While clicking with your digital camera you must have seen a scale blinking in your view finder. That is a reflected light meter. A reflected light meter is a kind of light measuring device that measures the amount of light reflected from the subject and entering the camera. The reflected light meter in your camera just tells you if the frame is under exposed or over exposed. If you wish to know the exposure settings that will give you the right picture, you need to use handheld light meters.

Handheld light meters come in very handy while using manual cameras, like the Nikon F6. These meters have a lens that captures the light reflected from the subject and then its sensors give you the readings in the form of f number and shutter speed. A reflected light meter needs to be held right next to the camera and facing the subject. After positioning it you just need to press the reading button and its LCD will display the exposure settings. There are various types of reflected light meters, such as spot light meters and grey card light meters.

A spot light meter is used to read light on a particular part of the subject. It allows you to focus on a particular part of the subject, adjust the frame as you do in a camera and then take the readings. A grey card meter helps you to average out the darkest tones and lightest tones in a frame. This is particularly helpful when you want the right contrast along with the right exposure.