Using a Sekonic L308B light meter

[PBimages]

Well I screwed up big time yesterday!

I went out and photographed an old local church, no more than a 5 minute drive from the house, so if need be I can easily head back anytime I wish!

So for the first shot I used both reflective and incident meter readings, this is what I found:-

Reflected from buildings light parts 1/8 F45
Reflected from buildings dark parts 1/2 F45

Incident reading from camera 1/4 F45

So the incident reading apparantly found the averge, so that's what I set the camera to and shot at that!

The negative came out great!

But then I started to get confident with my technique, and the results went down hill, I just used incident reading from the camera pointing at the subject, and the results got poorer and poorer.

the last negative was so thin in sections that I have no detail, I have sky detail and floor detail but no detail in the buildings!

Any idea where I went so disastriously wrong?

Equipment used:- Sekonic L308B

[Paul Bujak]

Incident light means light that is incident on the subject. So to take an incident light reading, you should hold the meter facing the camera, with the sensor receiving the same light that is falling on the subject. So if the subject is in shade, the sensor should also be shaded. Similarly, subject in sun, sensor in sun.

When the subject is both partially sunlit and shaded, it becomes a bit more difficult. Averaging both readings could work well as you found out. But the sensor should always face the lens and be approximately in the same plane as the subject. You do not have to be at the subject to take a reading, but orient the meter so the sensor receives subject lighting.

[PBimages]

Sorry I think I am getting my terminology wrong... Maybe even confusing myself. Getting back to basics is hard going at times, but something we all need to do!

My problem is that untill recently I never did a photography course or anything else so I am self taught like most of you I imagine!

even though I am 31, I do find myself getting rather confused... you read this and that online and sometimes you can get yourself into such a mess, with there being so many conflicting idea's out there!

Hence I am trying to clarify the situation once and for all!

[Joanna Carter]

So, just how did you take your readings? What direction was the meter facing when you took the incident reading? Incident readings should also be taken from near the subject, not at the camera.

[Ralph Barker]

Sounds like you need to take a step back and think about what the meter is reading, and what it's telling you as a result of that reading.

Incident readings measure the light falling on the subject, and are usually taken at the subject position. Alternatively, an incident reading can also be taken in the same light as falling on the subject. As mentioned above, that usually means pointing the meter's sensor toward the camera position. Some, however, prefer to point the incident dome toward the light source. (More on the difference below.)

A reflective reading, usually taken from the camera position, measures the light being reflected by the subject. Depending on the reflective meter's angle of acceptance, that may result in some averaging between shadow and highlight areas. As such, a reading with a meter of, let's say 35°, can easily be misleading, depending on where the meter is pointed and the ratio of shadow to highlight.

So, an incident reading, taken from a position appropriate for the circumstances, will give a suggested exposure based on the general light level falling on the scene, but ignoring the range of luminence between shadows and highlights, often referred to as the Scene Brightness Range (SBR), and ignoring how the SBR might relate to the dynamic range of the film. Thus, in brightly lit outdoor scenes with a high SBR, the negatives may have both blown highlights and shadows of little detail. More detailed incident reading techniques get around part of that, but still don't account for the actual reflective qualities of elements in the scene. As such, some feel incident readings are best used in studio environments where lighting and contrast ratios are more controlled.

Similarly, to make good use of what a reflective reading is telling you, you really need to know what the meter is actually reading (i.e. is it reading a highlight?, a shadow?, exactly a 50/50 mix?), and then compensate (interpret the reading) accordingly. This is one reason many people like 1° spot meters with viewfinders. The spot meter allows more precise measurements of smaller areas within the scene, so exposure and development decisions can be made accordingly.

Part of the interpretation of reflective readings involves "placing" readings from within the scene at the desired level. For example if you spot meter a moderately deep shadow and want that area to be a Zone III, let's say, the tentative actual exposure would be two stops less. You might then spot meter a highlight value, and see where that would fall if the tentative adjusted shadow exposure were used. If the highlight falls outside the film's range, then you might decide to adjust development to compress the range, and increase exposure correspondingly to compensate for the planned difference in development.

It's also important to also recognize, I think, that metering technique should be viewed within the wider context of the individual's overall exposure and development system. For example, variations in metering technique between individuals may result in a stop or more difference in exposure, but that difference may be compensated for by other factors during development and/or the personalized speed rating for the film.

[PBimages]

Here are the scanning in negatives, all that I have done to them in photoshop is stitch them together, hopefully you can see where I am going wrong!





One was taken with a Red Filter the other was straight out of the camera!





Same again!

Using the filter, obviously increased the time and appears to have improved the image!

[PBimages]

Here are another two images from the same day!

No filter was used on these images as I was running out of time, had not obtained permission from the land owner as I did not know who owned the land and as you might expect had someone get a bit nasty with me, but after a chat with him it was ok and I have now written to the land owner to photograph them properly!

So can anyone tell from these images where I was going wrong with the metering?

[Once]

Would be good if you stopped rambling for a moment and answered the questions of people trying to help you. They already answered your question, I think.

[Pat Kearns]

At one time there was a very good article on the sekonic website explaining reflected and incident light readings. It demonstrated how each reading is taken and showed the effects of each. Search their website. If the article is still there it should prove to be beneficial. Everyone above has pretty much covered your problem and solution. Also, The Negative by Ansel Adams will give you greater insights.