Calculating light by eye (without a light meter) indoors

[Sparrow]

1. The whole point of trying to prove that someone CAN estimate the light by showing pics here is logically incorrect. The question is not whether SOMETIMES or even OFTEN you can guess it right (which i don't doubt), which you can prove with a few shots. The question is whether you reliably, always can guesstimate it (so that you don't lose important shots, or whatever your reason).
This you could only prove by showing us ALL your shots. Also the ones that got edited and thrown out during those many years of shooting.

2. Tunalegs, you are illustrating your point by showing OUTDOOR slides (again). Completely missing the OP's point.
C'mon.

3. Also the Capa reference is nonsense since he was shooting outdoors plus he was shooting BW film (plus the technical results are awful).

4. Furthermore none says you should trust meters blindly, that's also an irrelevant argument. Of course you should not. Just like driving a car helps getting from a point to another quicker but you still need to drive the thing.

Anyway, shoot the way that makes you happy. Just be careful with advices.

... I posted the four neg-sleeves I had on my desk already, how many more would it take to convince you? ... there are many more where that came from :nods-head:

 

[tunalegs]

2. Tunalegs, you are illustrating your point by showing OUTDOOR slides (again). Completely missing the OP's point.
C'mon.

And I suppose it is completely on topic to tell the original poster, who is asking about how to shoot indoors without a meter how much he needs a meter for shooting indoors or anywhere else ad nauseum. 😀

Besides, anybody who knows anything about exposure will know that lighting conditions outside, in the evening, are far less predictable than lighting conditions inside under constant electric light.

 

[Larry Cloetta]

I should have posted this yesterday, when all the yelling was going on, and the thread was showing up on the home page, but was sidetracked by the odd rancor. I'm one of those poor souls who gets better results by using a meter, indoors or out. I can get images in which the subject is recognizable without metering, like some of the examples in this thread unintentionally demonstrate, but I do better with a meter, usually. I've tried to train my eyes to attain amore mathematical level of precision, but, alas, in vain. This is apparently because, as so many here have both eloquently, and less eloquently, posited, I am either blind, lazy,or stupid, or, most likely, all three. This state of being I must humbly accept, so I am not arguing that at all. My photos are better if I meter, and it was ever thus, going on six decades of trying now, except for the occasional instance of blind luck. Sad, but there it is. But my reason for posting is not in my defense, for no defense is possible, but to offer some positive Rays of Hope for those talentless cretins who are similarly afflicted. There are two iPhone apps which I have found to be great replacements for dedicated handheld meters. Anyone reading this thread is already aware of iPhone Lightmeter apps, but the reason I took the trouble to post is that I, after having tried many metering apps, have found that the ones which seem to be the most popular and widely used, are not as nice in use as the two I will mention here. So, I am trying to give these two apps more exposure One is MyLightMeter Pro and the other is Lightmeter Wheel, both by a developer named David Quiles. I won't go into why I have found these to be better, as I think using them and reading the manuals will make that plain. Most metering apps are pretty accurate, but these are not only accurate, but slick to use, nicer than my Sekonic, speaking only for myself. Anyway, sorry for the long post, but I thought these two metering apps deserved more attention, and I have no relation to the developer at all.

 

[Roger Hicks]

I should have posted this yesterday, when all the yelling was going on, and the thread was showing up on the home page, but was sidetracked by the odd rancor. I'm one of those poor souls who gets better results by using a meter, indoors or out. I can get images in which the subject is recognizable without metering, like some of the examples in this thread unintentionally demonstrate, but I do better with a meter, usually. I've tried to train my eyes to attain amore mathematical level of precision, but, alas, in vain. This is apparently because, as so many here have both eloquently, and less eloquently, posited, I am either blind, lazy,or stupid, or, most likely, all three. This state of being I must humbly accept, so I am not arguing that at all. My photos are better if I meter, and it was ever thus, going on six decades of trying now, except for the occasional instance of blind luck. Sad, but there it is. But my reason for posting is not in my defense, for no defense is possible, but to offer some positive Rays of Hope for those talentless cretins who are similarly afflicted. There are two iPhone apps which I have found to be great replacements for dedicated handheld meters. Anyone reading this thread is already aware of iPhone Lightmeter apps, but the reason I took the trouble to post is that I, after having tried many metering apps, have found that the ones which seem to be the most popular and widely used, are not as nice in use as the two I will mention here. So, I am trying to give these two apps more exposure One is MyLightMeter Pro and the other is Lightmeter Wheel, both by a developer named David Quiles. I won't go into why I have found these to be better, as I think using them and reading the manuals will make that plain. Most metering apps are pretty accurate, but these are not only accurate, but slick to use, nicer than my Sekonic, speaking only for myself. Anyway, sorry for the long post, but I thought these two metering apps deserved more attention, and I have no relation to the developer at all.

Some people are better at it than others. I'm quite good, but some way from infallible (sorry to disappoint my fans).

Who cares? Sometimes you (have to) guess; sometimes you prefer to guess; sometimes there's time to use a meter, if you can be bothered.

And? It's equally stupid to pretend that everyone is very good at guessing, or that everyone needs a meter all the time.

You don't need to be blind, lazy or stupid to be bad at guessing exposures. Some people are better at some things than others. You can probably sing and dance better than I can (most people can), but you might not be as good at (say) sword-fencing or pistol-shooting. Why do so many people refuse to recognize that we all have different talents?

Incidentally, I find guessing indoor exposures easier than guessing outdoor. Again, so? WE'RE ALL DIFFERENT!

Cheers,

R.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

Thank you Roger for mentioning pistol shooting. I used to be reasonably good at it and reckon that was why I could handhold for 1 second; alas, those days have gone...

Regards, David

 

[Sparrow]

.. I was almost an olympian, but third doesn't count, or didn't back then

 

[pete hogan]

Well, Stewart was right back there in Post #2. Works.

Outside, I meter. No hurry.

I want to be realistic about just how accurate that shutter speed is.

 

[tho60]

I would say that it all comes down to repeated experience. Buy the meter, as Chris advised, and use it over and over again, observing attentively the lighting and the readings you are getting, until it becomes second nature to you, too.

Personally, I use handheld meters a lot.

- Murray

Very good idea, I mean. Trial and error are the best masters of photographer.