FYI when using reflective/spot metering darker skin is below middle grey...what you said was more light was needed for darker skin which is the opposite of what is correct. Spot metering dark skin would put it 1/2 to 1 stop brighter than it actually is so you would close your aperture to compensate, not open it ... if someone is REALLY white skinned then they might be closer to zone 6 or one stop over middle gray so you would open the aperture to correct of the spot metered middle gray reading. That being said when using incident metering like you are here it is measuring the light falling on the subject so you don't need to compensate for anything except for some specific scenarios like maybe a really bright snow day where light is reflecting from unusual directions and could trick the reading. People get on their RUclips rants about doing it right and then they don't know how to do it right :)
With 6x7 Pentax you will be out of Sync unless you use the 90mm old Pentax lens with leaf shutter.To much trouble to use anyway. Take a Hasselblad instead if you are planning portrait work with fill flash.
good video but I'm not clear on why you would underexpose from your first meter reading in order to expose for lighter skin tone. shouldn't it be the other way around? also, I've seen a couple other videos of studio and street photography where they meter the flash and just match the aperture the meter is telling them.
@6:17, if you get an incident (INCIDENT) reading like you did ( dome on , meter under your talent chin) you get the actual tonality of the skin, you do not need to lower your exposure for white skin nor increase your exposure for black skin, now what you are talking about with the grey card is reflective meter built in your camera or if you have a Minolta meter that reads flash ( REFLECTIVE) that what gives you the 18% grey ( your meter is nice you point it from your camera position, lens axis, to where you want to measure, like background, so on so forth)….Thank you very much for allowing me to comment on your channel .
What about handheld walk around friends family event where you don’t get much time to meter? I used the SB-800 in A automatic thyristor? It’s not 100% accurate. But it’s better than me guessing. When ppl don’t wanna wait long enoug. What about the slow flash sync of. 1/30. Do you have issues?
I have the 165 LS. The only benefit the leaf shutter has is when you shoot in daylight. I only use the on camera flash at night. I have a few videos on here where I use an off camera strobe with the LS lens.
Thanks for watching. I almost never use a tripod. The flash freezes the subject at any shutter speed, so unless there is a lot of ambient light in the background that I absolutely don’t want to shift during the duration of the shot, handheld works fine.
Thanks! Couple is things, link doesn't work ;). And, maybe it's also to good to mention that when you should open with flash you'll see more of the environment. I see you should mostly at night so it won't matter then, but I always wanted to shoot with flash during the day with the Pentax. I guess I do need the leaf shutter for that.
Thanks for watching. I just tried the link and it worked for me. If you aren’t in the United States, that may be the problem. If you scroll down a few videos, I have a couple that feature the 165mm LS. For portraits, I rarely want to show any details in the background, as the subject’s face is all I care about. When shooting during the day with a 1/500 max shutter speed, it’s unavoidable to see detail in the background, so I just shoot as wide open as the ambient light allows me to.
loved the video, 2 questions. 1) when you take test flash shot to measure how much aperature/iso you need, are you using a shot of film for that? Just wondering because I don't know how to fire a flash on Pentax 67 without using a shot of film 2) for medium brown complexions would that be close to(or equivalent to) grey and would darker brown/black skin be something I have to expose for with more light?
I’m not 100% sure, but I think almost all flashes have a test button. When you press it, it fires at the power you have to e flash set to. As far as the darker skin question, it depends on if you are taking an ambient reading or a spot reading. Yes, for an ambient reading, you’d need to add a stop or so of light. It’s the opposite if you do a spot reading. Thanks for watching
@@JoeLyman thank you so much. I'll try figuring out how to use a test flash on my flash unit. And thank you for your answer on darker skin tones. I typically photograph my family and friends who mainly happen to be of brown and darker skin tones
Thanks for the VDO. I have two newbie questions: 1) Shouldn’t we add more light/increase the exposure to the metered value when the subject is lighter than 18% grey? 2) Based on your example of 2.4sec, the subject will have to be super still for the exposure, correct? Thanks.
Hey. Great question. When I first began shooting, this was the biggest riddle for my brain to wrap itself around. Think about it like this. Whatever the reading says, that’s for something that’s relatively dark, like shade. If the thing you want to expose properly is lighter than that and you don’t reduce the power output, you will be exposing something light as if it’s darker than it is. That will make your subject overexposed. I think it may be easier to think about this from the other end of the spectrum. If your subject is darker than grey and you don’t add more light, your subject will be underexposed. As far as the 2.4 reading, that was the aperture, not the shutter speed. When using the Pentax 67, the shutter speed always stays at 1/30.
Digital is the exact opposite of film when it comes to exposure. With film, the general rule is to protect the darkest part of the frame that you want to see details in. With digital, you need to protect the lightest part of the frame you want to see details in. In my examples in this video, it sounds the same because I’m using a flash. In different lighting situations, the emphasis changes a bit.
This is by far the best one I’ve found. It fits snug in both the camera and hot shoe PC ports Acouto 30cm Flash Sync Cable PC-PC Male to Male Flashlight Camera Connector Sync Cable Cord www.amazon.com/dp/B07H2B11V8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_CW9Y9T93HBHWJXCVCBTX
Caucasian skin, like yours is Zone 6, one stop brighter than Zone 5 (mid gray, the grey card you are holding) Therefore you should over expose by one stop for your skin type.
I’ve been doing film for close to two years now, digital photography for 10, I didn’t actually know that metering was for gray this whole time and this is really going to help with learning flash and exposure for film. Thank you!
Your assertion that you need to adjust exposure depending on skin tone is incorrect. An incident meter measures light and gives you the correct exposure, as the meter is unaware of the scene other than the light coming from the flash the skin tone is completely irrelevant. A reflective meter on the other hand measures reflected light, so an object in 6 will be read as zone 5, therefore 1 stop of overexposure in necessary to put it into the correct zone.
The incident meter is giving the correct exposure for 18% grey. If the skin tone of the subject is darker than 18% grey, you need to add more light, just as you need to subtract light if they are lighter than 18% grey. It’s exactly the same as a building or a tree or anything for that matter.
@@JoeLyman this is not how incident meters work! They measure total light falling on a subject and I give you correct exposure based on that. As an example, you have two subjects in frame, one dark skinned of African descent skin around zone 4, one white skinned European descent skin zone 6, you take an incident reading reading between the two of them, the reading from the meter will give you the correct exposure for both skin tones. If you point a spot meter, aka reflective meter, at the dark skinned individual it would place the dark skin at zone 5, therefore you would need to underexposed one stop to place correctly at zone 4. If you pointed it at the light skinned individual it would place the light skin at zone 5, therefore you would need overexpose 1 stop to place correctly at zone 6. I hope this is easy to understand.
Metering is the number one subject I get questions about and most people get it wrong exactly the way you are. Your description of spot metering is correct. Let me ask you a question about using an incident meter with a very light skinned subject. If you measure the light falling on them and it gives a reading of 1/125 at 5.6 and you set your camera to those settings, will the subject be properly exposed, under exposed or over exposed? I’ll give you the answer now because I have to leave in a second. They will be overexposed because their skin is lighter than 18% grey. You have to reduce the light to adjust to their skin tone, just as I said in the video.
I'm sorry but you need to do some homework on metering then. If that was the case it would be impossible to correctly expose for a dark skinned person and a light skinned person under the same light in the same frame. Just think about that for a moment and then reflect on your understanding of metering.
Everyone is at a different place of understanding. Unfortunately, most people in my position would say something rude or mean right now. I don’t do that. I want everyone to be better at photography. Here a link for you. Skip to the incident meter section. Good luck. blog.pond5.com/7066-perfecting-exposure-how-and-when-to-use-a-light-meter/
FYI when using reflective/spot metering darker skin is below middle grey...what you said was more light was needed for darker skin which is the opposite of what is correct. Spot metering dark skin would put it 1/2 to 1 stop brighter than it actually is so you would close your aperture to compensate, not open it ... if someone is REALLY white skinned then they might be closer to zone 6 or one stop over middle gray so you would open the aperture to correct of the spot metered middle gray reading. That being said when using incident metering like you are here it is measuring the light falling on the subject so you don't need to compensate for anything except for some specific scenarios like maybe a really bright snow day where light is reflecting from unusual directions and could trick the reading. People get on their RUclips rants about doing it right and then they don't know how to do it right :)
Nice vid Joe. Good refresh even for experienced photogs.🙌
Thank you
Glad you liked it. This video caused massive confusion in the comments. Haha
Hey! Urgent question. What do you have below the flash/ mounted on the grip??
The PC connector? I put a link in the description where to buy it
Does shooting at 1/30 affect the pictures, regarding motion? How do you manage to get your pictures sharp at such a low shutter?
A flash freezes action at any shutter speed. The only thing shutter speed effects is the ambient light in the background.
You can always find one of the two leaf shutter lenses for P67 and use a full spectrum of sync speeds up to 1/500s.
Thanks for info. I've been wracking my brain trying to find a cable that works well.
With 6x7 Pentax you will be out of Sync unless you use the 90mm old Pentax lens with leaf shutter.To much trouble to use anyway. Take a Hasselblad instead if you are planning portrait work with fill flash.
good video but I'm not clear on why you would underexpose from your first meter reading in order to expose for lighter skin tone. shouldn't it be the other way around? also, I've seen a couple other videos of studio and street photography where they meter the flash and just match the aperture the meter is telling them.
It’s the other way around if you use a spot meter. I use the ambient meter when I photograph people.
@6:17, if you get an incident (INCIDENT) reading like you did ( dome on , meter under your talent chin) you get the actual tonality of the skin, you do not need to lower your exposure for white skin nor increase your exposure for black skin, now what you are talking about with the grey card is reflective meter built in your camera or if you have a Minolta meter that reads flash ( REFLECTIVE) that what gives you the 18% grey ( your meter is nice you point it from your camera position, lens axis, to where you want to measure, like background, so on so forth)….Thank you very much for allowing me to comment on your channel .
What about handheld walk around friends family event where you don’t get much time to meter? I used the SB-800 in A automatic thyristor? It’s not 100% accurate. But it’s better than me guessing. When ppl don’t wanna wait long enoug.
What about the slow flash sync of. 1/30. Do you have issues?
Hey their is also the LS 90mm with allows you to sync up to 500th of a sec
I have the 165 LS. The only benefit the leaf shutter has is when you shoot in daylight. I only use the on camera flash at night. I have a few videos on here where I use an off camera strobe with the LS lens.
Thanks for this. Very informative. I’m curious: did you use a tripod for the shots in the video?
Thanks for watching. I almost never use a tripod. The flash freezes the subject at any shutter speed, so unless there is a lot of ambient light in the background that I absolutely don’t want to shift during the duration of the shot, handheld works fine.
Thanks! Couple is things, link doesn't work ;). And, maybe it's also to good to mention that when you should open with flash you'll see more of the environment. I see you should mostly at night so it won't matter then, but I always wanted to shoot with flash during the day with the Pentax. I guess I do need the leaf shutter for that.
Thanks for watching. I just tried the link and it worked for me. If you aren’t in the United States, that may be the problem.
If you scroll down a few videos, I have a couple that feature the 165mm LS. For portraits, I rarely want to show any details in the background, as the subject’s face is all I care about. When shooting during the day with a 1/500 max shutter speed, it’s unavoidable to see detail in the background, so I just shoot as wide open as the ambient light allows me to.
loved the video, 2 questions.
1) when you take test flash shot to measure how much aperature/iso you need, are you using a shot of film for that? Just wondering because I don't know how to fire a flash on Pentax 67 without using a shot of film
2) for medium brown complexions would that be close to(or equivalent to) grey and would darker brown/black skin be something I have to expose for with more light?
I’m not 100% sure, but I think almost all flashes have a test button. When you press it, it fires at the power you have to e flash set to.
As far as the darker skin question, it depends on if you are taking an ambient reading or a spot reading. Yes, for an ambient reading, you’d need to add a stop or so of light. It’s the opposite if you do a spot reading.
Thanks for watching
@@JoeLyman thank you so much. I'll try figuring out how to use a test flash on my flash unit. And thank you for your answer on darker skin tones. I typically photograph my family and friends who mainly happen to be of brown and darker skin tones
Very helpful, thanks!
My pleasure brother. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the VDO. I have two newbie questions: 1) Shouldn’t we add more light/increase the exposure to the metered value when the subject is lighter than 18% grey? 2) Based on your example of 2.4sec, the subject will have to be super still for the exposure, correct? Thanks.
Hey. Great question. When I first began shooting, this was the biggest riddle for my brain to wrap itself around. Think about it like this. Whatever the reading says, that’s for something that’s relatively dark, like shade. If the thing you want to expose properly is lighter than that and you don’t reduce the power output, you will be exposing something light as if it’s darker than it is. That will make your subject overexposed. I think it may be easier to think about this from the other end of the spectrum. If your subject is darker than grey and you don’t add more light, your subject will be underexposed.
As far as the 2.4 reading, that was the aperture, not the shutter speed. When using the Pentax 67, the shutter speed always stays at 1/30.
@@JoeLyman thank you. I suppose I can try metering concept with a digi cam to get instant feedback on metering. 🙏🙏
Digital is the exact opposite of film when it comes to exposure. With film, the general rule is to protect the darkest part of the frame that you want to see details in. With digital, you need to protect the lightest part of the frame you want to see details in. In my examples in this video, it sounds the same because I’m using a flash. In different lighting situations, the emphasis changes a bit.
what flash cable are you using? Thank you
This is by far the best one I’ve found. It fits snug in both the camera and hot shoe PC ports
Acouto 30cm Flash Sync Cable PC-PC Male to Male Flashlight Camera Connector Sync Cable Cord www.amazon.com/dp/B07H2B11V8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_CW9Y9T93HBHWJXCVCBTX
Caucasian skin, like yours is Zone 6, one stop brighter than Zone 5 (mid gray, the grey card you are holding) Therefore you should over expose by one stop for your skin type.
You are correct if you are using a spot meter. I am not using the spot meter in this video.
Use an incident flash meter like the seconic L 308, and bounce the flash off the cieling or a wall. Or better yet, use a softbox, gridspot or two!
Bounce the flash off the cieling so the photos don't look like shit!
The model looks really pissed lol
I’ve been doing film for close to two years now, digital photography for 10, I didn’t actually know that metering was for gray this whole time and this is really going to help with learning flash and exposure for film. Thank you!
Your assertion that you need to adjust exposure depending on skin tone is incorrect. An incident meter measures light and gives you the correct exposure, as the meter is unaware of the scene other than the light coming from the flash the skin tone is completely irrelevant.
A reflective meter on the other hand measures reflected light, so an object in 6 will be read as zone 5, therefore 1 stop of overexposure in necessary to put it into the correct zone.
The incident meter is giving the correct exposure for 18% grey. If the skin tone of the subject is darker than 18% grey, you need to add more light, just as you need to subtract light if they are lighter than 18% grey. It’s exactly the same as a building or a tree or anything for that matter.
@@JoeLyman this is not how incident meters work! They measure total light falling on a subject and I give you correct exposure based on that. As an example, you have two subjects in frame, one dark skinned of African descent skin around zone 4, one white skinned European descent skin zone 6, you take an incident reading reading between the two of them, the reading from the meter will give you the correct exposure for both skin tones.
If you point a spot meter, aka reflective meter, at the dark skinned individual it would place the dark skin at zone 5, therefore you would need to underexposed one stop to place correctly at zone 4. If you pointed it at the light skinned individual it would place the light skin at zone 5, therefore you would need overexpose 1 stop to place correctly at zone 6.
I hope this is easy to understand.
Metering is the number one subject I get questions about and most people get it wrong exactly the way you are. Your description of spot metering is correct. Let me ask you a question about using an incident meter with a very light skinned subject. If you measure the light falling on them and it gives a reading of 1/125 at 5.6 and you set your camera to those settings, will the subject be properly exposed, under exposed or over exposed?
I’ll give you the answer now because I have to leave in a second. They will be overexposed because their skin is lighter than 18% grey. You have to reduce the light to adjust to their skin tone, just as I said in the video.
I'm sorry but you need to do some homework on metering then.
If that was the case it would be impossible to correctly expose for a dark skinned person and a light skinned person under the same light in the same frame. Just think about that for a moment and then reflect on your understanding of metering.
Everyone is at a different place of understanding. Unfortunately, most people in my position would say something rude or mean right now. I don’t do that. I want everyone to be better at photography. Here a link for you. Skip to the incident meter section. Good luck.
blog.pond5.com/7066-perfecting-exposure-how-and-when-to-use-a-light-meter/
Great video & photos Joe! Hope the cheffing is going well!
I like the net result. Thanks for the lesson