I was reminded yesterday by Adam Favre on Google+ (https://plus.google.com/+AdamFavre) after posting yet another "gear" article on my new Olympus PEN E-PL5 (http://goo.gl/BXQRxl) the other day that I had promised myself to write more about the images that come out of the camera and less about the camera itself. Point taken. I have also not been using the "Journal" idea I got from Derrick Story (http://www.thenimblephotographer.com/journal/) to its potential either. So, today, with this post I resolve to follow my resolve! Well, sort of...
Flash. I love using flash with my cameras and, like many, I am sure, I don't practice using it enough myself. That's why I always love when a new flash class starts. It re-energizes me and reminds me to practice, practice, practice, as I always tell my students. Well, I have a few folks coming to my house tonight for the first session of my "On-Camera Flash: Using Flash on Your Camera." (http://www.infotor.com/photoclasses/flashcontrolclasses.php)
This class is great because anyone with an external flash, that is, not the built-in, but a flash unit you clip into the hot shoe on top of your camera body, can gain from taking it. I don't know the statistics, but I bet of those people who even use flash, a small percentage use an external flash unit and of those who do, I would bet, again, that they use the unit on top of their camera, not off-camera. Now the latter way of using an external flash will give you more dramatic images because of the shadows it helps you create in your image, but one can still do an awful lot with the flash on-camera, too. And, that's what we work on in this 3-session, 6-hour class. It, then, leads to my next class where I help students see how taking the flash off the camera can make their images even better.
I am fortunate to have space in the basement of our old house to put aside a space for a "studio" like setup. And I have a corner where I have a makeshift "office" set up as well. Well, I haven't really used the downstairs much since probably last spring except to shoot product shots for this blog. So, I had to do some clean up to get the space ready for tonight's class. As I said, I am excited to get back in the swing of teaching folks how to take advantage of their flashes. Heck, maybe I'll even take some pictures myself!