Literally today, I was trying to make sense of light metering (and how to apply it, and what the results look like) and I COULD NOT find an article or video that explained it in a way I could understand. And I thought to myself... I really wish Jason would make a video explaining light metering... and then suddenly, a notification appears, as if the film gods heard my prayers... Awesome video, thank you so much. You have no idea how much this helped me.
I started shooting film 1979 and did wedding photography for many years, now I just use my cameras for hobby only. The only times I used my minolta IV F meter was to take incident flash values of outdoor wedding portraits and with some of my old non metered vintage cameras. For all other shoots, like landscape, sports etc I used the camera's meter. After you shot film for a few years, everything becomes second nature to you with exceptions of non metered cameras.
Loved how you let it all hang out on the explanation of your how you go about shooting film. Wish to see more examples. Don't worry we will never be as good. Keep it up. Thanks
Use the friggin' zone system if you've got a spot meter. It's easy. Measure the part of the subject you are most interested in. Decide how many zones away from mid-gray you want to place that part of the subject. Adust exposure by that many stops.
ik you probably won’t see this but thank you for these videos. they have so much value and there are so manny videos you make which help me and hundreds of thousands of people like me learn about photography in such unique ways. it is impossible to find this kind of information constructed in such a fun artistic and funny way for people to learn. thanks
nobody has explained this better than you... and i've been watching youtube videos on this trying to learn. if you could possibly do more examples the way you explained with the aperture and shutter speed explanations/ comparisons, that would be AMAZING. But for now, this has been the best! Thanks a million
Clip of you standing outside: shirt or hoodie is warm enough clip of you standing inside spittin facts about light: 10 layers of clothing and a hat seriously, is it really that cold in your appartement?😂
Wow, this is the best explanation of Reciprocity Failure ive ever heard or seen. Idk if it just me but i feel like i could never find a good explanation on how it works. Super helpful
Reciprocity is the interchange of shutter speed and aperture. ... Reciprocity failure happens when this relationship breaks down. This commonly occurs with long exposures color films suffer from reciprocity failure when exposed for longer than a few seconds
@@nelsonclub7722 which we used to use to our advantage to shoot daylight film under fluorescent light. A long exposure caused Ektachrome to shit toward magenta cancelling out the green that is in fluorescent light bulbs, yes people they are green not white
People putting the thumb down have no sense of humor or feel missed a lot of information. Awesome video, I like your style of presentation! (Follower +1)
Watch out you need to check the shutter and check the foam you might get bad light leaks and the shutters are starting to fall apart now and chances are your camera wont work right. My mamiya just went bunk.
pulled out my nikon FA that i used in the 80s because of you. fortunately it was like riding a bike after 30 years of inactivity although a few knee scrapes here and there. fun times.
Glad to see others are using that app! I usually take a reading in the highlights, in the shadows, and select the exposure in the middle. So far so good, although I feel like you'll be judging me for it.... ;)
Thank you! This has helped me understand metering so much better. I have many missed images and I've always wondered what I should do in order to get a better result. I'll give all of these tips a try.
I thought you were a sort of pretentious UA-cam film photo guy but the more I watched you the more I liked you haha. I really laughed out loud several times you’re pretty entertaining. I’m having issues with my light meter that I’ve been using for 5+ years not changing the iso all of a sudden and I’ve been looking for someone who can help me figure out why. You didn’t answer any of my questions but i enjoyed this video and am going to subscribe.
I didn't know how much I needed this😂 Although probably not early in the morning, I might have to rewatch a few times to digest. Reciprocity failure just messes me up.
I have had a Konica autoreflex T since 1971. Batteries changed to very slightly more voltage... and I never realized it. That degraded the electronics in the meter. I took it to my camera guy. Yep, the replacement parts were nowhere to be had. He reset what he could, the voltage is OK now, the meter sort of works... if I load 400 speed and tell the camera it has 200 speed. I just use the camera outside almost all the time now.
I've been taking fun for a very, very long time. (I'm pretty old) and I world love to join you in saying "**** digital. I have a Western Euromaster, a Pentax 5 hand held spot exposure meter and a Gossen Lunasix/F.
@grainydays What about using your meter, shaking your head (knowing full well you are a smarter because you have thumbs), picking differently(correctly), then 4 weeks later looking at your magnificent photos(they're all blown), and reflecting on how much smarter you are than the meter (silly meter).
Watched for the information, subbed for the deadpan humor. One question: I read that Kodak Portra tends to go a bit orange when overexposed. Do you compensate for that with filters, in post or is it not something you observe in your pictures?
@grainydays For the part where you discuss sunsets, you switch from adding your exposure compensation by adjusting the meter iso (overexpose by 1.5 stops, set iso 400 ->160 etc) to saying the number of stops to overexpose by in addition to setting your meter to half a stop brighter. Any reason to mix the two approaches?
if this video reaches 15k views by next, half of it might be me watching. i’ve been looking for a video like this since i started film last year and this one is by far my favorite and find very helpful.
Great video and 100% correct advice! Grainydays is one of my favorite channels. But, I'd add two things here: (1) When shooting chromes (i.e. slide film like Provia, E100, etc.) remember to straight up lie to your meter in the other direction. Better to nail exposure on chromes, or maybe cheat 1/3 stop *_under_* exposed when in doubt. You can set your compensation dial to -1/3 for this. If there's significant bright sky, white caps/sand, etc. in your scene, an alternate technique is to meter that area with +2 on the compensation dial. Doing so will print that area 2 stops above midtone--the upper limit for chromes. I usually keep my Mamiya 7's shutter dial on AEL, adjusting only the compensation dial for what area I'm metering. When shooting chromes, avoid metering areas that might be on the dark-ish side of midtone. (2) Finally, there is a little known factoid for chrome shooters using the Mamiya 7/7II. When set to A/AEL mode, the internal meter will fire the shutter in 1/6 stop increments rather than only the full stop increments allowed by the dial.
when shooting chrome wouldnt i want to meter the sky underexposed vs the meter? in order to get more of an average for the scene exposure setting. having trouble understanding why i would want to do 2 stops addl. on the compensation
@@bhmcgeehan (1) If the sky is significant in your scene, you must be sure to NOT over expose it. With chromes, over exposure is bad just like under exposure is bad for negatives. Both over exposure in chromes and under exposure in negs will result in thin (i.e. low density, near transparent) areas on the film. It's almost impossible for your scanner to recover any detail in these thin areas. (2) Think about what your in-camera meter is telling your camera to do. It's telling your camera to expose the metered area as "mid-tone". Period. That's it. Period. But we don't want our sky at mid-tone. We want our sky to be some amount of stops ABOVE mid-tone. So set your comp dial to +2 (or 1.8, 2.1, or whatever you wish) when exposing bright sky or beach sand with chromes. If my choice of chrome film has 5-stops of range, and the sky is now at +2, then you've got all 5 stops below the sky for before the deepest shadows go fully black. On the other extreme, if there are deep shadows that make up your scene, then meter a dark shadow, but now compensate it -2 stops, then you've got all 5 stops above that shadow before the highlights go totally white. It's all about using the comp dial to shift the 5-stops of your film's limited range either up or down within the larger strop range of the scene. However, if the scene is within the stop range of the film, then just just average meter with 0 on the comp dial and you're good. NOTE: You can test this out with a digital camera that can do spot metering and aperture priority mode. Just set it to aperture priority, spot meter, and set the comp dial to 0. Now aim at the sky, hold exposure recompose and take a shot. It will be too dark. Now do the same, but with +2 (or thereabouts) on the comp dial. Expose, recompose, shoot. It will be almost perfect. Shooting chromes is virtually the same as shooting digital, but with less dynamic range and no chimping. (3) With negatives, you can generally just average meter the scene with 0 comp and you're good. This is why center-weighted metering in most cameras works well with negatives. This can be done because neg film has much greater dynamic range than does chrome film. But the price paid for all that dynamic range is a lower contrast, less punchy image--no free lunch. (4) Also be aware that film doesn't have a linear response like a digital sensor does. Film approaches either end of the density scale in an asymptotic, s-curve fashion, and never gets fully there in either direction. So a given film's dynamic range limits are somewhat subjective as to where in the s-curve one considers the limit to be. You may be good with using 6-stops of range for the same film that someone else would say is only 5 stops. Hope this helps.
can you transfer the the autosettings your old digi point and shoot chose for a certain frame, to your film camera, see how that turned out and work from there?
If I had a dollar for every time I watched you climb that fence to take a photo of the pool...
It's not underexposed, it's "metered for the highlights".
The same thing friends say to me when they don't want to pay me for their portraits.
BRO, if you don't UNDERSTAND bracketing then just SAY THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Baxter is a true legend.
Yea the legend of the chupacabra
I think he loves you too Matt!! :-D
I know it and you know it
If you didn't overexpose you're Portra by 32 stops is it even worth developing??
No, fortune favors the bold. 32 stops or nothing
@@grainydaysss COLABBBBSSSS!!!!!!!
Only if you plan on pushing by 10 stops.
Podcast episode with grainydays
@@grainydaysss Guess you could use it a blackout material... after all every darkroom has the odd light leak!
This is high quality teaching right here. I learned more about metering in the last 11 minutes than in 10 years of shooting digital.
Literally today, I was trying to make sense of light metering (and how to apply it, and what the results look like) and I COULD NOT find an article or video that explained it in a way I could understand.
And I thought to myself... I really wish Jason would make a video explaining light metering... and then suddenly, a notification appears, as if the film gods heard my prayers...
Awesome video, thank you so much. You have no idea how much this helped me.
wish for superia to come back please
The content is strong in this one
I started shooting film 1979 and did wedding photography for many years, now I just use my cameras for hobby only.
The only times I used my minolta IV F meter was to take incident flash values of outdoor wedding portraits and with some of my old non metered vintage cameras. For all other shoots, like landscape, sports etc I used the camera's meter. After you shot film for a few years, everything becomes second nature to you with exceptions of non metered cameras.
Is it cold in your house?
With that much film, he can’t afford heating ..
Willem is down to collab, would be fun to see you interview him in a true grainydays-fasion!
We will make it happen one day!
@@grainydaysss one day is how my mom says never
@@grainydaysss One day is what I keep telling myself everytime i get beaten up by my highschool bully, now that I'm 26.
i have been trying to understand this for hours, and you simply explained it in 10 mins, thank you
Loved how you let it all hang out on the explanation of your how you go about shooting film. Wish to see more examples. Don't worry we will never be as good. Keep it up. Thanks
Use the friggin' zone system if you've got a spot meter. It's easy. Measure the part of the subject you are most interested in. Decide how many zones away from mid-gray you want to place that part of the subject. Adust exposure by that many stops.
ik you probably won’t see this but thank you for these videos. they have so much value and there are so manny videos you make which help me and hundreds of thousands of people like me learn about photography in such unique ways. it is impossible to find this kind of information constructed in such a fun artistic and funny way for people to learn. thanks
nobody has explained this better than you... and i've been watching youtube videos on this trying to learn.
if you could possibly do more examples the way you explained with the aperture and shutter speed explanations/ comparisons, that would be AMAZING.
But for now, this has been the best! Thanks a million
Clip of you standing outside: shirt or hoodie is warm enough
clip of you standing inside spittin facts about light: 10 layers of clothing and a hat
seriously, is it really that cold in your appartement?😂
That's LA for you lmao
Greg LaMotte oh boi let me tell you about weather in austria
@@alexandermeisel4585 when
That way he doesn't need to store his color film in the fridge haha
Luca Schwitalla hahah true
He called us gang 🥺❤️
Wow, this is the best explanation of Reciprocity Failure ive ever heard or seen. Idk if it just me but i feel like i could never find a good explanation on how it works. Super helpful
Reciprocity is the interchange of shutter speed and aperture. ... Reciprocity failure happens when this relationship breaks down. This commonly occurs with long exposures color films suffer from reciprocity failure when exposed for longer than a few seconds
@@nelsonclub7722 Yeah we were saying that we finally got it cause of this video thanks tho
@@nelsonclub7722 which we used to use to our advantage to shoot daylight film under fluorescent light. A long exposure caused Ektachrome to shit toward magenta cancelling out the green that is in fluorescent light bulbs, yes people they are green not white
This is the best well rounded video on metering so far, thank youuu
Literally so happy you explained stops
People putting the thumb down have no sense of humor or feel missed a lot of information. Awesome video, I like your style of presentation! (Follower +1)
I thought Matt Day was cool, too. UNTIL just now I found you "emo depressed ryan gosling" lol
Love that swimming pool shot. This was a big help, thank you.
I just bought my first medium format mamiya 645 and wondered this, perfect timing man!! huge fan
same boat here bro, have run 5 rolls through it so far and only now just starting to get the hang of it
Watch out you need to check the shutter and check the foam you might get bad light leaks and the shutters are starting to fall apart now and chances are your camera wont work right. My mamiya just went bunk.
@@JustStayPositive27 I ran 10 rolls through mine and it worked fine now all the rolls come out blank because the shutter broke.
so cool, this zeppelin started from a small sportsairport near our home when i was a child!
This video is badass dude. I know it’s an older video but I just found it today. Thanks. I love film.
pulled out my nikon FA that i used in the 80s because of you. fortunately it was like riding a bike after 30 years of inactivity although a few knee scrapes here and there. fun times.
Trying to learn something here. Keep having to rewind because of funny. Worth it.
That Mamiya 7 is a beauty!
That metering for the sunset shot ufffff
Reciprocity curves for any given can be found in their respective film datasheets. It will spare you headaches.
clearest and simplest explanation of the zone system and reciprocity..you made it seem so simple and logical. best metering video , thanks a lot
I was shooting Mamiya 6X7 in the late 90s. Old school meter. Phones are amazing.
My brain doesn’t think in histograms so that was an interesting depiction to see. Thank you for making reciprocity failure easy to understand.
you are very funny; great timing, and your self-deprecating is a great contrast to how much you actually know.
Very informative and humorous references I learn something thank you. For sharing this information.
the funniest creator i ever seen!
One of the best useful videos that I watched from beginning till the end. Thank you for this it helps a lot 😊
This video is amazing for understanding metering. I’m going to try my best to share this info(and video) w all my photo friends
bro, this the best metering video
Fantastic video, thanks for sharing.
A very clear and informative demonstration, one of the best explanations I have come across.
"Fuck digital camera" (Records with a digital camera)
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Glad to see others are using that app! I usually take a reading in the highlights, in the shadows, and select the exposure in the middle. So far so good, although I feel like you'll be judging me for it.... ;)
App name please?
@@jordanhayes7348 play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.willblaschko.android.lightmeterv2.free&hl=en_GB
I was searching for this the other day. You and Willem needed a video on this
Humour, design, education. You got all these covered in your videos. I applaude, don't stop, ly, bye
Thank you! This has helped me understand metering so much better. I have many missed images and I've always wondered what I should do in order to get a better result. I'll give all of these tips a try.
Been reading about metering at night these past few days and this definitely was the nail in the coffin!
Superb..
I thought you were a sort of pretentious UA-cam film photo guy but the more I watched you the more I liked you haha. I really laughed out loud several times you’re pretty entertaining. I’m having issues with my light meter that I’ve been using for 5+ years not changing the iso all of a sudden and I’ve been looking for someone who can help me figure out why. You didn’t answer any of my questions but i enjoyed this video and am going to subscribe.
This DUDDDEEE is the perfect balance of personality and information. Thank you for not just spewing info at the camera. Subscriber earned.
Enjoyed this pal, cheers
Ive watched 1 minute of you and I already love your dry humour, subbed lmao
I love you and your videos man, super informative and easy to understand. BIG FAN!
I enjoy your videos and specially your photography.
Hi, what a wonderful video. Keep up the amazing work! I look forward to your next video.
ive been waiting for a video FOR SO LONG
Love the comedy and the content...great work.👏🗣
I didn't know how much I needed this😂
Although probably not early in the morning, I might have to rewatch a few times to digest. Reciprocity failure just messes me up.
Hahaha. “Ba-ha blasting out.” Niiice!
What's the light meter app by chance, the one I use right now is rather rudimentary.
Did you ever find out what light meter app he's using?
@@Jorge-125 looking for my self right now can’t seam to find it though :/
Its light meter free by wbphoto only for android though
"Seems brighter because I'm hungover" hahah
you lighten my day
I have had a Konica autoreflex T since 1971. Batteries changed to very slightly more voltage... and I never realized it. That degraded the electronics in the meter. I took it to my camera guy. Yep, the replacement parts were nowhere to be had. He reset what he could, the voltage is OK now, the meter sort of works... if I load 400 speed and tell the camera it has 200 speed. I just use the camera outside almost all the time now.
witty and informative. where did you get your SHrek barbie doll?
I've been taking fun for a very, very long time. (I'm pretty old) and I world love to join you in saying "**** digital. I have a Western Euromaster, a Pentax 5 hand held spot exposure meter and a Gossen Lunasix/F.
Agreed, the dog has Charisma!
Excellent video discount Ryan Gosling. You're super chill and dryer than cider.
While many try to be fun and it just doesn't work,you my man got my attention immediately with those dark jokes ! :D worth the subscribe!
@grainydays What about using your meter, shaking your head (knowing full well you are a smarter because you have thumbs), picking differently(correctly), then 4 weeks later looking at your magnificent photos(they're all blown), and reflecting on how much smarter you are than the meter (silly meter).
Gold of the week,holy Sheep .Thanks i learned a lot! Hope to see a video with Willieam
📸🎬🎥
How many pictures have you taken of that pool while standing up at that fence? Is that your next book project?
Watched for the information, subbed for the deadpan humor.
One question: I read that Kodak Portra tends to go a bit orange when overexposed. Do you compensate for that with filters, in post or is it not something you observe in your pictures?
Not sure if I missed it but can you share the light meter app you use ?
@grainydays For the part where you discuss sunsets, you switch from adding your exposure compensation by adjusting the meter iso (overexpose by 1.5 stops, set iso 400 ->160 etc) to saying the number of stops to overexpose by in addition to setting your meter to half a stop brighter. Any reason to mix the two approaches?
if this video reaches 15k views by next, half of it might be me watching. i’ve been looking for a video like this since i started film last year and this one is by far my favorite and find very helpful.
i take that back. by tomorrow not next week. lol
Dude you should check out the dx1000. A small plastic point and shoot novelty camera, 4 settings and fixed 50mm. No batteries needed. And colourful.
Enjoyable video, informative and clear.
I’m surprised the legends Willem and Matt haven’t commented on your video yet!
Sweet! A Mamiya 7.
I once had a Mamiya 6.
Great video and 100% correct advice! Grainydays is one of my favorite channels. But, I'd add two things here:
(1) When shooting chromes (i.e. slide film like Provia, E100, etc.) remember to straight up lie to your meter in the other direction. Better to nail exposure on chromes, or maybe cheat 1/3 stop *_under_* exposed when in doubt. You can set your compensation dial to -1/3 for this. If there's significant bright sky, white caps/sand, etc. in your scene, an alternate technique is to meter that area with +2 on the compensation dial. Doing so will print that area 2 stops above midtone--the upper limit for chromes. I usually keep my Mamiya 7's shutter dial on AEL, adjusting only the compensation dial for what area I'm metering. When shooting chromes, avoid metering areas that might be on the dark-ish side of midtone.
(2) Finally, there is a little known factoid for chrome shooters using the Mamiya 7/7II. When set to A/AEL mode, the internal meter will fire the shutter in 1/6 stop increments rather than only the full stop increments allowed by the dial.
when shooting chrome wouldnt i want to meter the sky underexposed vs the meter? in order to get more of an average for the scene exposure setting. having trouble understanding why i would want to do 2 stops addl. on the compensation
@@bhmcgeehan (1) If the sky is significant in your scene, you must be sure to NOT over expose it. With chromes, over exposure is bad just like under exposure is bad for negatives. Both over exposure in chromes and under exposure in negs will result in thin (i.e. low density, near transparent) areas on the film. It's almost impossible for your scanner to recover any detail in these thin areas.
(2) Think about what your in-camera meter is telling your camera to do. It's telling your camera to expose the metered area as "mid-tone". Period. That's it. Period. But we don't want our sky at mid-tone. We want our sky to be some amount of stops ABOVE mid-tone. So set your comp dial to +2 (or 1.8, 2.1, or whatever you wish) when exposing bright sky or beach sand with chromes. If my choice of chrome film has 5-stops of range, and the sky is now at +2, then you've got all 5 stops below the sky for before the deepest shadows go fully black.
On the other extreme, if there are deep shadows that make up your scene, then meter a dark shadow, but now compensate it -2 stops, then you've got all 5 stops above that shadow before the highlights go totally white.
It's all about using the comp dial to shift the 5-stops of your film's limited range either up or down within the larger strop range of the scene. However, if the scene is within the stop range of the film, then just just average meter with 0 on the comp dial and you're good.
NOTE: You can test this out with a digital camera that can do spot metering and aperture priority mode. Just set it to aperture priority, spot meter, and set the comp dial to 0. Now aim at the sky, hold exposure recompose and take a shot. It will be too dark. Now do the same, but with +2 (or thereabouts) on the comp dial. Expose, recompose, shoot. It will be almost perfect. Shooting chromes is virtually the same as shooting digital, but with less dynamic range and no chimping.
(3) With negatives, you can generally just average meter the scene with 0 comp and you're good. This is why center-weighted metering in most cameras works well with negatives. This can be done because neg film has much greater dynamic range than does chrome film. But the price paid for all that dynamic range is a lower contrast, less punchy image--no free lunch.
(4) Also be aware that film doesn't have a linear response like a digital sensor does. Film approaches either end of the density scale in an asymptotic, s-curve fashion, and never gets fully there in either direction. So a given film's dynamic range limits are somewhat subjective as to where in the s-curve one considers the limit to be. You may be good with using 6-stops of range for the same film that someone else would say is only 5 stops.
Hope this helps.
Brilliant
Thanks for this video by the way. Very instructive.
Brother .... Your depressive jokes are awesome .... Love them .....where the dog has more character than the host .... :-) ) )
glad this video was on my recommended list
cool video, thanks for the work!
good for beginners. nice video, dude!
Mamiya 7! Want one!
Top of the class.
Wow thank you so much. Perfect Video for a beginner.
I just got a M7II with a dead cable release input. Hopefully will be able to take a few night shots not so blurry.
hey! what FONTs do u use for "1 STOP" description peace?
Wingdings
grainydays 🔥🔥🔥
grainydays ABAHAHA
Your humor got you a subscriber
Very good thanks
Baja blasting out!!!! Mans got me weak😂😂😂
Damn that pool shot was nice
can you transfer the the autosettings your old digi point and shoot chose for a certain frame, to your film camera, see how that turned out and work from there?
When u doin a vid w willem verb?
Somehow I am missing HDR scene and incident metering explained here.