Incident light is defined as what?

• A. The light that is actually falling on the subject
• B. The light reflected back to the lens
• C. The light emitted by the flash
• D. The ambient room light

Answer: (A)

Incident light is the light that falls on the subject from the lighting sources in the scene. It refers to illumination arriving at the subject’s surface before any reflection or absorption happens, and it’s what you’d measure with an incident light meter to determine exposure. This makes it the best answer because it directly describes the light actually reaching the subject, regardless of how the subject reflects it or how the camera records it.

Think of it this way: the light that bounces into the camera after hitting the subject is reflected light, not the incident light. The light emitted by the flash is a property of the source, not the definition. Ambient room light is just one possible source of incident light, not the definition itself. Using an incident light reading helps you set consistent exposure for scenes with varying subject colors and textures.