NEW LIGHTING COURSE IN 2013

Many people have taken my Digital Photography for Beginners course to overcome their reluctance to take their camera out of Auto mode and take control of exposure and depth of field.

For those who are starting to feel comfortable with their camera's creative modes and now want to take portraits or product shots aided by low cost lighting equipment, this 3-hour course should fit the bill.

Dubbed 'Lighting for the Beginner Photographer', the course provides plenty of hands-on practice using equipment the student may not yet own. All that is required is to bring along a digital SLR and to have an understanding of the basic concepts in the Digital Photography for Beginners course. You can also bring a hot-shoe flash if you have one.This is taught in my home in London, Ontario.

To register for the course, please visit http://filmscapes.ca/html/photography_courses.html

Here is an outline of the course (subject to change):

1.       The Camera’s Creative Modes

a.       Review of Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Program and Manual Modes

b.      When to use these modes in available light

c.       When to use these modes with fill flash (built in to the camera or external)

d.      Taking control of light and depth of field in the studio with Manual mode

e.      Flash sync and its relationship to maximum shutter speed

PRACTICE: Using fill flash in various creative modes. Observing shutter speed limitations with flash.

2.       Light Sources and Exposure

a.       The meaning of colour temperature and its relationship to outdoor and artificial light

b.      Selecting white balance for the light source (outdoor light/flash/indoor lighting)

                                                               i.      Preset vs. auto white balance

                                                             ii.      Custom white balance: when to use and how to set it

c.       The hot-shoe flash vs. the built-in flash

d.      Strobes (optional)

e.      Continuous (hot) lights

f.        Guide Numbers and Watt-Seconds

g.       Use of the light/flash meter (optional)

h.      Camera metering modes

i.         The histogram as an exposure tool and the meaning of 18% grey

PRACTICE: Experimenting with White Balance presets. Setting a custom white balance. Shooting without flash using various metering modes and comparing results in the histograms.

3.       Remote Triggering of Flash/Strobe

a.       Radio triggers and adapters for flash mounted on light stand

b.      Optical triggering

c.       Controlling the flash in manual mode

d.      Controlling the strobe output (optional)

PRACTICE: Setting remote flash output. Triggering from camera with radio trigger or optically from camera’s flash.

4.       Introduction to Light Diffusers and Reflectors

a.       Umbrellas

b.      Soft Boxes for strobes and hot-shoe flash

c.       Reflectors and Absorbers: outdoors with/without flash; in the studio

d.      Diffusers for harsh daylight

PRACTICE: Take a portrait shot/object shot with remote flash, with and without umbrella Repeat using available light and reflector, then diffuser.

5.       Basic Portraiture Methods

a.       Background stands

b.      Choice of material and colour for the type of shoot (including green screen)

c.       The role of depth of field and lens choice

d.      Using natural light

e.      The single light setup

f.        The two light setup

g.       Balancing sources for intensity

h.      Mixed light sources and the importance of custom white balance

PRACTICE:

-          Portraiture/object shoot using window light and choice of background (try black then white)

-          Portraiture/object shoot using window light, reflector and/or absorber and choice of background

-          Portraiture/object shoot using window light and single hair light (custom white balance)

-          Portraiture/object shoot using single light in studio setting (custom white balance)

-          Portraiture/object shoot using two lights with umbrellas/soft boxes in studio setting (custom white balance)

-          Experiments with other combinations

Guide Numbers and Watt-Seconds

Whenever I think about hauling lighting equipment to a location, the question comes up: Should I take a.c. strobes, extension cords and power bars, or will a couple of hot-shoe flashes, umbrellas and stands do it? Hmmmm...I know what I'd prefer.

The trouble is, hot-shoe flash output is (usually) expressed in Guide Numbers (GN) while strobes are rated in Watt-seconds. Sadly, there is no easy way to relate the two, so I made a quick setup to measure the output of each. I've always assumed that a 150 Watt-second strobe would blow away a flash in terms of light output, but I was about to be surprised.

Now, we should start with definitions. GN is the product of the distance of the flash to the subject and the f stop being used at a particular ISO setting (or film speed). Example: I set my flash meter at a sensitivity of 100 ISO and placed it at 10 feet from the flash. I fired the flash and read the f stop it was recommending. For a flash rated at GN 80 (ft - ISO 100), you would read f/8 on the meter (f/8 x 10 ft). Indeed, my Sigma EF 500 came in close at f/7.6 (hence a GN of 76).

Next, I set up the 150 Watt-second strobe at the same location as the flash, set it for full power, and blasted away. Here's the surprise: it read f/7.9 on the light meter, meaning its GN equivalent is 79, which is barely better than the Sigma. Admittedly, there are a couple of variables here. One is that the light meter is older and uncalibrated, and the Sigma's batteries may not have been at peak voltage. The point, however, is that on a relative basis you can determine how your strobe/flash sources compare. This is particularly helpful when the manufacturer of the flash doesn't provide the GN.

So GN is a measure of the amount of light available for proper exposure of a subject at a particular combination of distance from the flash and camera aperture setting, on a camera set at a particular ISO sensitivity. On the other hand, Watt-seconds are a measure of the electrical energy expended in the strobe tube (Watts are the rate at which energy is used, so multiplying by time gives energy used over that time period). This measure doesn't take into account the conversion efficiency of the tube from electrical energy to light energy, or the effect of the reflector behind it. Hence, GN and Watt-seconds can't be related mathematically.

Bottom line: measure the output of each with a flash meter so you know how they relate. Similarly, if you double the Watt-seconds you can expect the guide number to double, since it should add another stop to the flash meter reading.

Then, you write your results down, as I did, so that confusion doesn't ensue.

How Not to Use Studio Strobes

It’s obvious that some overseas companies rely on (bad) software that literally translates every word from their language into the closest English word, but, of course, completely out of context. It’s a good thing that this particular product I purchased online was simple enough that I didn’t need instructions, because three years later I’m still trying to decrypt the piece of paper that came with it.
It’s actually quite amusing to read, and it amazes me that they wrote so much about how to use a simple, slave-only strobe that screws into a light bulb socket. Here are some snippets, and my interpretations:

“Thank you to choose the series electronics to dodge the lamp, it is that the ideal light source taken a photograph is dodged in the various rooms that this series electronics dodges the lamp.”
INTERPRETATION: Not sure why you’d want to dodge the lamp, but they’re deeply grateful that I purchased it.

“It still possesses advanced the gleaming remote sensing device, can receive the pulse and gleams at the distant range place, thus synchronously gleaming with the signal voluntarily, the lamp colour temperature ideal is dodged to this series, and it is big to shine the angle, and ability and various soft light umbrellas and reflection of light umbrella cooperate to use in the reality is applied, but effect is better.”
INTERPRETATION: OK, so apart from being a hellishly long sentence, I get the idea that it gleams (handy for a strobe light), remotely triggers without a struggle, has a dodged (aha – matched maybe?!!) colour temperature (to what, we’re not sure) and gleams nicely (in reality) with a bounce umbrella, or not.

“The item is paid attention to:
1. Long-term whens disuse, the dump, and at a distance from one period to the electronics dodges the lamp to be charged to try to dodge several times, and can lengthen the electronics dodging life span. Leave, and is not affected with damp to be heated.”
INTERPRETATION: Methinks it can hold its charge for a long time after it’s unplugged, and is ready to be fired (oh-oh, is that what dodged means?) when screwed back into the socket. And, whatever you do, remember never to heat the damp.

It continues:
“2. Not dismantling the electronics, if the sick requests (company name withheld) repair section or this company to be engaged by special arrangement the maintenance ministry and repairs at will.”
INTERPRETATION: They have a Maintenance Ministry in their country, so if you try to take apart your sick (strobe), a school bus will pull up to your door and several heavily armed Ministry auditors, accountants and actuarials will kick your door down and throw you to the floor.

If there are any overseas manufacturers reading this, I would like them to know that in addition to being a wonderful stock and fine art photographer, I’m also a technical writer and a very good proofreader. So, please get in touch at my other web site: www.taskpartner.ca