Yeah, digital let me play around and
see the effects of aperture and shutter speed without having to pay to get my film processed (and who wants 36 exposures of running water at various shutter speeds, which you've had to write down elsewhere, just to see what happens!).
For portraits like that I think I'd meter off the brightest point. The last thing you want to do is clip highlights. If you do then it's usually shot ruined. It's especially important with portraits like the one you've posted above. Face on mono shots are all about texture and so highlights are life or death!
