In this paper a system for obtaining the luminous intensity distribution of a small light source, based on high dynamic range imaging, is described. The system uses a dark room, a lambertian screen and a video-luminance-meter mounted on a workbench. The luminous intensity distribution of the light source is derived from the illuminance map on the screen by applying the photometric inverse law. The geometry of the system is presented and the measurements’ uncertainties are estimated. Finally, an application to a LED source is presented.