Katelyn can pull off a Wonder Woman cosplay!.. Would be a fire photo session with her.

Dreams have come true! 'Using flash outdoors'. Thank you ever so much Miguel

You are a wonderful professional who knows how to choose true beauty to polish your photos. Yes, I love this information. Thank you

I love that Kupo roller stand as well. By far the best purchase for my outdoor shoots and studio

Very informative video, thank you so much for all the detailed instructions in OCF.

Very nice and helpful! Yes, when I’m using flash only inside studio, I rarely use the meter, but outside, I find I can dial it in more quickly! I have to agree you don’t need it but for me it helps to get there within two test shots! :)

Great video, very helpful. I like your earnest approach and telling it how you see it in your years of experience. Can't argue with the results! Subscribed as this is like the 5th video I've seen of yours. Just got into photo with an EOS RP and you're helping me greatly.

The percentage scale on the meter shows you the ratio of flash to ambient too that way you get to see what your style measures at. 20% 25% 30% etc 100% is no ambient light and the exposure at the model is all flash. Knowing this helps you go straight to your preferred ratio everytime. Hope that makes sense. Love your work keep it up.

Nice video, Miguel! Very helpful! Thank-you!! Katelyn is wonderful, too!

Good to see this!

Shooting outside with flash always makes me think of the wedding photographers before digital. They would be out there working with maybe a Hasselblad or a Bronica camera with a bare bulb flash on top or on a flash bracket. They flashed every shot, indoor or outside. There was no such thing as test shots but this is what they did for a living and they always came away with beautiful negatives. One time a family member tight on her wedding budget asked if I could photograph her wedding. I did not want to. I was an amateur hobbyist photographer not a wedding photographer, I was afraid of the responsibility involved. She told me she is not expecting professional photographs, just a recording of the day. I reluctantly agreed. I went to see my friend Jim who was a wonderful and very experienced wedding photographer. I asked him about setting exposures for flash outdoors. He said to me, It’s super easy. Pick the aperture you want to shoot at, say F8, now meter the outdoor scene to get your shutter speed for F8 and set your flash for the F8 range. Back then they were the auto thyristor type of flashes, similar to TTL but the great thing about them is they worked with any camera and were pretty accurate. I got my Hasselblad all ready with the 45 degree prism finder and my Sunpak J-120 flash on a flash bracket. I followed his instructions. I worked real hard that day under stress to take a collection of photographs that would record the important moments in chronological order. I used a pro lab that did work for all the pro wedding photographers in my area for processing and printing. We wound up with beautiful wedding photographs. Thirty years later I still look at them when I visit and they still look great and no one would know that an amateur took them because they turned out quite professional looking.

Katelyn looks awesome!!!

Excellent video Miguel. The fact is today we all use a light meter. It is built in to all our modern digital cameras. Your use of an external light meter gives a great demonstration on balancing the ambient light and strobe. Understanding and controlling the light is the difference between snapshots and photography.

Great Video!!

Love your stuff Miguel, Another point that should be made is that flash synch speed does not play a roll in exposure in flash photography, and that it is your aperture that will determine your exposure.

Thanks for the video. I would say, learning to use the light meter is another good photographic skill to have. Agreed using one light and shooting digital, especially mirrorless cameras you can get away without using it. Multiple lights in or out of the studio changing lenses and moving strobes around. It’s a good tool to have for accuracy and repeatable results. Shooting commercial or product a meter and a color checker are strong choices. I shoot mixed digital and film and sometimes just film, having my Sekonic meter is great!

For consistency purposes it's great, for product photography too

Katelyn, you are very patient!

Thank you Miguel

Luv that tee shirt.

Another great video Miguel. I have to laugh as you explain the process, in the background, Katelyn looks pissed off standing there.

Great video, thank you.

I feel you. For one flash, I feel like the meter isn’t necessary. I would say a light meter is more important for video when you match multiple cameras

The model just simply standing there looking all annoyed. In her thoughts, she's saying. "Dude hurry the F. up! I have things to do today..." good video.

She looks thrilled

Love that shirt

every time I watch one of your videos, something inside my head goes "CLICK" thank you.

as a new photographer this mini series of Flash Photography for portraits has been extremely helpful, do you mind doing a tutorial of photographing Quinceneras and Brides...I feel that it requires certain details to keep in mind with the long dresses, and the lighting whether indoor or out doors...also dealing with people in popular spots, I hope you get to read this request I would greatly appreciate...all your products i have them on my wishlist to buy that are below this video btw

I always use my old Sekonic light meter. I had some transmitters custom made for Profoto and Hensel strobes so I can trigger the strobe with the lightmeter which is quite comfortable. Just one question to you @Miguel Quiles What kind of foldable trolley are you using that is in the background? I was researching for those and there are tons of options but I struggle to find a good one.

I loved your T-shirt! Link if you can share, please. 🙂

well done :)

Great video, you always have quality content, but I want a link to that T-Shirt! It's FIRE!

I would have never got through The Zone System class when I was in Photo school in Daytona. Used a $45 Sekonic :-)

She has that Wonder Woman look 🪄

not mandatory but still very good to know. Thanks!

All that assuming the distance from each light to the subject is the same. Cheers man!

Excellent content as always; btw where'd you pick up the t-shirt??

that model is probably thd prettiest woman I have seen

How can we trigger the light when testing without always taking the trigger off the camera? Do you carry a second trigger for that? And if so do you have to constantly change its settings to match changes made to the lighting with the trigger on the camera? Hope thus makes some sense..lol Thanks!

Personally I think light meters are a relic from the past, back from the film days. Film was expensive, especially for video. You had to know how to use a light meter to get the right exposure for the film you were using. There was no easy way to check the image on the fly to see if it was properly exposed. With the advent of digital, you could review your images and make adjustments as you shot. With mirrorless, it's even easier to make adjustments on the fly.

How about a video where you are shooting in bright ambient light, but you want the background dark and shoot more wide open. Using a ND filter, or HSS (but if you are using and AD200 and HSS drops power by 1 stop or more and you don't have enough power, using ND Filter to darken the background but still allowing you to shoot at full power not going into HSS. How do you balance all that stuff even with a single light. I have seen others do this but they don't explain the process of getting the exposure right.

Miguel: What is the collapsible cart? (You can see it in the last few seconds.) Thanks.

Great video Miguel. Thanks for that. Just one thing I want to know; what is the metering mode you used while taking the ambient exposure, spot or Matrix?

Hey Miguel, what the rolling cart that you have in the background of this video?

Great video!! Originally you had aperture at 2.8 but the pictures were at 8. Was there a specific reason you changed it just wondering

Thanks!

Great Video MiggyQ! I relocated to Florida. Would love to take you out to lunch to chat and meet you. You are very busy and I won't take too much of your time.

My Godox flash has fractional levels like a shutter. Is there a way to convert to full numbers (4, 5, 6) like yours?

Very necessary if you shoot film.

How about working with flash percentages? Learn that perhaps a client likes a 30% flash and decide whether you want to lock in f-stop or shutter.

I am curious as to why you didn't measure the ambient light with your light meter. I have watched other similar videos and everyone is measuring ambient with the camera. Is there a reason for this?

Does the light meter work with constant light also?

I thought the fj-x2m needed an extra adapter for sony cameras, how is it working for you without it ?

👍🏽

Why did you meter for f2 and then shoot at f8? Did I miss something?

I used to use a light meter, only to get quickly to get the right exposure. But a light meter only does that, not your creative look. Especially if your tethered to your laptop, your screen is your light meter, as you see the exposure on 💻. Another word eyeballing it allows you to be more creative. There is no right or wrong.

I'll tell you the REAL "correct" method for balancing ambient with flash on location: The method that gets you the shot you want. ;) It doesn't matter if you use a light meter or not. I use a light meter in studio, but on location I do it by feel. The most important thing is that you are being intentional about how you want it to look and that you are producing the best results possible for your clients. Happy shooting!

I didn’t see a link for the stand

I'm a meter guy you can guess the exposure or you can know it.

It's much quicker using the meter. If you know how to count stops you can dial the strobe in within 2 shots. I mean dial it in accurately within 2 shots.

Isn't the info in the meta data of the file?

That light meter is almost as expensive as my camera and my lens, which I bought second hand. I don't know if a light meter is worth it. Probably the best reason is the good impression you give, and that's very important. A friend who is a lawyer doesn't like to drive, but he got a BMW and now his clients respect him more.

I tink people watching will undermine the value in these videos cause it takes the illusion out of the process and gives 100percent transparency which is key for anyone looking to learn not critisize

Little confused about talking about shooting at f2 then the after shots are all f8.

As an alert photographer I realized that something spilled on Catelyn‘s shirt over her right chest (look 5:00). Now, you could either use photoshop and stamp away that stain in post-editing…or make the model change the shirt before taking shots. At least most customers would not be happy I guess…

video starts at 03:48

Wish those light meters weren’t so pricey.

💥 9:50 crushed way too much ambient and it looks like nighttime but thanks for the tutorial otherwise 🤟🏼

This takes away from the fun of photography imo..Great content though!💪🏾

Ratio effect to photographers' intent that's all "correct" ?! Subjective 2 years foto education vs working commercial photography work depends

each to their own and all that.... but anyone who has shot with models, or any humans for that matter, can tell you... their attention span on a photo shoot is very VERY short. In the time you've taken to meter the light with a light meter, they've got bored and zoned out!! The flash output can be judged by a few test shots, and with some luck and experience, you might actually nail at first go. And by doing so, you've kept interaction with your subject. And unless you know what the flash reading actually means (it is metering for reproduction of mid grey) you actually may need to fine tune anyway, after first few test shots anyway. If your shooting digital, spend your money on more useful gear, like another light or modifiers.

Beautiful model however it looks like she has a stain on the right side of her shirt. I hope you took that out in post.

Poor Katelyn seemed to be having a bad day with a coffee stain on her singlet & mosquito bite on her stomach.

That is not how your light meter works. You are using a Sekonic 858 wich gives you a reading in tenth of stops. The reading is giving you 2.0 7. This means f2 + 7/10 which is around f2.5. You can change settins to use it in third of stops but if you use it as a radio transmitter you can only use it in tenth of stops and be aware of it for correct exposure. Example f2 0 is f2. f2 1 is closer to F2 but f2 2 is closer to f2.2 and f2 3 is f2.2. f2 9 would be almost f2.8 and f2 10 would be 2.8

Video starts 5:30 🙄

Not sure why he explained all the steps to balance at f2, then never actually took the shot or showed the result… Then took a bunch of shots at f8. Beautiful model looked absolutely bored while he went on about how we don’t need a light meter in a video about how to use a light meter.

U don't need a light meter. For those that are anal about it. Get over it!

the photometer is a waste of time with current cameras

Was this an instructional video or a gear sales pitch? 🤔

Regular clients can be very impatient. With a light meter 95% of clients think you don't know what you are doing. (Huffing and puffing). I won't use it.

Good lord that poor woman! Less talk more action may be helpful. Who shoots at 1/60 with a 1.8 lens in day light 😩

I use the same Sekonic with a Godox module and it calculates everything for me. Another easy way is to set the desired aperture and shoot TTL. I have formal training in photography and I don't think it makes sense for anyone to be shooting manual flash in 2022.