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!
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.
Speedlighters Handbook by Syl Arena is a good one