Lessons
Class Introduction
05:22 2Categories of Light Shaping Tools
07:59 3When to Use Different Light
10:50 4Softbox and Octabox Overview
25:55 5Beauty Dish, Reflectors & Collapsible Reflectors Overview
27:55 6Pros & Cons of Small Light Sources
08:10 7Shoot using One Reflector
12:24 8Shooting with Two Standard Reflectors
08:53Shoot Using Grids with Reflectors
14:37 10How to Use Beauty Dishes
28:24 11Pros & Cons of Softboxes
12:30 12Common Uses of Softboxes
21:24 13Subtle Elements of Controlling Softboxes
20:33 14Different Techniques with Softboxes
29:32 15Pros & Cons of Umbrellas
07:25 16How to Control an Umbrella
12:25 17Uses of Umbrellas
08:27 18Different Techniques with Umbrellas
19:55 19Group Shot with Umbrellas
19:37 20Differences Between Collapsible Reflectors
25:36 21Shooting with Black & White Collapsible Reflectors
15:07 22Shooting with Silver & Gold Collapsible Reflectors
13:49 23When to Use the White Translucent Collapsible Reflector
33:18 24How to Use the Large Octa Softbox
20:50 25Shooting with a Large White Deep XL Umbrella
18:59 26Shooting with a Large Silver Deep L Umbrella
07:19 27Shooting with a 4x6 Softbox
17:05 28When to Use Specialty Light Shaping
04:40 29Shooting with a Hard Box
15:29 30Shoot to Incorporate a Fresnel Light
09:32 31Shoot Using Ring Flash
10:23 32Studio Lighting Photo Critique of Student Work
1:05:41Lesson Info
Class Introduction
Welcome to CreativeLive. I'm Kenna Klosterman, your host, for light shaping tools for professional photographers with Tony Corbell. Now Tony Corbell is a master educator, he has taught over 650 workshops in 49 states and over 25 countries all over the world. He's very serious about his teaching, however, when you learn from Tony, you are also having a ton of fun. Now he is also known, if you know him well, for being the biggest Beatles fan ever. So please help me welcome back to the CreativeLive stage, Tony Corbell. (audience claps). Thank you Miss Kenna. Thank you, thank you. Thanks everybody. You know, when you get this phone call to see if you're available and can you come do a show at CreativeLive, you don't say no. (laughs) You say absolutely, and you jump through all the hoops you have to do to get here, and this is just fun for me, it's coming back and getting to see people that you know about and care about, and they're doing great stuff here at this place, and I know that th...
ey're educating photographers throughout the world, and it's really, really exciting what's going on in this little building in downtown Seattle, Washington. And the building has changed, it's real cool, it's got a nice facelift and it's real fun. So you know, obviously I always talk about light, and I always teach about light, and I guess I started that for the most part because nobody else was, and my mentor was a guy named Dean Collins, who was a master at teaching light, and understanding, and organizing, and making the science out of it seem reasonable. For the most part, photographers up to that point didn't really have an organized science, or an organized way to work or gain their knowledge, and it was a lot of just testing, and testing, and testing, and testing. And finally it's time, it's like okay, well wait a minute, let's put our camera down, and let's really take a close look at our craft and what's happening with light. Why do we have all these different light shaping tools? How does light react to the face? How does it react to a round chrome, a piece of chrome that's round? How does light react, and why do we need to know all that? Well you need to know all that because it'll give you confidence in front of your client. If you don't have confidence and understand the foundation of what we're doing, it's kind of hard to gain the trust and the confidence from your client. So I heard a cinematographer, a guy who, I've got a great DVD, which has interviews with 30 of the top cinematographers of all times, and all they're talking about is light and shadow. And the one guy, who's Russell Carpenter, he did Titanic, and he said, my job is to create an environment within which my actor or actress can be stellar. And that line always stuck with me. My job as a still photographer, is to create an environment within which my subject can shine and look great. My job, if you're shooting portrait work, your job is to create a complementary likeness, right? If you think about it, you don't wanna make people look worse than they look, your job is to make 'em look better than they look, or at least as good as they look. I'm not a photojournalist, so I'm not one that records what is there, as much as I don't look for found pictures, I create pictures that don't exist. So it's a whole different world, I'm in control of my pictures, as opposed to recording what's in front of my camera. So that puts me in a different role, it puts me in the role of if I'm in control, and I have this picture that I'm making, then it better be right, and it better be the way I want it to look, because I've got all the control. Photojournalists, and reportage photographers, documentary photographers, I so respect what they do, and I wish I was one of them. I'd give anything to stop all the other stuff that I'm doing and just go and be a street shooter, I love workin' in the streets. I love waking up in a foreign country at five AM with a camera and being turned loose. That's what I wanna do, and I don't know if I'd ever be any good at it, but it sure makes me happy. But for the meantime, I'm a guy that's creating somethin' that doesn't take place. I walk into a dark room and I've gotta make something happen, I've gotta light the subject, I've gotta light the background, I've gotta light the hair, I've gotta light the clothing, I've gotta light the jewelry, whatever it is. And I better be in good understanding of my foundation of my craft for that. So that's our direction for this series, is to literally take a look at all of the tools of our craft, the tools of our trade, the light shaping tools specifically, and let's just break 'em down, let's just talk about 'em. We're gonna do a lot of shooting in the next couple of days, but I think that we have to do it in an organized, sort of almost methodical manner. So that's what my plan is, that's what my goal is, and I hope that that meets with what you're hoping you get outta this. (laughs)
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
Stefan Legacy
Bought this class on sale for 19$ and it was a great buy considering it was my first class I purchased on CL. Tony is an excellent teacher and demonstrates extensive knowledge on lighting and different uses of modifiers. Overall this is an excellent course for any one who is interested in learning studio lighting, this will give you a great detail of information.
a Creativelive Student
Important information if you want to be a photographer. Great teacher, good pace!!
a Creativelive Student
This is my first time watching Tony Corbell teach and work he was great! I am a natural light photographer and this class made me think about picking up some lights and umbrellas! You can tell he absolutely loves what he does. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
Student Work
Related Classes
Lighting