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Incident or reflective readings?
On which meter do I set the ISO?

Incident or reflective readings?

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When metering a subject in a studio flash set up what reading do you take? Do you take the f-stop reading that the flash produces or do you take the reflected reading from the subject? In other words do I point my light meter at the flash or do I read from the bounced light (point meter toward subject)?
Kurt

Dear Kurt:
While it is indeed possible to take reflective readings from your subject in a studio environment there is no good reason to do so. Measuring the light that is illuminating the subject is far more accurate. You must establish your working ISO for the film you choose to use. If you are doing portrait work you can use Kodak Portra 160NC. It’s a fine portrait film. Fuji makes fine film as well. It’s important while you are learning that you stick to one film so you won’t have a different set of rules to work with each time you try another series of portraits. Keep things simple and the same each time so the only variable is your performance. This way you can learn more efficiently because you are the only thing that is changing. Hopefully for the better! Now without going into a far too lengthy explanation as to why you should rate your film a bit different than the rating on the box it will be easier for now if you simply rate the Kodak 160 at 80 or 100. If you have a flash meter with a dome, point it at the main light. Many believe that you should point it at the fill light but if you desire truly consistent negatives regardless of the ratios used during the sitting, this is the best way to do it. You will have negatives that are virtually identical one to the next. Keeping your flesh values consistent throughout your sitting will insure uniform contrast and color balance.

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On which meter do I set the ISO?

Due to the frequency of this question I have also included it in the Beginners Q & A section.

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When you set the ISO on your flash meter, do I also set the same ISO on the meter in my camera?
Burt

Dear Burt:
I bet a day doesn't go by where I don't receive this question. I want to make you think a little here so you will thoroughly grasp this concept. Here we go. What does the hand held flash meter measure? It measures the studio strobe lighting that is falling upon the subject. You then use the f stop setting that it recommends and set your lens aperture accordingly. What happens with the meter in your camera during all this? Not a thing! Why would you even think about the meter in the camera? It does not measure flash. It measures the amount of available light that is in the room. (Not much compared to the flash.)You are NOT using the room light to light your portrait. You are using the studio strobes to light your portrait. Your camera is in the full manual mode (or at least it better be) and you are the one telling it what to do. Set the shutter speed to the proper sync speed that the camera is made for and then set the f stop on the lens and then MAKE PICTURES! Don't make it complicated. You don't use two meters at the same time. The one in the camera might as well not even be there. It is not used. Let me say this again. IT IS NOT USED. Now I feel better. Use the meter in the camera when you are outdoors during the day. That is what it is there for. It is NOT for studio strobe work. Your handheld flash meter measures the strobe output, you set the camera and then create. That's it! Simple, easy, cool, no worries.

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