An incident light meter reads the light that reaches the subject. You can either hold the meter near the subject, pointing it at the camera, or in the case of outdoors photography in daylight you can take an equivalent reading without physically going to the subject -- very handy when photographing far-off subjects! If your subject is a barn in full sunlight, for example, simply hold your meter in direct sunlight between the barn and the camera, pointing the meter at the camera. Your meter reading sill be the same as it would be if you were standing by the barn.
You need to purchase a light meter that is separate from your camera to accomplish incident light measurement. A good light meter will perform reflected, incident and flash metering. Some also include a radio remote control that can be used to trigger flash/strobe units with compatible controls. The best meters will have a small telescope-like viewer that you can use to read reflected light at specific points in the scene.
In the studio, when photographing still life I place my meter on the surface by the subject, facing the camera. Then I trigger the flash/strobes and the meter takes a reading (see your exposure meter manual on how to do this). I then change the meter dials to alter the f stop to my liking, and the meter will calculate the necessary exposure. More information can be found in my Measures of Exposure article. Once you know the exposure settings, set the camera accordingly (in manual mode) and take the shot!
Copyright © 2013 Philip N. Wheeler. All Rights Reserved.
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