Photography II: Working with Light
Seeing and shaping light: the physics of light, natural and window light, reflectors and flags, on-camera and off-camera flash, continuous LED light, portrait and product lighting, safety and a lighting portfolio.
PHOT-102 Year 1 3 credits 12 lessons · 5 h 7 min
Offered by HSM University · Photography
This is the American version of this course. See the Canadian version.
What you'll learn
- Describe any lighting situation by its quantity, quality, direction, color and contrast, and predict how the camera will record it
- Apply the inverse square law, apparent source size, reflection types, the family of angles and polarization to lighting decisions
- Plan and work with natural light through the day and seasons, in weather, open shade and harsh sun
- Use window and available light indoors, controlling falloff, mixed sources and flicker
- Modify light with reflectors, diffusers, flags and negative fill, safely supported on location
- Explain flash power, guide numbers, duration, sync speed and high-speed sync, and control flash and ambient as two exposures
- Use on-camera flash with bounce, fill, dragged shutter, rear-curtain sync and color-correction gels
- Trigger and place off-camera flashes with appropriate modifiers, set ratios between multiple lights and balance flash against daylight
- Select and use continuous lights, judge color quality, calculate exposure from lux and mix sources
- Light portraits with named patterns, broad and short lighting, chosen ratios, separation and care for every skin tone
- Light products and still life by surface type, including glossy, glass and metal objects, white backgrounds and food
- Work safely with lighting equipment, document setups with diagrams, and present a lighting portfolio for critique
Course content
12 lessons · 5 h 7 min total · final exam
- 1 Seeing light 27 min · quiz
- 2 How light behaves: distance, size and reflection 27 min · quiz
- 3 Natural light and time of day 25 min · quiz
- 4 Window light and available light indoors 25 min · quiz
- 5 Reflectors, diffusers and flags 25 min · quiz
- 6 Flash fundamentals 28 min · quiz
- 7 On-camera flash: bounce, fill and balance 27 min · quiz
- 8 Off-camera flash and light modifiers 26 min · quiz
- 9 Continuous light: LEDs, color quality and mixing sources 24 min · quiz
- 10 Portrait lighting: patterns, ratios and setups 25 min · quiz
- 11 Lighting products and still life 25 min · quiz
- 12 Lighting safety, documentation and the lighting portfolio 23 min · quiz
- E Final exam 20 questions
Requirements
Recommended background. You can start any course at any time.
Description
Seeing and shaping light: the physics of light, natural and window light, reflectors and flags, on-camera and off-camera flash, continuous LED light, portrait and product lighting, safety and a lighting portfolio.
Part of the Film & Photography stream, typically taken in year 1.