With A Light Meter

• 1). Pose your subjects. It's best to pick an area with even lighting, such as in the shade of a tree or object, since getting the lighting as even as possible helps get an accurate meter reading.
  
  
• 2). Turn on your hand-held light meter and set it to "incident" reading mode. Slide or place the protected incident reading dome over the light-sensitive cell on the top of the meter.
  
  
• 3). Stand next to your subjects and face back toward where you will stand to take the photograph. Hold the meter and take a reading.
  
  
• 4). Set your camera into fully manual mode and adjust your shutter speed and aperture to match the incident light reading. Ignore your in-camera light meter -- thanks to your hand-held meter, you now have the proper exposure setting for photographing light and dark skin.
  
  

Using Averages

• 1). Adjust your camera so it is in fully manual mode, allowing you to set the aperture and shutter speed.
  
  
• 2). Point the camera at the darkest-skinned subject and make a note of the meter reading your in-camera light meter displays.
  
  
• 3). Point the camera at the lightest-skinned subject and make a note of this meter reading.
  
  
• 4). Set your camera's shutter speed and aperture to settings between the two readings, then take your picture. This method is less precise than using an incident light meter reading, but it is fast and requires no additional equipment.