Losing the Light Meter

srtiwari

srtiwari

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I have held on to an M6, and contemplated selling my M2s, only because I have not acquired enough expertise to go "meter-less". And I hate carrying a separate meter. i am very envious of those that do not need one !
Aside from just walking about and experimenting, starting out with "Sunny 16", are there any other 'tricks and tips" that would speed up or improve my shooting without a meter ?
 
I enjoy shooting without a meter, for me, there are a few things to remember:

1) Err on the side of overexposure.

2) Shoot films tolerant of exposure mistakes, bear in mind that colour negative film is used in disposable cameras, which have no ability to regulate exposure at all, and most shots still turn out well. I like Ilford XP2, Fujifilm 400H and Portra 400 for their ability to handle even extreme over exposure.

3) A huge amount of exposure error can be corrected in scanning or printing.
 
It's easy in good light but starts to get more tricky below f5.6 1/film-speed ... as has already been said better to over than under-expose
 
Don't shoot slide film. If you have a mobile smartphone, most will have a basic lightmeter app available for little or no cost - use this as a "safety blanket" (I use "Light Meter" for the iphone but there are more advanced meters available too). Outdoors, Sunny 16 is easy during day time. Indoors and nighttime requires more effort, but see here for a good primer and EV charts you can print out:

http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm
 
... indoors and nighttime is f2 and as slow as one is prepared to hand hold ... unless there is a tripod available that is.
 
don't

don't

while it may be cool to guess exposure correctly, I think, fixing incorrect exposure after the picture is taken needs much more work than measuring (with an M6, for example)
 
Get a hand held meter and carry it around for a few days. Guess exposure for various light and then see how far off you are. If you do this, say, 50 times, you'll get pretty accurate pretty fast.

The key to meter less use is remembering the wide latitude of b&w film. Just be in the ballpark and you're good.
 
You can sit there and study EV charts and sunny sixteen rules until your eyes pop but I think the fastesr way to learn is by your mistakes. If you can remember how you exposed an image and what rule you went by when it's obviously horribly under/over exposed, you learn quickly to be aware of where you went wrong and how not to make the same error in the same situation next time.
 
hi,

i recently found shooting with my iiic without the small VC meter II very liberating.
a couple of suggestions:

1. Shoot iso 400 film to start, and use the 400 as the base, later when you are comfortable with
guessing the exposure, try faster or slower film.

2. Assuming 400 film, sunny 16 to me is really:

beach / swimming pool on a sunny day = 1/500 + f16
sunny bright = 1/500 + f11
cloudy bright = 1/500 + f8
cloudy cloudy = 1/500 + f5.6 or f4 (depends)
7am in Singapore = 1/500 + f2.8

3. indoors is a different ballgame altogether, i find that my office
with bright fluorescent light and window light, the exposure
is typically 1/30 and f4. At home in the evenings, 1/30 and f2.8 or f2.

I get stuck at dark places at night, usually 1/15 and f1.4 ....

4. a good rule of thumb i learnt is shady place is outside +3 stops,
eg. taking street photography where there are shadows from the
buildings, i guess shadowless areas, say f11 and 1/500 and I open 3 stops
to f4 and 1/500.

raytoei
 
Lots of good suggestions and it never hurts to train oneself to be as close to correct as possible without a light meter. For many years I used the data sheet that came with films and my experience to take photos. I recommend it for those films that still do so.

I am not so quick to recommend meterless as the best, or even a good way to go, other than a data sheet and experience when needed, such as a meter failure. The goal is to get the best negative you can before you go to the darkroom or the scanner. The less you have to correct the better your photo will be. And everything can't be corrected.
 
I am rarely using a light meter and never meter for my street shots as I waist time but I think the important part of going meter less is to develop your b&w film yourself. This way you will gain more control on the exposure, contrast and it will help you to develop your own sunny 16 with time. It will also make your shooting (depends on the style of course) more smooth and pleasant. Now I know some people will jump against my opinion but you are grown enough to find what works best for you in no time and make the choice :)
With meter or not you always have to make choices under a tricky light. I personally make sure to have enough details in the shadows and deal with the highlights in the darkroom. I don't like the high contrast shot personally and if I have to choose between the shadows and highlights I chose to have as much as possible shadow details.
Changing only one thing at the time is essential - try to shoot without meter at constant aperture (let say 5.6) or fixed shutter speed for couple of days and adjust to the light. Once you start to feel the light on that one the rest is basic mathematic.

Regards,

Boris
 
Why not try a sunny 16 guess then take a shot, then take another metered. Look at the images that result, and you'll soon see if you can make it work for you after a couple of films.

I sometimes guess with C41 or B&W though not on anything more than snaps, anything else I meter for accuracy.
 
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=134724

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=134724

i have many years experience.
i can work without a light meter and it offers many advantages.
The main gain is really "looking" at the light.
i use an M6TTL and basically my brain goes on hold and i follow
the red dots..Auto exposure cameras result in really stupid errors by me. It really is not that difficult.
Use one ISO speed in B/W or color.
Later you can try others.
Use "f-16" rule. Make a small card with various light scenes.
Beach/water,bright sun,hazy sun, cloudy(almost no shadows), dark cloudy, backlit, shade, window light, artificial light. Streets at night.Try keep the ISO as shutter speed(or closest number).
Soon, after a time, you will see your rolls are more "even" than working with meters, where no interpretation was done!
Meters want everything medium gray.
Black=gray:White=gray.One has to adjust.
Those in higher latitudes need more exposure, in Winter.
If you bracket do it by more than 1 f-stop/shutter speed.
Later you can get finer.
Good luck.
i sometimes use a small point and shoot camera as light meter.
Have advantage of a exposure that i can see and evaluate.
P/S camera smaller than many lightmeters..Minolta,Weston,Lunasix,Ikophot..
 
Good point by Leicapixie on sticking to one speed of film. I picked 400 film, and by now I have memorized the light conditions in the locales where I usually photograph. When that becomes second nature, it's easy to add or subtract a stop or two to compensate for different speeds of film; but, at the beginning, pick one and stick with it.

May I also suggest you pick up a tiny meter? I had a 398 that I love to use with MF, but was a bit bulky for 35mm RFs. I now have a 208, that's so tiny and light, it just sits on a retractable key chain hooked to my belt loop. If I need to double check an exposure, it's right there at my side, otherwise I just happily shoot away.
 
Learn to carry and love a light meter. Be sure it can do incident readings.

You don't have to use it with every shot. You will get good at estimating exposure.

However.

If you don't have it along you may get very tired of trying to print too dense or too thin negatives. That's of course if you still do wet printing. I would guess that scanning would also benefit from correct exposure, with a nice full range of tones.
 
One great trick I use that most dont talk about is "what happens when you are in the shade on s sunny day?" Well on a sunny day when shooting sunny 16 its a two stop compensation for the shade or shadows. This seems to work for me and is my go to now no matter what.
 
I would say start off with the sunny 16 rule, then learn to adjust exposure as needed.

I determine exposure by taking a quick look at the sky - determining what the overal light available outside is, is the sun high in the sky or is it low? Are there any clouds? Is it overcast, hazy, etc.
Then I look at the shadows which determines how much light there is at my location specifically. Are they sharp and well defined? Are they soft? Are there any distinguishable shadows at all where I am?

Then you set the exposure. Until you get some practice in I would recommend setting the exposure by aperture only and leaving the shutter speeds alone. This will make things a lot easier to understand and work out at first, and you'll better remember what exposure works for what situation this way.

Also as others point out above, err on the side of overexposure. When I do make a mistake in judging exposure, invariably the result has been underexposure.

I shoot a lot of slide film and never use a meter.

plants by berangberang, on Flickr


bottle by berangberang, on Flickr


barton springs by berangberang, on Flickr

I'm rarely photographing in direct sunlight, and often times in situations that would confuse a meter, and my exposures are never any more off than they had been when using cameras with built in meters.
 
I use sunny 16 and XX EI 250 B&W neg film.

I take one in bright sun @ 1/250 at f/11.
Then I open a stop and make another exposure.
Sometimes I will even open up another stop and make a third exposure.
One of these is always close enough.
I feel it's good to give myself a choice (assuming it is not an unrepeatable event).
If it is a fleeting moment I will usually go with a bit of extra exposure.
This works best for me. YMMV.
 
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