Here I was practicing with my light meter. A light meter isn’t something you really need, but it does help save time. A photography light meter will let you know what settings you might need given the settings you have. For example, I have mine set to ISO 100 and usually around 200 or 250 shutter speed. When I activate the flash with it on, it tells me what F-Stop I should use.
This is handy if you need multiple lights to get the same F-stop. For these photos, I was using two lights on either side. I wanted them to be the same. However, they were different brands, and I didn’t measure them exactly apart. So, the light meter helped zero them in.
But a light meter is far from needed, this is one area the Pythagorean theorem (A^2 + B^2 = C^2) would help as it pretty much tells you where to put the two lights in relation to your model. Well amusing for me because I remember thinking in whatever high school math class, I learned it in that I’d never use that formula beyond that class. I still don’t really use, but it’s handy to know it can be used. Anyway, throw in the inverse square law and you should have a general idea of where you are with your setup.
What do you do if you do not have a light meter and don’t want to do math? You eyeball it. You take a picture with your lights and adjust accordingly. Take another picture, adjust again, and so on. It does take time, but honestly it has never taken a lot more time versus when I use my light meter. However you decide to do it though, I recommend one light at a time.