Who Needs A Light Meter?

Lighting is important for a good picture in any type of photography.How much light is in a picture will have a great affect on both the looks and the emotional feel of the photo.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.When natural lighting is available, that's great. But sometimes you don't have enough natural light for a good picture.Sometimes there isn't enough available light, and you need 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 and a flash do different things.A light meter will tell you how much light is reflected, but does not actually provide any light.

A handheld light meter will measure the light and was once a standard part of any serious photographer’s equipment.Digital cameras now days have a built-in light meter, so you can look through the eyepiece and see how bright the picture will be wihout having to use a light meter.The automatic flash is set off by the camera's built-in light meter when it's too dark for a good picture.

Histograms Instead of Light Meters

Also, with digital cameras, it’s not so important to have a light meter because most have a histogram.In similar fashion, a histogram shows how light or dark a 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.

The perfect lighting is there. Just practice lots, have patience, and you'll find it.