Which instrument reads the light falling on the subject?

Which instrument reads the light falling on the subject?

• A. Incident meter
• B. Spot meter
• C. Reflective meter
• D. Color meter

Answer: (A)

The main idea is measuring the light that actually falls on the subject, not the light bouncing off it. An incident meter does this well. It has a diffusing dome that you place at the subject’s position and point toward the camera so it reads the illumination arriving on the subject from all directions. This gives you exposure that depends on the light environment, not on the subject’s color or texture. Reflective meters measure light bouncing off the subject and can be swayed by how light or dark the subject is. A spot meter is just a highly focused reflective meter that samples a tiny area. A color meter is used for color characteristics like color temperature, not for determining exposure based on illumination. So the incident meter is the one that reads the light falling on the subject.

The main idea is measuring the light that actually falls on the subject, not the light bouncing off it. An incident meter does this well. It has a diffusing dome that you place at the subject’s position and point toward the camera so it reads the illumination arriving on the subject from all directions. This gives you exposure that depends on the light environment, not on the subject’s color or texture.

Reflective meters measure light bouncing off the subject and can be swayed by how light or dark the subject is. A spot meter is just a highly focused reflective meter that samples a tiny area. A color meter is used for color characteristics like color temperature, not for determining exposure based on illumination. So the incident meter is the one that reads the light falling on the subject.