ASK JIM
Every month, Jim will answer a question from his online students, from people who participate in his tours and workshops, or from subscribers to this magazine. If you have a question you’d like Jim to answer, please drop him a note at photos@jimzuckerman.com.
Q:
Jim . . . I bought a Sekonic L-478D-U light meter. I would love to use the meter for Zone System measuring. How do I use the meter for correct measuring? Kurt Schwartz, Zurich, Switzerland
A:
The light meter has two functions: Incident and reflected. The incident mode uses the white hemispherical dome. You place the meter in the same light as the subject and point the white dome at the lens. Push the button on the meter and you get a reading. The incident mode reads light falling onto the scene. This method of metering is extremely accurate, although it can’t be used for backlighting. Reflected mode operates like your camera’s meter. It reads light being reflected from the subject. A white subject (like snow) and a black subject (like hardened lava) will reflect light differently. Using the reflected mode means you need to identify ‘middle gray’ in the scene and take a spot reading on that. If you choose the middle gray area correctly, the exposure will be perfect as in the shot below. Spot mode metering uses the reflected metering function. To use the Zone System, you must identify in the composition what you want middle gray to be. Take a spot meter reading of that point, and that becomes Zone V. All of the other zones will fall into place from there. §
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