How To Use A Light Meter For Cinematography
A light meter is an essential tool for cinematographers. There are many types of light meters, but they all measure light in some way! They can be tabletop or handheld, digital or analog, normal or photometric, etc.
The most common type is the ISO (International Standards) scale light meter. These have a white card that reflects no lightbulbs, and it’s their reading that should be matched when filming.
However, there are other scales such as Photographic, Logarithmic, and Gamma. While not totally necessary, having one of each will help you get more creative with your lighting!
This article will go over how to use a basic ISO-scale light meter for filmmaking! If you are already familiar with using a light meter, then feel free to skip to the next section.
Important notes: This article will assume you have at least basic knowledge of photography and video production. Also, this article may contain spoilers about the movie The Empire Strikes Back!
Good luck ahead! 🙂 Let's dive in.
Connect the meter to your computer
Once you have determined where your light source is coming from, it is time to connect your camera to your computer! Depending on which type of light meter you use, there are different ways to do this. Some require using an USB cord, while others have built-in ports or dongles that help facilitate connection.
If you use a radio frequency (RF) light meter such as Radio Shack’s ACR18, then you can just attach it directly to your computer via USB cable. All you need to do next is open up your photo editing software and find the file format compatible with RF meters. Most common ones include JPEG and TIFF.
Some cameras have their own internal light metering systems. These usually work in much the same way as handheld lights except they add features like exposure compensation. Some even allow you to create second external sources of light, similar to how professional grade strobes work.
These advanced modes depend on the specific model of camera, so check your manual to learn more about them.
Set up your lights
The next important step in lighting is deciding where each light source comes from! This is determined by what area of the film you are shooting and how much natural light you have available.
You will need at least one key light, typically used for shadows or silhouettes. This can be either a standard desk light, large soft box with diffuser, or even direct sunlight when filming outside.
A backlight requires a second light source that does not produce as strong of an effect so it is better to use a small fluorescent tube than a strobe light. A normal fluoro-tube light is adequate most times!
To create more depth of field (where parts of the image seem to blur out as they get closer) you want to increase the size of the lens. This can be done through close focus, macro lenses, or wider aperture lenses (higher f-numbers).
Take photos of your subject
The next step in taking good cinematography pictures is choosing an interesting topic or setting that will call attention to itself. There are many ways to do this, but one of our favorite methods is by using a light meter!
A light meter allows you to measure how much exposure (lighting) there is on a certain part of the picture. By having enough exposure, your photo does not overexpose or under-exposure, which can sometimes look very weird.
By having enough exposure, your photo does not over or under expose, making it looks more natural. Having enough exposure also makes your photograph brighter, creating a better contrast. This article will go into more detail about how to use a light meter when shooting photography and filmmaking.
Analyze the photos
The next step in using a light meter is analyzing the photo. Once you have determined that your exposure is not good, you can either increase or decrease the intensity of light being reflected off the subject.
You can do this by changing the type of light source used, increasing the amount of light being cast onto the scene, decreasing the size of the light source, or adding additional light sources.
In the case where there is already enough light for a good exposure, you may want to consider looking into getting a new camera body as well as another lens so that you do not need to use longer exposures or higher ISO settings to get the same results.
Make lighting adjustments
After you create your light, it is time to make some changes! The first thing to do is evaluate how effective your light was.
Did the light work well in creating an effect?
If not, then try another source of light or reduce the intensity of your current light. If everything looks too dark, add more light by using additional lamps or portable lights. You can also increase the exposure time which would naturally brighten the image.
On the other hand, if the images look overly lit, remove some of the light by passing through darker materials or filming under less powerful lights. Experiment with different styles and see what works best!
There are many ways to use a light meter in cinematography. Some people test color temperature while others measure intensity. No matter which one you choose, just be sure to have a good understanding of both before making any final decisions.
Test your final images
The next step in using a light meter is to test your final image. You can do this with either natural or artificial light, depending on what camera settings you have.
Using direct sunlight as example material, determine how much light you need for your final photo. Add more light if needed, remove some light if there’s too much.
You can also add studio lights or use flash. Depending on the intensity of the source lighting, you can reduce the overall exposure time by adding more light. Or you can overexpose the shot so that the shadows are heavier!
After testing the amount of light, recompose the frame to see whether it looks good. Try moving around different parts of the picture to find one that works well.
Share your photos
After you learn how to use a light meter, what fun things can you create with this tool? You could take some pretty close shots of objects or landscapes and determine if they are in-focus by using your light meter!
You could also take pictures of people and test to see if their features blend into one another. This is called cross-checking, and it’s very helpful in editing your photographs before going in more advanced stages like lighting and photo retouching.
After learning how to use a light meter, there are many ways to start sharing your creations with the world! You can make photobooks, do video edits, and even begin filming yourself or others to develop your movie making skills.
Practice makes perfect
As we mentioned before, having a light meter in your arsenal is super important as a cinematographer! It will help you achieve beautiful lighting for your films or photos, especially if you are just starting out.
A light meter allows you to measure how much light there is of a certain color in a given area. For example, it can tell you how many feet of white balance (WB) light there is from a bulb like an LED lamp, or how much daylight there is coming through a window.
It also gives you information about how much natural sunlight is being blocked by vegetation or other objects, which helps create interesting shadows and silhouettes. All of this information is used to determine what kind of looks you want to have in your pictures or film.
There are several types of light meters out there. Some are handheld while others stay attached to a camera body. Which one you choose really depends on whether you feel more comfortable using them or not since some require extra equipment.
But no matter which type you pick, the most important thing is to use the one that works for you and learn how to take good care of it. Because even though they may cost around $100-150, it is very valuable.