A handheld meter reads the light falling on the subject, not the light bouncing off it. For pale skin against a dark wall, that difference matters.
It also slows me down. Walking up to someone and holding a meter by their face starts a conversation in a way a camera doesn’t.
One reading, one decision
I take one reading at the start and keep it unless the light changes. Fewer decisions means more attention on the person.
The meter tells you what the light is doing. You still decide what to do about it.
Mine is twenty years old and runs on a single battery a year.
Noor Halden
Portrait and documentary photographer in Glasgow, mostly on film.
