ARE PHOTOGRAPHY LIGHT METERS A WASTE OF MONEY AND TIME?

If you have ever been on a photography course and are exploring the wonderful world of flash and studio photography, chances are you have been told to use a handheld light meter in order to get a very accurate ball-park figure of where your exposure needs to be in order to deliver the "correct" exposure for your specific subject you're trying to illuminate with artificial strobe light, but are photographic light meters really worth the money and effort?

Well, as per usual, the answer to that question is "it depends". If you are using a film camera then a light meter will help you get you to your "ballpark" exposure a lot quicker as you don't necessarily want to waste unnecessary money on test shots with expensive film. But in the digital photography world, there is absolutely no need as you can simply take a few test shots! Why spend more money on a handheld light meter when you can get to the same result after a few test fires and arguably save time and even get more creative as opposed to having a digital device "telling" you what settings you "need" to use.

Take a look at the video below by the YouTube channel: Karl Taylor on Two Big Reasons Why You Shouldn't Use A Light Meter...