Page 28 - Learning How to Photograph with your DSLR Camera 2nd Edition Jan 2021

Incident Light Metering

Incident light is the light that falls on the subject and is measured with a handheld
light meter. It is not affected by the brightness or tone of the subject you are
metering on and is much more accurate.

This type of meter is held near the subject and the light
is measured. First, you dial in the ISO you are going to
use Hold the meter near your subject. When measured
you are given the speed and aperture for correct
exposure.

You do not have to use that recommended shutter
speed or aperture. Instead, shooting in Manual Program
Mode, let us say you wanted to open the aperture from
the recommend f/5.6 to f/8 for more depth of field. That
is one full stop. Remember by stopping down by a stop
(smaller aperture) will reduce the light by half. To
recover the loss of light we need to slow our shutter
speed by 1 Stop, to allow more time for the light to enter.

**Although the incident light meter is more accurate it is more often used for some
types of photography, like professional portraits, and studio work for very precise light
metering. This is not something essential you need if you are starting out in
photography. I do suggest you know about it to round out your photography knowledge
and be able to contrast it with Reflected Metering TTL.

Assignment

Use two metering modes. Use Matrix or Evaluative to take a photograph of any subject
you like. Second, use the spot metering mode and take a photograph of a bird, or small
object you want to be exposed properly. Try the same subject with different metering
modes and compare them.

28