Balancing Light & shadow

The Foundation of what we do as photographers is based on that simple principle. Knowing how to use the tools we have to control that balance is the key to creating the images we visualize. Join me in this three plus hour tutorial where I will share my process from start to finish. As a working photographer I also have the opportunity to take all the knowledge we cover here and actually apply it to a commercial photo shoot that is included at the end of this tutorial!

PHOTOGRAPHER FIRST

I’m not one to talk about myself and I much prefer to let the images I create do the talking. However with all the content out there these days I do like to stress that I am, in fact, a working photographer and not just someone with a YouTube channel and other social channels pretending to be something I’m not. Please feel free to check out my “work” website at quantzphoto.com where you’ll find more of my work and a list of clients I have been fortunate to work with over the years.

START THE COURSE!

What’s inside

Section 1 – PreShoot

5 Lessons · 50:32

Tutorial Introduction

Let’s get started!
Light Falloff and The Inverse Square Law

We will take a look at how light falloff will play into our decisions about light modifier size and the distance we place our lights from our subjects.
Gear: Lights, Stands, and Modifiers

Let’s take a look at some of the tools I use. A full list will be on the GEAR page on the website!
Gear: Camera and Lenses

We’ll discuss camera and lens choice and I’ll show you what I currently use.
Creative Direction

It’s important to know where you want to go creatively before your photoshoots!

Section 2 – Lighting

9 Lessons · 1:53:20

Light Placement

Let’s take a look at how incorrect and correct light placement can affect our photoshoot results.
Lighting Intro & 360 Modifier Image PDF’s

We’ll discuss the plan for the upcoming videos. Make sure to check out the 360 light modifier images for download!
One Light Setups

We have to start somewhere and this light can set the overall tone for our shoots.
Two Light Setups

Let’s double our lighting and start to look at how to decide what power to set our second light.
One & Two Light Examples

Here’s a discussion showing some of my results from photoshoots using only one or two light sources.
Three Light Setups
Four Light Setups
Five Light Setup
Seven Light Setup

We add two more lights to the previous setup and finally make it to the Seven Light Setup. Now let’s have some fun!

Section 3 – Bringing It All Together

2 Lessons · 31:57

Photoshoot!

Lets take everything we’ve discussed and put it to work on an actual photoshoot with the defending Women’s Basketball National Championship team!
Wrap-Up