Understanding Light

Short on time? This class is available HERE as a Fast Class, exclusively for Creativelive subscribers. 

The success of every photographer — artistically and professionally — is based on a strong understanding of how light works. Join photographer Mark Wallace for a three-day course that will demystify the fundamentals of lighting and give you the concrete skills you need to get a powerful image using the right lighting every time you shoot.

Mark will cover everything you need to know about hard, soft, directional, and diffused light. You’ll learn about reading natural light and manipulating it with tools like reflectors and diffusion panels. Mark will also guide you through working with light in a studio environment. You’ll explore using basic studio lights to manipulate and shape light and working with strobes and speedlights. You’ll also learn about shooting on-location and how to balance shape, and color ambient light and light from a flash.

By the end of this course, you’ll be equipped with a whole new understanding of light that will help you to shoot more efficiently, capture consistently well-lit images, and reach new creative heights as a photographer.

• Class Introduction
• Language and Properties of Light
• Position of Light
• Science of Light
• Dynamic Range
• Circle of Confusion
• Working with Natural Light
• Light Modifiers
• Understanding your TTL Meter
• Finding the Light
• Open Shade
• Working with Constant Light in a Studio
• Shoot: Constant Light
• Light Modifiers
• Shoot: Portrait Lighting
• Intro to Flash Photography
• Balancing Color Temperatures
• Bouncing Speedlites
• Light Modifiers for Speedlites
• Dragging the Shutter and High Speed Sync
• Metering Basics for Studio Strobes
• Studio Strobe Science
• Mark's Secret Canon Setup
• Light Ratio Metering
• Three Light Setup
• Working with Multiple Lights
• Law of Reflection
• Zone Lighting Part 1
• Zone Lighting Part 2
• Shoot: Studio Strobes on Location Part 1
• Shoot: Studio Strobes on Location Part 2
• Understanding Histograms Part 1
• Understanding Histograms Part 2
• Clarifying Questions