I am generally happiest when I just have to deal with the light I am given but I am having a hip replacement operation and going to be trapped indoors for a while so thought it would be a good time to learn and try and understand lighting. I have tried a couple of times before but grew annoyed and frustrated and stormed off to the garden to take photos of birds instead.
Does anyone have any good pointers as to how to get into it. There seem to be too many expensive tutorials etc. to know where to start!
What are you looking to shoot? Lighting is very different for wildlife, for landscapes, for portraits, and for pets, for instance.
You don’t state how much knowledge and experience you have, so I’m going to assume that you’re a beginner. You can take a picture in almost any lighting as long as you know how to set your camera for it.
Check out this relatively short tutorial on YouTube: Manual Camera Settings for Beginners
Another good resource is Tony & Chelsea Northrup’s channel: Tony & Chelsea Northrup YouTube
I hope this helps!
Your topic is vague about lighting. And there is so much free information on the Internet and You Tube that I have no idea why you are referring to expensive tutorials.
You can search ’ Understanding light" to learn about light in general, “Event or Wedding Photography” for using flash or “Using flash” or even try “indoor photography” to see if anything pops up. There will usually be enough stuff that you’ll go from video to video or article to article to find all the tidbits needed for what you are trying to do.
Yes, the first thing to do is put a flash on your camera but learn how to bounce it. Don’t aim your flash at your subject. Put it on ISO 100, maybe ISO 200, 1/250th of a second, whatever your flash sync speed is. You can use TTL or manual. I’d use manual since you are learning. Point the flash at the ceiling. Notice what happens. Next time point it at the wall, etc. You’ll start learning how light bounces around. Then you can take it off the camera put it on a stand put a soft box over it, etc and learn how that works.
The Godox V1’s are really nice. I remember when I started it seemed intimidating but it’s actually fairly easy and you figure it out pretty quick.
All of my indoor shots are at ISO 100, even if it’s just of a cat. You can’t tell I even used a flash, (unless you’re a pro photographer,) it doesn’t have that flash look to it. If the ceilings are too high you might have to bounce it off something else. Or you may have to just take it off camera.
Also, when looking into these things, don’t discount just getting a strobe. I know starting out most people would say, “Why would you recommend a strobe and not a flash?” Well you can use strobes outside they are more powerful and Godox has strobes that are about the same price as a flash. Like the AD200’s.
Of course that is for off camera though, but you can still bounce it, just got to put it on a stand. I have the AD400. For flash’s I use two Godox V1’s. All three of these devices also have modeling lamps. Sometimes you can just use that at night time. Especially on the AD400.
Basically, you learn your ambient light and your flash light. For example, if you want a complete black background and want to shoot an object, you can set an object on a table, make sure its not close to wall, stop down the aperture a good bit, maybe f/11, maybe more. And you’ll have nothing but the light of the flash and you’ll have a black background.
It’s mostly about bouncing it around. Until you get it off camera and have soft boxes and things like that, then you can point it directly at the subject.
I like to bounce off the ceiling because I always get really sharp images of my pets and family, even in an older house with dim lighting. Because I can shoot at ISO 100. Since I learned this I haven’t shot over ISO 400 in years.
If you buy flash’s, I’d go ahead and buy two, because once you go off camera you’ll probably find yourself wanting another one very soon. Although you can do A LOT with one flash.
I always shoot in full manual except when I bounce, I just let it be in ETTL mode and if it’s not bright enough I turn the flash exposure comp up.
What type of lighting are you trying to learn about? If you got frustrated before, it’s possible learning about strobe lighting just isn’t for you unless you’re trying to learn how to mimic natural light.
literally all you need for lighting
There’s a book called Light: Science & Magic that covers a range of topics.
A few things that wouldn’t hurt to have around:
- camera with manual settings
- a way to trigger the camera without pressing it (timer release setting on the camera, a cable release, or tethering it to a computer/tablet/phone)
- A tripod to keep the camera still in low light.
- Some pieces of white and black foam board to make little reflectors and flags with. Or maybe something like these LightRight Reflectors
- Some simple spring a-clamps that can be bought from a hardware store for a dollar or so a piece (use them as legs to hold up pieces of foam board)
- Some tracing paper or wax paper to use as a diffuser
- a roll of paper to act as a seamless backdrop (can start with a bedsheet if you want to be cheap)
- some basic clamp lights and light bulbs if you don’t have photography lights
- optional: a flashlight to play with light painting (maybe some black tape if you want to make a little tube on the end to narrow down the beam)
In this video they very quickly show how you can tape seamless paper to a wall instead of relying on having a more elaborate stand setup. Tape it to the wall and then drape it over a table to have a small table top setup: The Ultimate Guide to Seamless Paper Backdrop Photography | Tips and Tricks for Beginners and Pros - YouTube
This video looks like it shows some ideas with light painting (light painting has grown to have two meanings… the one i was taught decades ago: painting the object that is sitting infront of the camera with light from different angles, and the other (which I’ve always called light drawing): using a flashlight to make an illustration by pointing the light at the camera): Light Painting Magic - Complete from start to finish including editing. - YouTube you don’t need to do something that large, playing with a small object on a table in a dark room is fine.
I love watching Gavin Hoey on YouTube. He’s one of the first people I started learning with and then stopped because I thought I had outgrown him and because I hardly ever use external light. I’ve recently been getting more into studio work and started watching his videos again. They’re still great! He explains everything so well and it just clicks.
The book ‘Light, Science and Magic’ is essential reading if you’re serious about studio photography. Highly recommended.
Here’s a decent intro to inverse square law and the relation between flash power and your f-stop, as well as distance. Once you really get all this, the rest starts falling into place.
Speedlighters Handbook by Syl Arena is a good one
Do you already have some kind of flash/ lighting equipment?
What is the goal with the lighting? What do you want to photograph?
Other than strobist, find a project you’re interested in. Try and start with an idea and then figure out how to execute it. Often the idea is harder than the light. (And remember: it’s not natural light vs artificial light, it is found light vs controlled light.)
The book light science and magic.
The principles it will teach you will apply to both natural and artificial light.
While trapped at home, I have a suggested exercise. Choose a window and a subject. Use that window to light your subject. Take pictures of the object through out the day. Note where the sun is in relation to the sky. Note the amount of clouds and diffusion. Take copious notes noticing the direction and quality of light as the day changes.
Get well soon.