Photography Foundations: Flash

Course details

Harsh, unflattering lighting can ruin a photo—and with flash, it's easy to get harsh, unflattering lighting. But flash is a necessary part of a photographer's toolset—after all, the world doesn't always provide you with the best natural light. Fortunately, it isn't difficult to get great results from flash, and in this course, photographer, author, and teacher Ben Long details the concepts and techniques behind effective lighting with flash. Ben starts with the fundamentals, going over the anatomy of a flash and flash exposure. He shares tips for improving the results from a camera's built-in flash, and then focuses on creating great light with a handheld flash. The course also explores topics ranging from bouncing and syncing flash to shooting with one or more off-camera flash units.

Learning objectives
Anatomy of a flash
Working with built-in and handheld flash
Flash ranges and modes
Fixing backlight problems with fill flash
Flash range, exposure, and sync speed
Why photos look different with flash
Controlling background brightness
Bouncing flash to improve light

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Learn the basics of flash photography
02 - What is good flash lighting Part 1
03 - What is good flash lighting Part 2

1. Lighting Roles

04 - Roles - The key to understanding lighting
05 - Key light
06 - Fill light
07 - Back light

2. Flash Anatomy and Exposure

08 - Types of flashes
09 - Anatomy of a flash
10 - Flash range
11 - Flash exposure
12 - Flash sync speed
13 - Automatic flash metering
14 - Manual flash metering

3. Work with a Built-In Flash

15 - Flash and shooting modes
16 - Built-in flash as fill light
17 - Fix backlight problems with fill flash

4. Handheld Flash

18 - Communicating with a handheld flash
19 - Set flash exposure manually
20 - Position a key light
21 - Set flash exposure with TTL
22 - Change light source size with diffusion
23 - Handheld flash as fill light
24 - Handheld flash as backlight
25 - Shoot with three flashes

5. Manipulate Ambient Light

26 - Why photos look different with a flash
27 - Control background brightness
28 - Control background color with gels
29 - Ratios
30 - Slow sync flash

6. Fun Effects with Flash

31 - Bounce flash to create a key light
32 - Freeze motion
33 - Silhouette effect
34 - Deep depth of field
35 - High-speed sync

Conclusion

36 - What's next