Learning To Take Control of Light with a Light Meter & ChromaZones

Hi, welcome to my blog. Today I am going to talk about the lightmeter. In specific a light meter that has both a spot meter and a illuminance (dome) meter built into the same meter. The benefit of having both is simple, you can use one reading as a reference (illuminance) and and the other reading (spot) as a gauge to determine what exactly the light is doing. In doing so, we can make the proper adjustments to achieve almost any photographic vision.

Here is an example, I want to make a series of pictures for an album, I want the background in all of the images of the series to match exactly. I want them all have a background that is light grey (a 36% grey). However, for each image I will use a different lens (wide, tele, prime), and the lightning modifiers will change from look to look. I might use a beauty dish in one image, a softbox in one, and a bare bulb strobe in another. What do you do? Will you keep chimping and pray you get lucky? Guess what, it will never happen.

You see, I am not at all into chimping, especially when I am trying to do create images with an exacting tolerances, like consistant 36% grey backgrounds. I want to measure the light, pose my model and get the shot. I want to change the setup, measure again and predict the background will match exactly the same shade of grey as the first frame and take the shot. No guessing, ever! The name of the game in photography is consistent exposures from frame to frame. I want to take a reading, make the proper adjustment and know without a doubt the image I am going to make is the same exact same image that was in my mind just a few seconds earlier.

The system that I am going to teach not only works with shades of grey, but it works exactly the same with color. Predicting an exact color from a chart is very powerful when dealing with a client such as an art director. Showing your client the ability to create a color from a selection on a color chart on the first frame is empowering stuff. The client will have every confidence, that you indeed know your craft.

In the video below, I try to explain how to build a system of control that yields predictable and repeatable results every single time you press the shutter. This video is one of several that I plan to make, fully explaing this system of control. I did not invent this system, I have just tasked myself with trying to teach this incredible system to you. If for any reason you do not understand, please ask questions below. I have no way of knowing that you understand unless you tell me so.

Thanks for taking time to visit my blog today, I hope you all have a great day. Sincerely, Thomas Shue