Lesson 9 - Flash Photography

Our very last lesson has come and gone! We finished up with a look at flash photography. There is just so much to learn when it comes to flash and understanding ambient and flash exposure. We talked about:
- the quality of light (soft and harsh shadows, directional etc)
- tips for taking advantage of the best light indoors and outdoors
- white balance
- flash fall off
- balancing ambient and flash
- maximum flash sync speed
- high sync speed
- flash as fill light
- flash as key light
- built-in flash
- on-camera external flash
- off-camera external flash
- studio lighting (softbox, umbrellas, reflectors)

Whew!!! That was one intense class! I did a lot of talking, as there was just so much material to cover and I really wanted you all to have a great basis for understanding flash photography. Remember, this is only the beginning so if you don't get it all right away, don't worry. Take some time to think about the theory and best of all, go out and practice. Especially with off-camera flash, it's all about trial and error so go try.

Despite my droning on and on about this and that regarding flash, I did have some time to show you a bit of off-camera technique using a shoot-through umbrella and reflector.

Thanks Katherine, as always, for documenting the going-on's of our class!