Practice question · Multiple choice
An incident-light meter measures illumination falling onto a subject rather than light bouncing off it. What practical vulnerability arises from this design principle during a shoot?
Hints
- Where must the meter physically stand relative to the light source?
- Does the colour or tone of the subject alter what an incident dome measures?
Show the answer
A. It fails if the meter dome receives light different from the subject
Why
Incident metering separates subject luminance from illuminance, making surface reflectance irrelevant. The vulnerability is entirely spatial: if cloud or a flag shadows the meter position while the subject remains in direct sun, the exposure calculation breaks down.
Practise Exposure and Metering
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More questions on Exposure and Metering
- Why does a reflected-light meter under-expose a snow field? Select every statement that is part of the reason.
- A reflected-light meter is unaffected by how reflective the subject is.
- Complete the vocabulary of exposure measurement.
- Arrange these metering methods from the widest area measured to the narrowest.
- A flash is moved from 2 metres to 4 metres from its subject. How many stops of light are lost?
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- Sort each scene by what a straight reflected-light reading does to it.