Lesson Info
60. Flash & Lighting
Summary (Generated from Transcript)
The lesson is about flash and lighting in photography. The instructor discusses the different types of flash units, recommends getting the flash off the camera for better quality, and introduces various accessories such as TTL cords, flash brackets, flash diffusers, and macro lights for close-up photography.
Q&A:
What are the different types of flash units?
The instructor mentions low-end, simple flashes for fill light, mid-range flashes for versatility and more power, and advanced flashes with additional features.
Why is it important to get the flash off the camera?
Getting the flash off the camera helps improve the quality of the flash. It can be done by using TTL cords or flash brackets.
What is a flash diffuser and what does it do?
A flash diffuser is an accessory that spreads out the light and increases the light source. It helps create softer shadows, especially when shooting close to the subject.
When would a narrow beam flash be useful?
A narrow beam flash is useful for bird photography or when illuminating subjects that are far away. It helps eliminate shadows and provides focused light.
Why are rotating flash brackets useful?
Rotating flash brackets help keep the flash in a top and centered position, which is more aesthetically pleasing, especially when shooting verticals. It also helps assert your role as the photographer in a situation.
What is a macro light and why is it useful?
A macro light is a special type of light that can be mounted on the front of the lens. It is useful for macro photography, where getting light in close to the subject is important for power reasons.
How can getting the flash off the camera and using these accessories improve the quality of photographs?
Getting the flash off the camera and using accessories can help achieve better lighting, reduce shadows, and create more professional-looking photographs.
Lessons
Class Introduction
23:32 2Photographic Characteristics
06:46 3Camera Types
03:03 4Viewing System
22:09 5Lens System
24:38 6Shutter System
12:56 7Shutter Speed Basics
10:16 8Shutter Speed Effects
31:57Camera & Lens Stabilization
11:06 10Quiz: Shutter Speeds
07:55 11Camera Settings Overview
16:12 12Drive Mode & Buffer
04:24 13Camera Settings - Details
10:21 14Sensor Size: Basics
18:26 15Sensor Sizes: Compared
24:52 16The Sensor - Pixels
22:49 17Sensor Size - ISO
26:59 18Focal Length
11:36 19Angle of View
31:29 20Practicing Angle of View
04:59 21Quiz: Focal Length
08:15 22Fisheye Lens
12:32 23Tilt & Shift Lens
20:37 24Subject Zone
13:16 25Lens Speed
09:03 26Aperture
08:25 27Depth of Field (DOF)
21:46 28Quiz: Apertures
08:22 29Lens Quality
07:06 30Light Meter Basics
09:04 31Histogram
11:48 32Quiz: Histogram
09:07 33Dynamic Range
07:25 34Exposure Modes
35:15 35Sunny 16 Rule
04:31 36Exposure Bracketing
08:08 37Exposure Values
20:01 38Quiz: Exposure
20:44 39Focusing Basics
13:08 40Auto Focus (AF)
24:39 41Focus Points
17:18 42Focus Tracking
19:26 43Focusing Q&A
06:40 44Manual Focus
07:14 45Digital Focus Assistance
07:35 46Shutter Speeds & Depth of Field (DOF)
05:18 47Quiz: Depth of Field
15:54 48DOF Preview & Focusing Screens
04:55 49Lens Sharpness
11:08 50Camera Movement
11:29 51Advanced Techniques
15:15 52Quiz: Hyperfocal Distance
07:14 53Auto Focus Calibration
05:15 54Focus Stacking
07:58 55Quiz: Focus Problems
18:54 56Camera Accessories
32:41 57Lens Accessories
29:24 58Lens Adaptors & Cleaning
13:14 59Macro
13:02 60Flash & Lighting
04:47 61Tripods
14:13 62Cases
06:07 63Being a Photographer
11:29 64Natural Light: Direct Sunlight
28:37 65Natural Light: Indirect Sunlight
15:57 66Natural Light: Mixed
04:20 67Twilight: Sunrise & Sunset Light
22:21 68Cloud & Color Pop: Sunrise & Sunset Light
06:40 69Silhouette & Starburst: Sunrise & Sunset Light
07:28 70Golden Hour: Sunrise & Sunset Light
07:52 71Quiz: Lighting
05:42 72Light Management
10:46 73Flash Fundamentals
12:06 74Speedlights
04:12 75Built-In & Add-On Flash
10:47 76Off-Camera Flash
25:48 77Off-Camera Flash For Portraits
15:36 78Advanced Flash Techniques
08:22 79Editing Assessments & Goals
08:57 80Editing Set-Up
06:59 81Importing Images
03:59 82Organizing Your Images
32:41 83Culling Images
13:57 84Categories of Development
30:59 85Adjusting Exposure
08:03 86Remove Distractions
04:02 87Cropping Your Images
09:53 88Composition Basics
26:36 89Point of View
28:56 90Angle of View
14:35 91Subject Placement
23:22 92Framing Your Shot
07:27 93Foreground & Background & Scale
03:51 94Rule of Odds
05:00 95Bad Composition
07:31 96Multi-Shot Techniques
19:08 97Pixel Shift, Time Lapse, Selective Cloning & Noise Reduction
12:24 98Human Vision vs The Camera
23:32 99Visual Perception
10:43 100Quiz: Visual Balance
14:05 101Visual Drama
16:45 102Elements of Design
09:24 103Texture & Negative Space
03:57 104Black & White & Color
10:33 105The Photographic Process
09:08 106Working the Shot
25:29 107What Makes a Great Photograph?
07:01Lesson Info
Flash & Lighting
So, next up, we're gonna get in to a few flash accessories here. So we're gonna talk more about lighting in an upcoming section, but a little word on some of all those additional flash units that you can add to your camera. So if you don't have a flash, we do have little low end, very simple flashes, which are kind of nice, just to add a little bit of fill light straight in front of the camera. They're not very powerful, so I don't really recommend them in most cases. I think the mid-range flash is pretty good for most people who want some versatility and a little bit more power. If you're photographing social events, weddings, things like that, where you need more power, you need to use wide angle lenses where you're spreading the light out more, or you're gonna be shooting a lot of shots where you're gonna be shooting in sequence. The power systems on this are a little bit faster in their recycling time, and they will also have some special effects modes in there, we'll talk a little...
bit about in the flash section, but for most people, I think the mid-range is where you're gonna be looking for a basic flash, but if you really get into it, the advanced ones are very nice and offer a lot of features. If you get any sort of flash, one of the most important things for getting better quality flash is getting the flash off the camera. If you want to do that in the simplest way, you want to get one of the TTL cords, and this is an offshoot cord that allows you to shoot fully automatic with the flash away from the camera, and it's just about as long as you can reach with your hand, or if you want to mount it on one of these brackets here. There's a number of different flash brackets. This is an older one I have, I don't think they sell this one anymore, but it's got a nice wood handle on it, feels good in the hand, and than what it enables me to do is rotate the camera, so the lens stays in the same position, and we'll talk more about that in the flash settings. The flash diffuser is a way for you to increase the light source. I got one of those over here, somewhere, right here, and this one allows me to point the flash up in here. It gets the flash a little bit further away from the camera. It also spreads it out in a slight manner, and so this is gonna get you a little bit softer shadows around your subject's face for instance, and so, I prefer to use this. It decreases the power of the flash, but if I'm relatively close, than power's not the major issue, it's getting a nice soft light, that's important. Very special tool here, this is for bird photographer's in most cases. It's where you want to throw the light in a very narrow beam far forward. I was out at one of our local parks here, Discovery Park, and there was a family of owls there, and this is where a flash helped illuminate these birds under low light in the forest. You're able to get a little (mumbles) light in their eyes, and see their feathers, and them just a little bid better, and you don't have the normal problem with flash with a shadow on the back wall, 'cause there is no wall right behind him, and so you don't get to see those shadows quite the same way, and so that can really help on subjects that are much further away from there. The flash bracket is something that I have found very handy because when you don't have this, when you shoot verticals, the flash gets thrown off to the side, where it looks less attractive. Having the flash top and center in consistent in your photographs will help out, and so these rotating flash brackets can be very, very handy to keep the lens in the right place, and I've shot a few weddings in my time, and I know, you all know about Uncle Bob, hopefully you know about Uncle Bob. Uncle Bob is the Uncle at the wedding, who happens to have a professional DSLR, and wants to take photos, and kind of wants to be the professional photographer there, but when you have one of these devices, Uncle Bob shrinks down and moves away, because there is no doubt when you step in to the situation that you are the photographer in that case, and I know it sounds a little corny, but it works. It works (mumbles). But it also gets you better quality shots, which is the real reason you're using it, and so, getting that flash in a high centered position so it's even for horizontals and verticals, and getting you better light. For those of you who do want to get in to Macro, getting light in close can be a real problem, and so they do make special macro lights that can actually mount on the front of your lens, and when we get in to light, we're gonna talk a lot about distance. How far away is the light from the subject its illuminating? And you'll want to get that light in really close for power reasons, 'cause you need that power in there. So this is how you get the flash as close as possible without getting it in the way of the camera, and so these are available for many of the different lenses that are out in the market.
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Ratings and Reviews
a Creativelive Student
Love love all John Greengo classes! Wish to have had him decades ago with this info, but no internet then!! John is the greatest photography teacher I have seen out there, and I watch a lot of Creative Live classes and folks on YouTube too. John is so detailed and there are a ton of ah ha moments for me and I know lots of others. I think I own 4 John Greengo classes so far and want to add this one and Travel Photography!! I just drop everything to watch John on Creative Live. I wish sometime soon he would teach a Lightroom class and his knowledge on photography post editing.!!! That would probably take a LOT OF TIME but I know John would explain it soooooo good, like he does all his Photography classes!! Thank you Creative Live for having such a wonderful instructor with John Greengo!! Make more classes John, for just love them and soak it up! There is soooo much to learn and sometimes just so overwhelming. Is there anyway you might do a Motivation class!!?? Like do this button for this day, and try this technique for a week, or post this subject for this week, etc. Motivation and inspiration, and playing around with what you teach, needed so much and would be so fun.!! Just saying??? Awaiting gadgets class now, while waiting for lunch break to be over. All the filters and gadgets, oh my. Thank you thank you for all you teach John, You are truly a wonderful wonderful instructor and I would highly recommend folks listening and buying your classes.
Eve
I don't think that adjectives like beautiful, fantastic or excellent can describe the course and classes with John Greengo well enough. I've just bought my first camera and I am a total amateur but I fell in love with photography while watching the classes with John. It is fun, clear, understandable, entertaining, informative and and and. He is not only a fabulous photographer but a great teacher as well. Easy to follow, clear explanations and fantastic visuals. The only disadvantage I can list here that he is sooooo good that keeps me from going out to shoot as I am just glued to the screen. :-) Don't miss it and well worth the money invested! Thank you John!
JUAN SOL
Dear John, thanks for this outstanding classes. You are not only a great photographer and instructor, but your classes are pleasant, they are not boring, with a good sense of humor, they go straight to the point and have a good time listening to you. Please, keep teaching what you like most, and I will continue to look for your classes. And thanks for using a plain English, that it's important for people who has another language as native language. Thanks again, Juan