Lessons
Class Introduction: How to Shoot with your First Flash
05:59 2Defining Flash Photography
09:08 3Camera Setup: Metering
03:48 4Camera Setup: Exposure Mode
04:27 5Camera Setup: Flash Synchronization
06:26 6Camera Setup: Shutter Speed
04:46 7Camera Setup: Aperture
06:31 8Camera Setup: White Balance
09:20Lesson Info
Camera Setup: Aperture
Now let's talk about aperture. So if we've said our shutter speed already, I'm just kind of keeping up to date with where we're at. We've said our shutter speed for what we want to do. Maybe we're in the woods. Or maybe we're in the studio. The next thing is now we need to think through aperture. So aperture controls a number of things in flash photography. Of course, aperture controls what we're used to, which is depth of field, right. But aperture also controls how much flash, How many photons from the flash come into the camera? So let's say your flash is set for some constant power rating. Okay? We'll just use it some numbers, so it's maybe half power. Okay, so let's say your flashes sitting here and it's gonna pump out half power of light power. The shutter speed control. How much of that comes into the camera? He says, Yes. Maybe. I hear I see some nose. Well, the answer is no. Shutter speed doesn't impact that cause. Remember, your shutter speed is like this. And how long is the...
flash pulse like this So that the amount of light from the flash is always the same, really, regardless of your shutter speed. So that's a great learning. OK, that's a really technical thing, but it's fabulous. Frito, understand that Mawr shutter speed or less shutter speed doesn't really impact how much brightness from the flash comes in. It's all about that aperture. Okay, so I'm thinking about the song. It's all about that aperture that after. Okay, so and think about it this way from your eyes. You know, if you squint your like, reducing the amount of light and if you open up your allowing more light in and the same thing with the aperture Okay, so a big aperture let's in wool must drop my kids don't do that. So a big aperture Let's in like almost all the light from your flash, whereas a small aperture can It squeezes out, eliminates light. So if you're flashes always putting out a constant power, you control that power with your aperture. Okay, so we're also thinking about depth of field. If you're doing portrait photography, you know, and you want to, like, make the background blurry. What aperture would you typically use to do that? Swetnam. A small number. Big hole? Yeah, exactly what I heard. One point four. Great. Fantastic. Yes. So if you want to, like, blur out the background, you want to use a big aperture or, you know, like F 14 f How about if you're shooting a group? You know, later today, I'm actually we're gonna video. I'm gonna pull some people from the audience when you do a quick group photo. What? If you want to Do you want the person in front to be in focus on the person and back to be in focus? What apple tree you need for that f a f 11? You know, kind of a smaller aperture. Okay, cool. So we have to be thinking two things with apertures were doing this flash photography. The 1st 1 is, you know, do our flashes have enough booms power at f eight and do I have enough depth of field to get everything in focus? So that's the fight. The rial fight in flash photography is all about aperture. And you're just trying to, like, get enough depth of field to get stuff and focus. But then the little flashes from Nikon can You don't have a lot of power. And so you'll find me struggling with this all day today I may be talking through it. I mean, like, you know, I need more depth of field. But the camp, the flash is pumping out full power. It's like Scotty on Star Trek. I'm giving her all she's got. I didn't got no more inside. Like how? Shoot. I can't go to F 11. I have to stay at F eight or Haft even maybe go to F 56 to allow mawr life from that flash to come in the camera. So for your you know, the classes titled Shooting With Your First Flash. I'm guessing most people watching today, and most people here in the audience have one flash. And so if you have one flash and you're trying to do great flash photography, you need to keep your apertures kind of in this range. Okay, F 28 f 56 And I know some of you are looking at me like I don't even own enough to eight lens find I brought a kit lens. OK, so this is Ah, this is basically ah, inexpensive kit lens. It's a F 56 when it zoomed all the way out. So I'm gonna do most of the shooting today with the type of Cameron the type of gear that most people would be using in most people in the in the virtual audience also would be using. I want to show you can shoot it f 56 and still use these flashes. I do have other lenses, you know, like this one. This is a great little lens. It's a little F 18 50 millimeter F Canon Nikon, Fuji. Everyone sells one of these little lenses. They're fantastic. Ah, super inexpensive way like 100 bucks. 150 bucks. Super inexpensive way to get F 18 type stuff. And so now you're flashes become really flexible when you have apertures like that. So why would you not want to shoot with these little flashes? Why would you not want to shoot at F 11 F 16 of power? The flash is just can't pump enough light into the scene at F 16 or F 22. Sometimes they can in the right situations they can, but just know in general, keep your apertures wider rather than smaller, you know Keeper apertures Mawr open to allow more light from those flashes to come in. Some stuff you have to think through is focus and depth of field. You know, you're always thinking through that. So those that's the difficult balance point. And I think over time, as you get to know your flash better and you get to know your camera system better, that's what you'll be struggling with probably the most So cool. So that's aperture again. F 282 F 56 We'll try to stay there today on. I'll do a couple of experiments. If I remember to do something like F 11 F 16 you'll see we may not have enough power from the flash to make it work.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
a Creativelive Student
Great fast-class! Mike Hagen got straight to the point and made it super easy to understand!
user-182390
Great course very informative and so easy to understand.
Craig
The class covers exactly what you would expect. Very good basic information about how to set-up and operate a flash on any camera. Mike was extremely personable and communicated very well.