Guys Guys, there is no one size fits all. It depends on what you are shooting as to how you meter.
As to the Minolta, there is a hemispheric dome that comes with the meter. A flat disk, black with a square hole for metering reflective and a flat disk white with no hole for metering ratios. This is the withdrawing dome of the Sekonic.
I find I just shield my meter with my hands or body to individually measure each light.
Digital files are basically the same as transparencies so you want to make sure you don't overexpose them.
I set either the main or fill first. I like a 3:1 ratio, so I set either one, measuring individually until they are where where I want them. As an example: IF I had the fill at f:5.6 and the Main at f:8, then the camera setting would be f: 8 & 1/2.
Basically the fill light( in "normal" portraiture) should evenly illuminate both sides of the subject's(model) face without creating a shadow(as much as possible) then the main light is brought in to create shadows and modeling and lights one side and perhaps part of another.
The difference between the highlight and the shadows, created by the main light, is the lighting ratio. The fill light lightens the shadows to reduce the contrast to a manageable and aesthetically pleasing level. Since it also adds some exposure to the highlight side, you need to stop down to avoid overexposing those highlights. This is why you need to take a meter reading for the exposure setting on your camera with all lights on and the dome pointed at the camera.
Any light that hits the front of your subject or the back ground should be metered by pointing the light at the camera and any light that hits the back of your subject should be metered by pointing at the light WITH AN INCIDENT METER, or from the camera pointed at the are in question, WITH A REFLECTED SPOT METER.
For certain specular highlights and Rim lights you can 't accurately measure even with a spot meter, so you have to shot and test and determine what settings fit the way you normally shoot.
As an example I was taught to always shoot most portrait subjects at f:8.0. This was due to optimum f:stop for the various filters, vignettes and soft focus devices that were popular at the time. With print film you shoot for the shadows and print down for the highlights so the 1/2 stop extra didn't hurt anyone. Now with so many not using hand held meters and not knowing that an f:8 powered light pointed at the face, will deliver f:11-16 when used at the same power delivery when pointed at the side or from the rear, gives us a lot of hot rims and blown hair.
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