

But modern camera matrix type meters are pretty good and in fact even the center weighted meters can be very good if you are aware of what they are doing. Uhooru , Feb 17, Chris: I agree with your points. Green is the poorest choice for a dominant color in certain lighting situations - my skin itches at the thought of it. I suppose I should add the caveat that I was speaking in terms of general indoor illumination.

Both of these issues are the result of measuring the reflected light from the subject instead of the actual light falling on the subject. Reflected meters are for setting the tonality of a specific spot or small area of the subject.

A better and more accurate metering method to go with is an incident-light meter. This is a handheld light meter that more adequately measures the amount of light falling on the subject. When you read light before it hits the subject, you will achieve better results every time. So, how do you use an incident light meter? Start by setting the meter to the ambient metering mode. Note that most of these meters have a degree angle of view. In cases where you would rather go with a shallower depth of field i.

This is why an incident meter will give you more consistent results with needing less skill than reflected readings. If you're getting tired of the inbuilt reflected light meter not working correctly for you, try an external incident meter. I'm probably not the only amateur who's using these photo lamps with the cute little white umbrellas for indoor portraits, but I'm really just guessing how to apply them correctly. Perhaps you could make a session for "How to effectively use studio lighting"?

I'm sure that many of your 'followers' would appreciate your input on studio lighting. If I have missed an existing article on that, please tell me where I can find it. My photography newsletter is packed with tips and tricks each and every week. These tips will help you master your camera and take simply stunning photos.

You'll find yourself taking better shots by using just two or three tips! Register Sign In. How Do I? Pro Photography Photographer Critiques Storage. Awesome Interesting Useful Boring Comments Wolf says:. Leave a Comment Cancel Reply Your email address will not be published. About David Peterson.

David Peterson is the creator of Digital Photo Secrets , and the Photography Dash and loves teaching photography to fellow photographers all around the world. Related Tutorials.

Prepare to learn photography the fun way!