How to Calibrate a Light Meter
- 1). Choose the camera, film stock and lenses that you will be using during your real shoot. Get your camera's settings ready for the shoot as well. This also ensures properly calibrated equipment for real future uses.
- 2). Adjust the camera shutter speed to 1/24. This is the standard camera shutter speed. Place the film in the camera. Check and record the ISO rating.
- 3). Pick a subject. Set up the lighting so the subject is evenly covered in flat light without shadows.
- 4). Point the light meter's sensor toward the camera while standing in front of the photo subject. Take care your shadow does not block the sensor's light.
- 5). Enter the camera's shutter speed and the film's ISO into the light meter. This will give you an f-stop reading. Capture four shots, each with an exposure of few seconds. Their f-stops should be -1/2, +1/2, -1 and +1 higher and lower than the light meter's reading. This procedure is called bracketing.
- 6). Develop these four pictures. Find the shot that is properly exposed. Use that shot as a model of how to adjust the light meter to the lens and the camera.
