Focal Point Course Begins

Last thursday was the opening night for my Focal Point class. We have a great bunch of talented photographers in the class so it's going to be a great one for everybody involved.

The first night is always about finding out where eveyone is at (photographically speaking) and finding a common point to jump in at.  I always try insure that everyone gets the most out of every class, so doing this review gets everyone to the same place and helps to refine the materials for each class.  If you are interested in joining my Focal Point class, I could still fit you in. Log on to http://www.focalpoint.bc.ca/ for all the info.  Next week we are going to start exploring light. It's a real eye opener.

Don't forget that I am also running a flash workshop on May 7th in the Ann MacDonald Hall at the North Vancouver Presentation House.  Contact me directly at 604-307-4566 to sign up for this program.  It will be a great opportunity to learn pro techniques with hand held flashes.

5 tips to improve on camera flash

Coming up on May 7th, I will be giving a workshop on flash photography.  Here is a primer for the workshop.

5 tips to improve on camera flash

1. Avoid pointing the flash directly at your subject. This creates a very harsh, unattractive light. Try using a diffuser like the ones made by Gary Fong. 
2. Bouncing the flash off the ceiling is an effective way of improving the light quality.  The idea behind this is that ceiling are usually white so there won't be any colour shift issues and it will increase the size of the light significantly, giving it a softer look.  The problem here is that the light is top down and will create unflattering shadows in the eyes. Putting a white card on the flash to reflect some of the light into the eyes will help.
3. To get a wrap around feel to the light, try bouncing it of the wall.  This will give it a wrap around look and be very soft.  Downside here is that the light will take on the colour of the wall. Make sure to do a custom white balance - but you should be doing this for every lighting situation.
4. If the wall or the ceiling are just too far away to bounce from, use some sort of reflector.  If you have a reflector in your kit, awesome.  If you don't, try bouncing off a person wearing a white shirt or find a towel, table cloth, sheet, or anything that will reflect a neutral light colour.
5. Flash exposure, within the limits of the camera sync speed, are not affected by shutter speed. Adjust the shutter speed, leaving the aperture set for flash exposure, to balance the ambient light with the flash to gain a more balanced looking image.

These tips and many more will be discussed and practices at length at the flash workshop on May 7th.  To reserve you spot at the workshop, please call Len at 604-307-4566. See you there.