Do you use a lightmeter when shooting wedding in film?

[wedding photographer]

Do you use a light meter when shooting wedding in film? I mostly shoot with digital (it is easy to check the exposure in digital) and I am just worried that the camera light meter in the film camera won't be accurate. I would use the film cameras for the posed photos so I think I would have time to measure the time with the light meter... what do you think? What do you usually do?
Or do you think it is possible to meter with the digital camera? Take a digital shoot at the same ISO speed? Then I would adjust aperture, shutter in the film camera according to the results based on the exposure on the digital photos?

What do you think?

[NYArtboy]

You probably already shot based on the date of this post, and if you did you should share what you did and what the outcome was.

If I was going to give you advice, I would say this. How good are your light metering skills? Can you do it quickly and efficiently that result in good shots. As a pro myself, I never go to a paid shoot with a "test" in mind. You have to go with what you know. Hands down that is the best advice I ever got myself. If your metering skills are good and your confident then you should always (when shooting film) take a reading. When shooting film (as opposed to digital) you should meter for an area, then stay in that area till you exhausted your shots. Then move to a new area, take a reading, and take your shots. You can't jump around as quickly and easily UNLESS, you have an environment, where the light isnt changing so much. If your talking about an inside shoot, and using a flash, you initial meter should be good for the whole day. (Maybe with a backup meter just to check your figures). If you have 2 or 3 lighting scenes, meter them first, note them down, and then change as you need to.

Another piece of advice would be this. Shoot digital for the majority of the shots, take some film as backup, and when you shoot your formals, DEFINITELY meter. Take some digital as backup if you have time for those too.

Good luck!

[Greg McCary]

I use a meter when I shoot a camera without one. You would be surprised at how well you could do after a little practice you can guess and get real close.

[Axle]

I use a meter when I shoot a camera without one. You would be surprised at how well you could do after a little practice you can guess and get real close.

I'm pretty much the same, most of my cameras do have functioning light meters and you can still get batteries for them. (The Hi-Matic 7s takes a battery that isn't made anymore) or the Kiev 88 that you need to get a special finder for metering ability. I am however blessed to have two cameras that still meter but don't take batteries (The Rolleiflex and Trip 35), the first being a weapon of choice at a wedding, next to my Pentax 645, both meters are still dead accurate.

If I'm just shooting for fun outside, I'll just use Sunny-16 as a guideline.

[alyssalauren]

I always use a light meter when shooting wedding film. It ensures accurate exposure and helps me capture the best possible images in varied lighting conditions. By image clipping path service measuring light precisely, I can achieve consistent results and avoid underexposure or overexposure, which is crucial for preserving the quality of wedding memories.