Skip to main content

Shoot: Speed Lights

Lesson 30 from: Pose It, Light It, Love It

Clay Blackmore

Shoot: Speed Lights

Lesson 30 from: Pose It, Light It, Love It

Clay Blackmore

buy this class

$00

$00
Sale Ends Soon!

starting under

$13/month*

Unlock this classplus 2200+ more >

Lesson Info

30. Shoot: Speed Lights

Lesson Info

Shoot: Speed Lights

Let's go with some real simple speed light instruction and have a seat right here on the edge. I'm thinking window light might be cheating a little bit. I would love to have the wind, like, cause you can't miss, because I could put the camera kind of like on a V. Just scoot to the edge here a little bit. All right, So here's the way it works. Okay? I I can actually put one of these flashes on my camera. Hand me another one bar just to speak to it. This would not this one, but one that we're not using. You have one laid up there, right here. That's cool. You can leave that on there. I can mount this on my camera, and it will set it on master and put these on, slave. And this will set those off. And this will go off a swell, which is great for Phil Light, you know? I mean, you fill right where it needs to be right over camera. Or you could turn this behind you and hit the garage wall. Here's your fill. And now you've got your beauty lights here. But the transmitter I love because now I'm...

really not relying on a flash on camera. Also, this light here I can disable it, simply disable it and guess what. It still sets off these two lights. This I know the whole country. There's this Joe MK now. God, he sets the world on fire with the Nikon system. And I think Bob Davis, he's starting a new program called What? The Flash. Every Friday Flash Friday and he's got some great instruction. I love the guy. I'll be at Skip Summer School, Cohen University in 10 days. Bob Davis and his wife, Dauner there, and I'm gonna take a day with him just so I could master these. So I'm not going to stand up here and say that I've got it mastered, but I know how to make him work. And if it doesn't work, I'm gonna blame Bart. No, it's so simple. Sometimes it's finicky. There's three things to think about. Number one. There's an I D. They both have an idea, and they both have a channel, and that's an area where we want to make sure I'm on Channel one here. I'm on Channel one there. That's because sometimes you're doing a wedding. And there's frequencies in the room that are messing with you. Now you can change your frequency so it should work. Fine. So they're both going. No problem. I've got a soft box now. I'm gonna use them manually, which means they're on E T T l. And if I put this on zero right here, zero. I'm coming in here to bless minus and right there, I can go up and down. Very easy. And the coolest thing is, Canon has put that same interface in the camera. I can actually bring this light up and down from the camera. I can make channels. I can put that one over there on B. This one on a this one on C. I take a picture of the backgrounds. Too dark. What is it? See, I go to see an ad energy to the back one and now see comes up. Isn't that awesome? I'm going to give a shout out to a buddy of mine back home. He gave me some Oden triggers. Now, if you have a 5 80 flash and you cannot get into the 600 system that quickly and you still want that radio slave control. There's an Odin trigger and you just put it underneath your 5 80 And it's the exact same thing. And the price is right on the Odin O D I n I think is how you spell it. But this is the way to go for May 600 Flash. Let's take a picture and let's just play with a little bit. And the old days remember that red, you have this red front this flash had to see that flash. That's not the case anymore. All right, so turn your knees to the right. Cross your right knee over your left. Left over, Right. I'm sorry. Left, right. There we go. Good. Hands on your hips and tip your head to the right. Good. Actually think that's a beautiful, simple pose. What is it? Tell me. Basic. There's no students buying me. Alright, Basic posed. How hard was that? Not hard at all. So now I've got the light in there. There's no feel like, though. So why don't we use the Silver Reflector? And this is exactly how I went in to the corporations. Very minimal to speed lights and a reflector, and I always try to shoot towards the light. Now the backgrounds going to go gray. So let's prep up a light for the back wall. Okay? Chim Chim down. Just a dash right there. And the hair lights fairly. Really good. Right now, let's take a look at where we're at When I say fairly good, I didn't even place it. There you go. Wow. Fantastic. Well, that's good. Now look at the hair light. What's the trick? Anybody? I'm talking my students don. I want my hair like to look nice and really shiny angle of incident. Ah, angle incidents equal to the angle of reflection. Looking that I'm gonna point the light towards my limbs. This is huge. This is so huge What he just picked up on, and I really I mean, Don has been a great student, and you've helped me put these lights together. I really appreciate that. Now there's another one way over here. Get it handy because maybe we'll do a little glamour light with it. I have the road benders. I hope they're around. Because until I got this, I used a road just right walking here with Christina. This, uh so I'm at a wedding right here. Look at this. This has been the go to you. Just wrap this in here. And it It's a bender. You can bend your light around and trust me. All my guys love these. We have big ones, small ones, medium ones. And they're in every lip of every camera bag. And of course, I'm always tryingto say who got my bender? Because everyone hides him, But I can bend the light. And this this is a great product. I mean, you know why I love it. It's lightweight, you know. Remember that Gary Fong, Uh, light sphere. The only thing wrong with the Gary phones, Heights fears I didn't invent it. First, the guy made a fortune, You know what I mean? He cleaned up and you know it. It made the lights soft. And he is still an innovator in lighting, and he's doing some beautiful things. So why don't we take this light like this and bring it down and bring it down like this? Also, this batteries have faux ticks. Battery. I got that with the the coding system. You need that. You know, these batteries start to get soaked after a while. You know what I mean? The way you start shooting with him. So the quantum turbo battery for my cue flash will also work on here. And these photo X battery is fantastic. You doing okay? I don't get you board there. Let's see here. If I want to get that down low, let's think about this. I'm just going to turn it one more time. Gonna get an apple box right there. A chair. I want to put this light in here. Where am I gonna point it? This light. Where is it? Where should appoint down to the knee? It's funny how these things always work, you know? I mean, so now I'm Bart. You through a backlight in there, didn't you? Let's take a picture tip. You head to the right chin down agenda. The hair light certainly came up larger. Christina, is this foreground light going? It should be. Yeah, it's going. So are you Go plus one back there and I'm going to see what we're set on here. E t t l it zeroed out. So, at the knee, I'm gonna go plus one on this. Okay, because maybe it just totally Mr. And I'll use the bender and I'll bend that light right up. If you can get your camera right over here and just show what I'm doing. It's kind of cool, because the light is going to bounce into here and it's gonna ricochet right up. That's pretty cool shot. All right, Someone get a good set up shop for my Facebook shot tonight. There we go. I like it. I like the light from below is a little punch here now because of what we just did. Let's look So what am I gonna dio? I'm going to simply bend it back has been the light. Okay, so I'm gonna bend it and let's see the difference. I wasn't even looking through the camera. I missed you. Totally. We head to the right chin down. So I went plus one on here, and you can see the plus one is a monster lighting. Is that good? No, no, no. We don't need monster lighting. We're gonna come down. I'm going minus 1/3. Keep you head to the right. A little Good. Yeah. This is gonna be good. Don't look at yourself. Uh huh. Uh, that's beautiful. Lighting bar, can you? I'm gonna just see what we're doing back here. Yeah, so let's do another shot out. Are you there? I'm afraid that all my vendors back home or say, Well, you didn't talk about my thing enough. I just got this been light. And this is a good one here, because now I can Super grid direct spin, gobo. All these things are built in here. Spin light and the winner of the photo contest get suspend light. A couple of them, I think what you're given one that he said, give one away each day. So do whatever you want. Jail system. I'm happy with that. You have happy with that? All right. The lighting's here. I could walk in to an office and do a series of headshots. Business portrait's. This would fit into two bags about the size of a golf bag. You know what I mean? The stand would be on wheels and the other one on my shoulder, so it's really life, You know, we're in a paradigm shift in photography with this lighting, and I love it. I think I think I'm gonna adapt to this and stay with it now. that we're zeroed endless. Do a little. Pose it, light it, love it. Turn your knees this way. Cross your right knee over your left. Lean this way a little bit and tip. Yet here. Who's the fan Master? You know what, John? Get over here and work the fan. You look like you're bored over there. Shines my model. He's looking so good. It's over here on the floor here. Just like that. You don't look down. Kind of like you did right there. Now when she's looking down, what's my problem with lighting? I just turn it on. Someone helped Jonah, what's the only problem I'm gonna have for doing accurate lighting? Come on, guys. I got a problem, Jerry. I need I need the light it accurately. But what? What's the problem right now? He's right. I have no modeling light. I have no way to know. So I've done it so many times in the studio that it's just I know where it goes. You know what I mean? I really do. I'm on the on the 2/3 look this way. I'm just kind of visualizing I can also chimp on the back of the camera. Right tip. You head to the right. A little more. Good. Good, good, good. Yes, you're beautiful. Turn your eyes to the right. A dash to the right. Look this way right there. Let her have it a little bit. Take a knee there, Sean. Get comfortable. New lighting assistant. Good. Should have been here all day yesterday. Smiling teeth. Teeth? Yes. Tip the head to the right. A little bit more. Chin down. Turn your nose to the right. A little more. Turn the nose to the right. A little more right there. For me, it's more about the posing than it is about all the lights. A little hair of your right eye. Yeah, right there. Good, good, good. Chin down. Yeah. All right. Beautiful. Just your eyes at me. Beautiful. Tip your head here. More people right there. Just chin down. Good, good, good. Turn this way. A little bit more. We know it's the 2/3 angle that she likes. I know that. I'm not gonna worry with full face. Tippett here. Right there. Beautiful. Keep it going. Smiling, laughing. Put one hand out. Look there. He looked at a little opening of the L right there yet. Now, do the other hand. Yeah. Let me just say what that looked like. Yeah. Look at that portrait right there. Woohoo! Hello, darling. Keep going. Left hand Out. Yeah, let me just look through the camera. Yeah, do both hands. That was a cool look, but I got it. When I do that, I'm gonna have to bring this around a little bit. Take the fan away from their eyes when I'm not shooting it drives the eyes out. Here we go right there. Yeah. Make. Yeah, that's good. Touch your fingers together. Let me see both eyes. You can do it right there now. Smiling. No Smile, both eyes. I don't see your back. I I got to go in manual focus for this one. How about your hands up like this? Yeah, right there. Good, good, good. But now she's turned her face away from the light. This is broad lighting, broad lighting. I'm not afraid of it. Let's take a look. Spin back sideways. It's good like that, but we're working in a dark studio office. Whatever. And we're creating. I'm gonna have to say that this rivals anything I did this morning with the pro photos. Would you agree? Look at the screen. I mean, clean, crisp. Beautiful. It's great. All right, keep your head again to the right, yet writes. Good. Good. Right there. Loving lovely. Oh, wait. We see this one? Wait, wait, wait. Whoa. I might just have to call it a day after this shot. I don't know if I have anything after this. This coming up. I think I got you just And that's the magic of digital. You can You can go heavy right there. Oh, man. Don't you love that? Come look at it. Come with me. Have you? Have you ever had a picture done that? Well, I don't I don't know how to top that. So why don't we do the windows up? Add window light with these strobes? Because now we're going to kind of kick up a little more juice. A little emerald ban on all it's gonna do. It's gonna feel a little more high key. You doing great. Feel good. Sit there again. Uh, love that picture. And I knew it when I when the spark came out of it, I saw it in the camera. I just think That's so gorgeous. Yeah, I'm listening. Noticed there was a metal plate in the center of these rapid boxes. No one watching the flash. That's like a ring, like a beauty dishes that intentional or it is a beauty dish. As a matter of fact, I'll grab one right here. What we're looking at is a rapid box, and this is what it looks like inside. So the light's hitting a little plate here, and it's bouncing around and coming through a soft box. So I'm still seeding my subject. Even though even though I've got kind of a fashion look going on because I want to be comfortable, right? I want to be comfortable. Now, stay right there. Please don't move. Okay? Don't move. I'm just gonna talk to you more about this corporate thing I'm doing because I'm looking here at your portrait, okay? And I could just go to a V. I could go in a number of ways to get this picture. I'm gonna go to, like, 1 25 at 63 All right, don't move. That's all. Available light right there. Then all I have to do is put a loop shadow on you Now I know the offices around the country are getting much more hip and much more cool. And so I'm just gonna shoot towards the window and 10 down a little more good. I just lay the hand. Let me see your mouth. Yeah. How about hand down to your side? Good. Right there. How about smiling? Did you have a camera around? Somebody could just give him a camera. It's kind of cliche, but don't worry. Yeah, Go to give him his camera. He's a photographer. Yeah, right there. Just like that. Right there. You got a little higher. Both hands on the camera. Good. Right there and there. Your tip. You head to the right. Good. Right there. That's broad lighting. But you know, you can broad Lightman. Relax. I love it. So that could be your new website shot. I think it's gonna be good when you see the camera in there, but what I'm showing you is you always need will be looking for opportunities over your shoulder. All right. I'm not done now. I went too fast. There we go. You know, Jerry, you're a good looking guy, But I have to tell you because got you beat this season. Now, can you pull the light this way? A little, Sean, I'm gonna get some portrait of Sean here, too. He needs a head shot, but I want you to know my Can you give me that music again in the back room? Beautiful. Right there. Look at that portrait. Chin down a little. Let's take a look. Make sure we're zeroed in, and that's great. Now I'm gonna do the technique. You are gonna love these. Portrait's just square to the camera. Everything I said not to do. But she's petite. She can get away with it. Elbows out. Now give me a little bit more fan there, you guys, any way they want to relieve? Sean, You okay, buddy? You OK? I'll give you a great head shot. But all the work I mean, look at that portrait. You are just beautiful. I want you just moving. I'm gonna take 10 pictures, but you're gonna do the posing. I'm not gonna pose you, okay? I start you maybe kick you this way. Now, look, you're at home, and you're saying Well, gosh, she She's a professional model and you tell her to do 10 poses. I've got a bar mitzvah girl on Saturday. She's not going to do this. So I say you do 10 pictures, you do what you want. I'm gonna shoot. This is at the end of the posed images. We start with the formal. We start with what we know and we know we've got the sale. Then we have fun. So what I would be telling her is I would get her coaching. I'd get her started, I'd say, Throw your shoulder here. I show her what to do to get her going. The wind comes on, the music comes up and she's like, Mom, that was so cool. I want to do it again. That was great. The mother called me. She emails. Mrs. My daughter is walking on a cloud. You've never know how much you what a difference you made in our family's life. And I'm telling you, this is the best therapy there is. And they're spending a lot of money sometimes on therapist, and they're getting this therapy and they come away with images to you know what I'm saying? So it's really kind of a neat thing for everybody. All right, you ready. You do it. Here we go. Here's the first picture on one to end. Go. Now, you let me just look at this first picture, make sure we're good. Now, that's the old one. Very good. I love it. Let me just see. The reflector is really not doing much, but, you know, it looks so soft there, doesn't it? Now look at the reflectors doing, you know, just giving me that kick. All right, That's good. Stay right there. All right, You do it on 3 10 shots. Right there. Yes, yes, yes. Three for five. Six, seven A nine 10. I'm going to auto focus. 11. Well, 13. Baker's dozen. 10 more. Uh, give it going. It's been around your back. Look over your shoulder. Yes. Come on out, Monica. I mean, Amanda and just joined her. All right, How about back to back? Kick up? Your shoes are hard to get off. You stay seated to chairs these shoes. I said you kick off your shoes. They look like they think about 30 minutes to put on. No, no, go ahead. I'm gonna teach you. Stand up for a second like that. Good. It's good. Closer together. One's got to be taller than the other. So, um, I'm gonna lower you a little bit. Why am I lowering this chair? Anybody let your knees go that way. No, you're good. You're uneasy Gonna go that way, which I had go in tighter. I had a choice of lowering one or the other. Why did I choose the one on the left of your life? Get blocked because the lights on the left and I always want a light across the shorter person. Because if it were backwards, if the light were over here, we could get a shadow from Amanda on two. And bigger. Check the treat. Lean in their little fan back, shoulders touching. Okay, Shawn, get your relief. Well, I look at these pictures. Coming up. Oh, my goodness. I don't believe this. Cheek to cheek. Get in there tight. Yes, beautiful. Right there. Love it. Love it. Love it. Yes, guys, I'm gonna shoot 20. I'm just gonna let you guys do whatever you want. One to three closer. I don't want to see the white between you 45 back shoulder. Amanda to her a little more. That way of clothes in the background. That's it? Yes,

Class Materials

bonus material with purchase

Clay Blackmore Top 10.pdf

Ratings and Reviews

a Creativelive Student
 

Clay Blackmore is the real deal in portrait photography. The guy is a bundle of creative energy and technical mastery. I took portraiture with Monte Zucker, and am glad to have Clay now as his successor. This concepts in this course are the rudiments. They'll never change, regardless of trends and fads. Clay is also very likable and fun to watch work. Keep your ears peeled for every word. When Clay points out those many little details, they all count. Love the course, and have a ton of respect for Clay. He's a portrait master, and a great guy. What else could any portrait student hope for?

Rosina
 

This a wonderful class. Clay has worked w/Montey and brings a supreme knowledge to photographers who want to learn more. His skills are creative and insightful with a modest personality. This is an amazing class that comes with a great price.

Tom Lokos
 

Of all the courses I have purchased without exception this is the best. Clay is an excellent teacher. When he speaks he is saying something and not just talking. He explains his lighting techniques in great detail while demonstrating them . He is clear, concise and fun to listen to. You will learn how to pose individuals all the way to large groups, while learning the correct way to light them. All this while being entertained by one of America's great portrait photographers.

Student Work

RELATED ARTICLES

RELATED ARTICLES