[Al_Nowak]

Originally Posted by Ferrell

Al_Nowak - I'm a little confused. If I point the meter at the camera and do it with all the lights on then how will I know if a hair light is 1 stop over a main light etc. Seems like I'd have to place the meter on top of the head and toward the light.

Ahhh, a gotchca, or rather a gotme. Most times the light source is in front of the subject, thus my general comment. The hair light, being behind the subject, is a special case. Obviously pointing the dome at the camera for that light won't work... unless the hair light is almost directly overhead.

Originally Posted by Ferrell

How do I technically determine if a main light is 2 stops over the fill? I normally would place the meter on both sides of the face pointing toward each light and take a reading.

Here you are metering a specific ratio rather than a general situation. But you should be able to meter it with all lights on, because that's the situation you are going to take the picture under. If there's a two stop difference, the main light is apparently not contributing much to the fill area. But let me ask why you are setting the fill light first? I'd generally set the main light first, and then set the fill.

The main thing about placing the meter is to duplicate the situation of the area you are trying to meter. If something is shadowing the area you are metering, you have to duplicate the shadowing on the meter.