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White into Black

Lesson 2 from: Hack Your Light

Chuck Arlund

White into Black

Lesson 2 from: Hack Your Light

Chuck Arlund

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Lesson Info

2. White into Black

Next Lesson: Simple Portrait

Lesson Info

White into Black

And now we're going to make white black ok and we're going to talk about the inverse square law and stuff like this that cool okay why do we care about this because it's cool and what's your most you know what's so we've got good distance here okay first thing I'm going to dio is this let's god all right we're good what start in the middle how's that sound so we've got school back just a little bit there were you we can actually move these if you want tio this one out of the way you know because why do we need twelve thousand forty because I'm cool or ok so we've got some about better white so about the same distance from herder that this is from the back and actually come back a step perfect arm you know rock star okay hee hee that's for one is she just a little bit brighter so what I have to do I want to make it like what let's say f eight again see if we got okay do you do you do let's see what we got a lot of distance here five six six that you were sorry for e I think she's usedto...

five six six does you model here a lot right okay and what colors are back and gonna be white black or gray let's move back right here and we're going to like be all like uh american apparel rocknroll ok what do I have to dio I've got to do what I got to do a couple of things with this light to make it kind of looked the same first thing I got to do to get faa no I'm not changing the distance but I have to do it do what? Turn a light up and also what raise it up yeah because I don't want ugly like up lighting or stuff like that I don't want to make you ugly right who was it that told me sixteen way have to speed it up just a little bit okay that'll work yeah I think so are you ok? Thankfully I'm tall before I need to make it faa so I've got to do what turn it up let's crank the sucker roy grid wait and of course I'm taking a light now the lights lighting the floors now looking at you all right all this physical labor there we go I bet you can't tell me what color the backgrounds going yeah we're about right there looks focused on your hand there like colors back I'm gonna be white yeah that's why that's this yeah right there's that it's the next one she's kind of focused with wonderful for shortening a big finger of so what happened the distance from the subject to the background is only this much that this is from the subject to the light is great so we're gonna have number one harder shadows it's gonna look much more kind of blast and we're gonna like the background because it's just lighting mohr stuff because it's so with back so far more power even to go to get the same f stop we have to crank it because of the distance you know the inverse square law or something like that physics I just doing my rock stars you know like one stop two stops four stops eight stop six that you lose a lot of light is you go back okay how does this apply outside well I'll tell you a couple of things somebody told me oh there it is yeah I know it's like my hair would look so get on stage when I went out to play and then like one song in it was like a curly mess uh my check what's wrong uh outside I've seen the like like a photograph in a bride dear be a bride it's down here are you pregnant or it's an accessory we're a modern bride okay so I'm photographing the bride and a lot of times I'll drive by and you'll see the wedding going on and you'll see the photographer with the light like over here and he shouldn't be here and I'm going wow one it's probably a pretty powerful light second you're putting some really harsh lighting on them third here's the thing every walking into a bridal like reception venue was what it was you know how people hang stuff in reception menus you know like, look, I'm cool photographer here's my stuff which if you're a budding photographer, go meet your vendors and get your stuff in these things is that's how people see it but there was a school off camera live picture kind of dusk gorgeous bride groom, right? And it was the two things that I didn't personally like about it number one it looked lit it was like here's the sunset and and I'm sure it was like on the back of the camera cool look at the cool contrast, but personally I'd be more like I just wanted to look like it's flash but not really flashed the second thing I noticed, which was really what killed me was the shadow of the knows what like those across and I'm like it just didn't look flattering at all I mean I want that gorgeous beauty loop light or butterfly light or rembrandt but the shadows were going down is supposed to across that just that that would have never found a look good. I will do monster living in beauty I will and because it gives a kind of a film you are look and it's kind of cool, you know when I used in the right way but I've just I've never seen this look really? That that's the one? But what I think's happening is you've got the light back so far and the guys holding it in the light and it's not if you don't have a high enough because you're not thinking about that. You just look at the flash and I'm like back this far out there, like, you know, unless you're me, you know, we have, like, normal, like dorf, you know, it's just like, yes, I need the shoes um, you're not going to get it second thing you're using a lot of power and outside, what are we concerned with power? Because we don't have electricity to plug in third world like sometimes we're lighting up the scene again, why did we have that flash? Look, we're back far so it's goingto white up everything I'd rather just kind of night like puts a nice line on your face, and maybe this one addressed that not really like the background here, the brick wall that she sit next to, you know, overlooking the terrorists or something like that. Ok, so if china comes word yes, what question? Hey, photo in the chat rooms wondering how are you triggering all the lights oh, boy, ok, click, I am triggering with my new radio popper little there they've got these new triggers out you see then I'm sorry it's like going by and it's just a four channel trigger it's kind of like a pocket was there too it's great. Um I'm pop in my flash with the junior at the studio I'm just you know, go enough and just doing that but this is triggering it um and that's so I control if I wanted to I could use my this and actually turned the power up and down from here well my alien b which is kind of cool but right now I'm just using the new triggers so come a little bit closer like right here and let's even put the group where my grid go let's put my grid back on because now I don't have to okay, thank you and hearing it close closer closer the same distance you were from the background I want you here like almost where he stealing your johnson ok, so we're going close so they get f eight what do I have to do with my life? Yeah turn it way I'm just gonna go let's just see what all the way down let's go come steam back a little more you need to be able to see you all right and can we raise this up just a tiny bit? There was a four turn it up just a little bit what should get it? Okay, okay a couple things are gonna happen my light sources just become a lot larger, right? So it's going to be a lot softer light that makes sense everybody the closer like the softer light because it's just for some reason it didn't really register with me when I first heard that but yeah it's z moulding it's wrapping so it's softer a lot of people think well she's so close the light is going to be more intense well yeah if you don't turn it down that's the and that's the rub you know you're turning it way down so we're gonna photograph here don't forget about the same kind of thing and I just do this okay look perfect right bam and there we go don't tempt toe where is it it's coming up what color we got almost black right? And if I pull this back just a little bit more weed either I know it's hard to get drug that mike ok, so why is all this matter? Because now we have complete control over this when I'm outside, I'll be able to get a little bit closer to someone not only in the background I can really focus the light I mean, don't they look pretty I think it looks prettier it's just this cool right um you know one little thing of the foundation that I wantto cover really quick if we can is broad lighting in short lady gets talked about that a little bit this week a little bit a little bit I mean I know we've talked about white patterns probably not rembrandt loop butterfly split monster but what about broad in short light do you know what that is what is it so broad light is when the light is hitting the main three quarters of the face is in light versus now about let's forget about the three quarters stuff because that's math and I'm blind right you know I mean the racy racy racy let's draw a little okay creepy looking okay broad lights when the light is basically hitting the side of the nose it's looking at you that could be three quarters or it could be that much of a difference it could be like this it could be it's just whenever the lit side of the nose is facing the camera I don't care if it's this much that's broad light short lighting is when the shadow side of the nose this is facing the camera can I get a couple of chairs I've never asked a girl out on a date would you go out on a date with him it's okay this is first of show it's like it's like a movie okay, cool. I'm married kidding thankfully I got a really cool okay you know what just just for giggles uh what kind of food you like italian because that's romantic right here you go you should always hold the chair out for the ladies because there's an imaginary table there right? Oh, I need my camera ok, this is not really gonna work because there's so much light here but let's envision known my real camera it's zoe oh it's in my bag it's in my camera back of course you know what I'm talking about that where it's the it's the thing that you can actually yes that is it's an amazing camera it's called on iphones uh we've sat down and his photographers where do we sit at the restaurant next to the window? Because it's light it's you know we're not the guys that go back in the dungeon we sit next home I guess looks pretty like this is the score just window right here and it's just rain you know individual used to say, you know, after it rains the light is the prettiest because it's like all of the rain and the clouds and it's just it's just gorgeous light right? And we've got hair everywhere, man I know it's big I like it um and I'm going to go oh my god she looks so pretty and I'm going to be the besides taking pictures of my food because instagram am I right? Come on we're hipsters got okay answer and I'm going to do this now pretend this when those here pretend it's really bright because that's what it is and we've got a lot of follow up and this is what happened to your face and you're gonna post for me right? Yeah exactly and I'm going to take the picture and we're going to go bam okay and we're gonna instagram that what did she do? This is I'd say ninety percent of humans broad light themselves I recognize that it's really pretty light I'm a photographer oh my gosh the slightest great and I've seen so many ports and I'm not saying bride linings bad but short lighting generally it's more flattering with the shadow side on the nose facing the camera but if this is my light source human nature is to look away from light it's just human nature we don't want to look towards the bright light I want to look away from the bright or so ago just naturally kind of does that so I'm gonna want you to look towards a bright light and wait we've got a next and yep share you are now on instagram ok next there it is what brady instagram no thanks and here she is pham short light next and share ok I know it's this modern age doesn't weigh need to be able to tell sometimes our subjects in professional models usually know and a lot of times professional models are so angular in this and some certain people you can do any kind of lighting with him and it looks good, but you know me, I prefer to be short lived because I've got this weird crooked nose and, you know, football injuries rusher were like getting myself with the guitar that happens a lot. I got a scar right there, so I'm just pretending lights there saying in a short light myself, so I'm going to look towards the light and that's just one little thing that we could so but the closer the light is, the more control we have over the light, the more control we have over the background makes sense because now we can like especially fucking were inside he's trying to use flash inside sometimes we get really frustrated because delight everything up tomorrow and it looks gosh, it's like, well, what happens if we got that speed light like right there? Would you ever do that? Why not it's, not it's actually a bigger sought a bigger light source if it's back here it's too hard, we just we just did that the closer you turned the power down, so now we're not lighting the background up so much it's not looking flashing anymore and we've got a lot more control over alliance that make sense. And it's okay to get the flight. Because it's just gonna be a little it's. Not going to like the whole room.

Ratings and Reviews

SunSoBright
 

I just watched the rebroadcast of Hack Your Light with Chuck Arlund and at first wondered if I would get anything out of the class as he seemed ADD (he warns you he's scattered and a "blond"...LOL) but I stuck with class and by the end was sad it was over. I have a few years experience in photography so I could perhaps understand what he was teaching better than a true beginner. He gave some fabulous points and even demonstrated how you could overpower the sun with one speedlight something I've only seen others do with a strobe or multiple speedlights. He took some awesome pictures without thousands of dollars in camera and lighting equipment. He explained the difference between the portrait and the fashion look. He showed you could potentially go above your camera sync and still get a decently exposed pictured without high speed sync. Best of all he reminded me of the principles that it's the photographer not the camera/equipment that makes the difference, it's all about the light and most of all photography should be FUN! This was one of the most awesome demonstrations of lighting. I would love take a workshop from Mr. Arlund as he is obviously very talented and passionate about photography and knows his subject even is his explanations aren't practiced. Some found him frustrating; I found him refreshing. If you like experimental you will probably appreciate Chuck Arlund.

DeniseWinters
 

I have been a pro photographer for 30 years, and I loved watching Chuck and even learned quite a few things. He is creative and enthusiastic, and reminds you to think outside the box and get back to the enthusiasm you had when you first picked up your camera. He certainly knows what he is doing, and he has fun doing it...

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