Who Needs A Light Meter?
Posted on October 21, 2008
Filed Under Digital Camera Features, Good Digital Cameras |
The available light can make or break a picture.The brightness of a picture makes a difference in the looks and even the emotional feel.When a picture is brightly lit, it has a more cheerful feel to it than a picture that is darker and may seem gloomy at worst, or mysterious at best.
Traditional photography captured the light by impressions on chemicals, while digital photography uses pixels to capture light.If you can use natural lighting, that's good. However, it's not always available.When there's not enough available light for a good picture, it's time to use artificial lighting.
How Much Light Is There?
While you can see for yourself to some extent how much light is available, to get precise measurements you need a light meter.A light meter is not the same thing as a flash for digital cameras.A light meter doesn't provide light to take a picture, it just records the amount of light being reflected off the subject.
A handheld light meter will measure the light and was once a standard part of any serious photographer’s equipment.These days most digital cameras have a built-in light meter, so you can look through the eyepiece and see how bright the picture will be.When it's too dark for a good picture, the camera's light meter will set off the automatic flash.
Histograms Instead of Light Meters
Also, with digital cameras, it’s not so important to have a light meter because most have a histogram.A histogram can be used somewhat like a light meter, since it shows how light or dark the picture is.
If you don’t have a histogram on your camera, or just don’t want to fuss with it, the simplest method is to take a picture and review it to see how it looks, and if it’s too dark or light, adjust by adding more light or lowering the amount of light.
A lot of practice and a lot of patience will help you get the best lighting for your photographs.
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