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Shoot: Auto and Manual Flash

Lesson 22 from: Real World Lighting: Advanced Techniques

Scott Robert Lim

Shoot: Auto and Manual Flash

Lesson 22 from: Real World Lighting: Advanced Techniques

Scott Robert Lim

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Lesson Info

22. Shoot: Auto and Manual Flash

Lessons

Class Trailer

Day 1

1

Course Introduction

21:51
2

What Photographers Should Know

21:13
3

Lighting Gear Box

17:16
4

My Camera Gear

20:10
5

Understanding the Magic of Flash

37:36
6

Shoot: Essential Skill #1 - Lighting Positions

23:55
7

Essential Skill #2 - Bright Light Situations

37:25

Lesson Info

Shoot: Auto and Manual Flash

So we're still at that setting at four point oh does anybody want to try this? Anybody want a model for us and anybody wanna hold this flash for me anybody who hasn't gone up here today okay great and I need a model come on. Don't get up here it's good up here okay, I figured anything out I'm just going to shoot this thing okay stand right that actually you sit right on that scene, big boy okay, right let's get that last like right okay, way he wants to go over here some cold right there, right? And so all we gotta do is make sure that that sensor is sensors like hitting him now with europe looked back at me a little bit okay, so let's make sure I'm not the rope see my eye so changed I was at three twenty s o four hundred if that's measured at four but I'm shooting at four point five but it seems to be working ok, so I'm just going to go with it, okay? One, two three popes I've got to put a transmitter that's not gonna work way okay, here we go let's make sure it works okay, good sorry...

ok. Are you what teo good all right now um it worked basically let's see the next one the background is completely black but this is what tvl does anyways that background is black so that's why it's trying to overcompensate for that right? So let's do something let's move him forward away from that black background so that flash doesn't think it's all dark and trying to like things up so don't you appreciate manual now in the control that you get with it when you ok so let's just try to get now we're getting it away from the situation it might it might still read the black background but who knows? We'll try it and then we'll try it against them like background and say oh man sorry didn't prepare you want tio good. Okay that's a little better ok, so the next one he's going to look like a drunken that's the four segment of the second day all right. Hey, off camera flash works and I thank you now let's. Thank you. Don't you can still stay up house that because you're a pro at this. Okay, now let's get it let's bring junior everybody knows who jim is here. Creative live is another one of our hosts. Of course. Yes. Now, uh, jim, when we start talking about these cameras was it was what it was during the winning workshop and you're like, jim, you need to have this yeah, we're talking about cool yeah, you bring often sometimes you'll bring these to the weddings and shoot a few shots during the day right? And then you present the images to the bridegroom that day like what a great amazing amazing right and there's something about polaroid when you shoot it and you pull it out there just waiting to peel that you like it like a kid in the candy store you can't wait write and I guarantee you mean when you have a pool right? If you want to be a hit at a party, just bring an old school polaroid camera and start taking pictures people will just crowd around because there's something about the real print that people get excited about it all right? So sometimes we'll take this to a workshop to and is a gift I'll shoot it, give it to them and they're all lined up wanting meteo to see it let's take it out they're all like huddled around so awesome now so a system a notto system like this it is very handy because they don't have flash tl flashes for this, so in order for you to do off camera flash, you're going to have to get older like meter out measure it and whatever but if you use an auto flash with the trigger here right and that you can just go right away and take a picture right so let's let's try this on doing right grace take a picture of me and I'm going to make sure everything is set to go right which I am and so on camera that is actually absolutely and this record this was recommended by scott it's a polaroid six hundred s e yes and the reason why I like these polaroids is that it gives you a super large negative this big okay and so to me if I'm going to shoot film it's gotta look significantly different than digital so how does that film beat digital? Well thirty five millimeter sensor is what about that big that sensor or that is that big huge so if you shoot at lower f stops with that that depth the field background that blurred out background it looks like your grandma's prince they're like awesome you can't duplicate that depth of field you can't compete with the negative that big so I like the professional there's like a lot of kid uh polaroids out where you can't control the f stop and you can't control the shutter it is automatic but on these professional ones you can actually control the f stop in the shutter speed but everything is controlled on the lens this is just the box this is a box and that's just a film holder but the lands is where the shelter is and there's a leaf shutter in there which means that this will splash sink all the way up to the shutter speed it'll flash sync up to up five hundred from the second five hundred because it's a leaf shutter its circular ok and so everything so the p c synch is on there so the camera really is the lens and this is just a box I was contemplating making just the box and remanufacturing that having my own brand but later in the day but I love the photos that it does and you can see jin's photos right there you go chase is outside waiting to show a couple yeah let's shoot this probably shelling was doing we're gonna start with the test and it did great. Fantastic alright, scott and so now they start like looking there he's matching hiss tell me what you're doing there so I'm hitting the focus and it's a it's a split focus it's a viewfinder yeah it's exact exactly right he's lining up these little boxes in there that that will one lined up shows you that your focus you're not actually focusing through the lands correct back focusing through the viewfinder do you want me to adjust the flush? No, I think you're because we were ready from before so we should be said she in position you look amazing and here we go all right cnn works easy peasy that automatically figured out the lighting, okay and I know we don't want to wait three minutes, right? But we shot this one we had to shoot this because he's shooting it at one hundred speed film right? We khun sink the flash up with the lower f stop when we shot it like an f eight okay, but look at the exposure is fine the background is darker if we would have lowered the center too like really low yeah then we could let more ambient light in but it did it it didn't like if I was outside or whatever it was it did actually did it okay and just automatically figured out the light now so if you have an old film camera you can use an off camera auto flash if he needs a quick flash right and you're not always it's like having to do natural light all the time. Okay, great. Perfect. So I looked just to just to be fun? Well, no, because it's probably said at the wrong city and still and still problem and still process and still processing okay all right great to see how that off camera works like that. Any questions that they're no, they're good I think we're going right now yeah oh good right out yes, shanna has a question why would you buy your event? Why would you use the this manual? Are this auto one versus a manual? Oh, good question, why would I use it now? The reason why I would sometimes like auto is if I'm doing an event and the distance is constantly changing all the time between my subject, then it automatically calculates for or if I'm just lazy and I just don't want to figure out what my lighting situation is, then I just have automatic lighting and I don't have to worry about it, and if I'm trying to bounce things off the wall and use that but wants something to measure the light, then I might want it, but for event photography, where you don't have to, like think and you just want a basic shot with an exposure and not constantly set your manual flash, because maybe the distance is changing very quickly between subjects because I could shoot you here, right? Or I could shoot it back here and it's gonna figure out the light for me. Whereas if what happens if I was in a manual situation, I had to change here check it had to change here and check it right s o that that's? The reason why? That's? The reason why I actually to use tl in some situations is because the distance of the subject is changing a lot or the light situation is changing drastically and quickly, and then maybe you just need to go get the shot, you're not doing anything artistic here, you just need to record something right and then that's why I would use it so for the event photographer who doesn't want to go in and mess with manual and can't before I just wonder so another option where you don't have to buy a five hundred dollars flash, so you just want some automatic exposure, especially just for event photography or you want to back up or something he's sticking auto flash in your bag and you've got some sort of automatic exposure without thinking ok makes sense, right? So you can see where it can fall in line and also, if you're a polaroid shooter or your film shooter, then it comes very handy because you khun just do flash without even thinking about it and you can get something right, especially if you kind of allow in drag your shutter, open up the background a bit or all that kind of stuff now I actually don't using auto flash, but I just wanted to show people that if they're shooting polaroids of their shooting film or if they shoot a lot of t t l for events and they needed to back up or if they just want to use this, then that's fine, but let me show you how I use all manual and event and if I'm just doing it a basic group shot ok, so one of the things that I love doing is they're actually slides to this. Yeah, okay, let's go back to that um okay, so let's do these are some of my favorite models to some tax for thirty three four twenty two three, eighty three is the expensive one and the two forty four okay, so that's what? I'm ok now let's talk about manual flash you still could use manual flash and do a group shot. I did this I I was just a guest that this wedding I was the only asian guy there. Okay, which was fun on dso that these amazingly beautiful people there this is in morocco, my friends getting married is also a great photographer been deli right? And so they wanted me to take a group picture is like all I have is manual flash on and so I just put the manual flash on my camera a couple clicks up and down lock it in baton he still can do it. Okay, so it's very possible to do a manual flashman but this is how I like to use the manual flash. Doesn't this light look awesome? Right? Okay, if you're using this happened to me all the time at weddings using t t l they would drive me bonkers I am shooting table shots okay, I got my teal flash on and it's firing on the group shot around the table and it was constantly under exposed. Why, yes, jodi, because of ah, white table both yes, the white tablecloth would always throw the media ring off so it would make sure that I wouldn't blow out the highlights on the on the white tablecloth and so we would clamp down on the light. But what are my guests wearing? Right? They're not wearing white all the time, right? A lot of times they're wearing dark and and black so I it was a lot more consistent for me to do these type of shots with a manual flash with an umbrella. So how did I how do I actually do it? It's actually very easy because usually at a recess. So what I usually do is they take half the table and I make him stand behind the other half and I get on the other side of the table and I have my flash oh, that this is heavy touch that let's do this flash here with an umbrella, okay, and put it through like this, right? And now sixteen power maybe should work. What I usually do is I set my camera to a high bias so why's that, like eight hundred by what I said it to eight hundred less less flash power right? Because I'm doing a big group shot I'm losing two stops here so at eight hundred's good right on dime not going to get a whole lot of grain anyway so a hundred sounds good to me so I put it at eight hundred when you're shooting a group shot like that what you put what kind of f stop would you guys use faa that would work but I don't use that because faa would require a lot of flash power but it would definitely keep everybody and focus I've used a five point six um and that seems to keep everybody in focus okay, so I met five point six at eight hundred ok and so what I do is anyone I want to be my assistant pretend I'm taking a group shot if you guys down someone hold this up, okay? Andrew right. Maybe sixteenth of kisses so so here we are and our wedding right uh ok let's see can you guys get in a little bit closer like let's let's let's do this like triangle to rose or something like that? You're right we're at a table here, right? What you guys doing? Nobody wants to sit in front I don't know geez all right okay, perfect ok, so you guys are gathered around here, okay, great. Okay, now we have the table here the table make sure that I'm usually at the exact same distance every single time so once I lock it in and figure it out when I go to the next table it's the same for everything right and the assistant he stands at the same place or whatever right? And andi everything is the same cell I'm going to take a picture here I shouldn't have it on um oh be good idea to turn that on yeah you man you get good at that test. Okay? Can you lower it just a bit since they're right there. Okay, I want to read e good let's go a little I don't have it in live you oh, hey, that was pretty good for ah for just a test, right? And so I'm taking my live you off okay, so I can see everything because I haven't at five, six and eight hundred ok. Ready want to ready? Good. Oh, well what's going on she shutter speed is two hundred holy cow. What am I doing here? We're going to let some and I like to keep my shutter at fiftieth of a second so let us much ambient light in through okay, so want to ready good, good and that's about right? I would say that next shot is about right after that when I fixed that one ok see how I'm letting more ambient light in and so if we were in a kind of a higher drama place, that would actually be a really nice, because look at that light on that. Okay, so I'm locked in so you can write that down. And a starting point. Five, six, eight hundred generally is going to be sixteenth of the power. It works right. That's, the formula. You start from there, and now I walk around from table to table, and I get some nice, beautiful. You guys can sit down. Thank you. Wedding party on and that's, how I do table shots.

Class Materials

bonus material with purchase

Crazy Stupid Light Review
Keynote 1
Keynote 2
Keynote 3
Syllabus
Gear Guide
Final Exam
Going Big on a Tiny Budget - HD

Ratings and Reviews

Dan Frumkin
 

I read several reviews on this site which gave me hesitation to buy this course. Nonetheless, I pressed on. Now I have a suggestion for those considering parting with their cash. Before you buy, go to any of Scott’s galleries online. If you can shoot at Scott’s level move on. If you cannot see the artistry in Scott’s work, move on. If you cannot conceive of the technical proficiency Scott has with flash, move on. But if you are mortal photographer that desires to improve your work, compare your personal portfolio to Scott’s. He wins awards for good reasons. Invest the time and money. You will be amply rewarded. Real World Lighting: Advanced Techniques is worth every penny. So is Crazy, Stupid, Light. I purchased both and now use Scott’s advice and techniques daily. Plus, he provides a good dose of inspiration and humor. Scott is an awesome professional, fantastic photographer and a wonderful teacher.

user-f9ff5e
 

I already own Lim's class, "Crazy, Stupid Light" as well as two of his Strobie 230 flashes with transmitter (in addition to my Canon speedlight). I appreciate being able to get into lighting with flashes and equipment that costs much less than Profoto lights etc. that I couldn't afford yet. Lim has a very organized and energetic teaching style. He is a great speaker in that he is excited about what he is doing and seems to love to help others learn how to be successful with their lighting. He is very animated and funny and has the right blend of being confident yet self-effacing and admits his mess-ups during class. I find him very engaging and interesting. If you have less than $500 or $600 to spend on lights, but want to start adding lighting to your photo shoots, he is a great place to start.

a Creativelive Student
 

This class was fantastic! I've always opted for the easy way out when it came to lighting my subjects, usually resorting to using just natural light and a reflector even though I always have my lighting kit with me. I learned in this class how creating my own light can be the easiest way to get the results I want. It's much easier than trying to make the natural light do what I want it to do. Scott's passion for photography and teaching are evident, and his commitment to the success of his students is amazing. I definitely recommend this course for photographers at any level. I came away with many ideas on how to build upon the lighting tips presented here to make it my own. Thanks Scott Robert Lim!

Student Work

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