Lighting Essentials Workshop with Don Giannatti

What a wonderful class! Loved the way Don ended the course with a heartfelt chat with the viewers. :)

Very inspiring class! A lot of useful information about strobe lighting and cool lighting diagrams for studio portrait.

This class may be eight years old - practically an eternity in tech years - but light is light and the material Don presents in this course is still relevant today. Drawing on his his mastery of lighting and years of experience, Don presents the information in a way that is practical and easy to understand. If you want to learn about lighting, watching this class is a no-brainer. The one disappointment for me had to do with the clothing choices for some of the models: It's the 21st century. Why is it that Creative Live is still glamorizing women wearing fur coats?

My Creative Live experiences have all been positive however this class is best Creative Live class that I've completed. Don is knowledgeable, warm and wise. He has changed the way I think about light. Highly recommended.

very happy that I bought this course,thank you Creative Live :)

Great flow to the instruction. About the white sand for beach shots, You can get beautiful black sand in the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico for a different beach look.

What a great workshop. Don makes it so easy to follow. There were things I never realized, though I've been shooting for years, Thanks so much.

I've not completed the class yet, but am just so amazed at how great Don is at his craft. Of the courses I've studied, this one has me saying, 'Wow!' at every lesson. There's always something - a jewel that Don delivers in each lesson. Don - you're amazing and I'm SO glad I've had the opportunity watch, listen and learn from you in this course. Thank you!

I am so glad I took this course. I'll be honest, it took a few lessons for me to warm up to this series but I'm glad I stuck with it. I have had a couple cheap speedlights, softboxes/umbrellas, and reflectors for many months now and was too intimidated to start using them. After going through this I am not only downright excited to use them, and confident that I can have spectacular outcomes, I'm also confident about shooting in natural light indoors and outdoors. It's also given me the tools and confidence to start shooting in manual vs aperture priority and to nail the general calculations in my head. I appreciate that Don used mostly budget or unorthodox equipment like speedlights, foam core, work lights, curtains, etc. because that's what I can afford and have been using to try to replicate expensive gear. Other classes use thousands of dollars in lighting and Don proves you don't need that for excellent shots. I also appreciate his advice for directing your "models" and insights into his overall process. This class was invaluable to me as a novice. Thank you!

Mr. Giannatti, you are phenomenal on lighting. I have learned so much in these classes. I feel I am walking away with a college degree in lighting alone. You do my favorite thing and get to the bottom line on everything. Your speech alone is perfect. Thank you.

I am only halfway through but feel compelled to write my review. I have completed an associates degree in photography, watched hundreds of hours of CL classes and attended numerous photography conferences. This is the best, most comprehensive ever. Don is very good at explaining everything so anyone could understand it and teaches alternative ways to do things based on your space, time and budget.

A lifetime of experiences and wisdom. Cheap at twice the price. Even for experienced photographers this is useful and refreshing. Thanks Mr Giannatti & the CL team:)

Well planned, easy to understand and fun. Great for any photographer.

I am sure being with Don... Live is of massive benefit, I am glad I can put it on pause, replay and such. He's a wealth of information and well-worth the money. Now, if Don comes to Hawaii... yeah, I'd pay to attend. Just sayin'.

A very informative course and worth the price. It was long, and sometimes it dragged on, and some of it was fluff and repetitive, BUT it was still worth it. I learned a lot. I thought he was a bit patronizing with the models.

I was blown away with this class!!! There is a misconception that to make great photos you need to get expensive equipment. Don blows this concept out of the water by using house hold items, & easy lighting scenarios! Don has firm grasp of lighting, & his approach to not only teaching BUT more importantly demonstrating how to apply the light makes for an outstanding class. I highly recommend this class for all level of experience. Scott Ego Boost Photography egoboostman.com

This course is worth every penny. I purchased it back in 2012, and still reference it today. Don is a great instructor, and brings to the course his knowledge garnered through out his career. Listen carefully, there is a good deal here that you won't hear elsewhere. I've watched a good deal of CL courses, and purchased my fair share, but in all honestly, there are a handful of instructors that are just the cream of the crop, and Don is one of them!

This course is the Holy Grail of lighting presented in an easy to understand manner by someone who is a master of lighting and very passionate about his craft. I've watched countless courses here on Creativelive and I own quite a few but Don's lighting course is by far the best that I've watched, thanks Don.

Excellent instructor and easy to follow. As a relative newbie looking for information on how to improve my product photos on models this was helpful.

Great class, amazing instructor. Don's able to explain it so good that he makes it all look like very simple. I just have one comment and one request for the CreativeLive staff: When Don's commenting and analysing the pictures or explaining some features of them please keep the camera shooting at what he's commenting :) It would also be great if the way how the umbrellas and soft boxes are set up were disclosed, Ex: how the strobes and lights are mounted. Overall an amazing value for the price.

It is about as lucid and clear as a sunny day. Don was not afraid to show mistakes and how to correct, solve them and to actually show the motivations behind each project with not just showing the WHAT but also HOW and WHY and WHEN....Lighting Essentials Indeed!!!

I love that he tells us that whatever look we like go with it. That is so empowering! In addition, he gives us extremely important guidelines as well. So helpful!!!

I cannot get the ipad App to work. So I havn't been able to see my class.

This class, despite being a few years old, is one of the best classes I have seen, for a photographer like me, who is no longer a novice. Don is a master of his craft. The depth of his knowledge, rooted in music, art and art history, photography and its history, enriches the way he thinks and what he shares with his students. I am finally ready to tackle the challenges I face as a photographer, now that I have a much better understanding of how light works. As a class in "intermediate learning", I would give this class the highest possible recommendation. Thank you Don!

Wow! Mind blowing simplicity- so much clarity in the delivery of information. Thank you thank you!