Harsh, unflattering lighting can ruin a photo—and with flash, it's easy to get harsh, unflattering lighting. But flash is a necessary part of a photographer's toolset—after all, the world doesn't always provide you with the best natural light. Fortunately, it isn't difficult to get great results from flash, and in this course, photographer, author, and teacher Ben Long details the concepts and techniques behind effective lighting with flash. Ben starts with the fundamentals, going over the anatomy of a flash and flash exposure. He shares tips for improving the results from a camera's built-in flash, and then focuses on creating great light with a handheld flash. The course also explores topics ranging from bouncing and syncing flash to shooting with one or more off-camera flash units.

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The post Photography Foundations: Flash appeared first on EASY Digital Pro.

You don't necessarily need a macro lens to do macro photography. By mounting a prime lens "backward"—with the front elements closest to the imaging sensor—you can turn it into a low-cost macro lens. All you need is an inexpensive adapter called a reversal ring. A sense of adventure helps, too, because your camera's normal metering and focusing features don't work when the lens is attached backward.

In this course, photographer Ben Long details the tools and techniques of lens-reversal macro photography. After investigating reversal ring options, the course explores the focusing and exposure techniques involved when shooting with a reversed lens.

About the Author

Ben Long is an award-winning photographer and senior editor at Macworld magazine.

Ben is a San Francisco-based photographer, writer, and teacher. The author of over two dozen books on digital photography and digital video, he is also a senior contributing editor to Macworld magazine, and a senior editor at CreativePro.com. His photography clients have included 20th Century Fox, Blue Note Records, Global Business Network, the San Francisco Jazz Festival, the Pickle Family Circus, and Grammy-nominated jazz musicians Don Byron and Dafnis Prieto. He has taught and lectured on photography around the world, including workshops at the Santa Reparata International School of Art in Florence and a class for imaging engineers at Apple, Inc. He occasionally dabbles in computer programming, and has written image editing utilities that are used by National Geographic, the British Museum, and the White House.

Product Details

• Full Video Tutorials
• Video File Format: MP4
• Skill Level: Intermediate
• Video Duration: 32m 32s
• Instructor: Ben Long
• Language: English

The post Exploring Photography: Lens-Reversal Macro appeared first on EASY Digital Pro.

Join photographer, author, and teacher Ben Long on location in San Francisco as he explores the creative options provided by the kinds of lenses and lens accessories that don't always make it into most camera bags.

The course begins with a look at several common and inexpensive lens attachments, from polarizers to neutral density filters. The course then explores ultra-wide angle and fisheye lenses as well as ultra-long telephoto and macro lenses. The course concludes with a look at tilt-shift lenses, which are useful for architectural photography and special effects, and at offbeat lenses, such as Lensbaby and Holga attachments.

The course also contains Photoshop postproduction advice and examples that illustrate the creative possibilities that an expanded lens collection provides. And because some specialty lenses are extremely expensive, the course also contains advice on renting gear.

About the Author

Ben Long is an award-winning photographer and senior editor at Macworld magazine.

Ben is a San Francisco-based photographer, writer, and teacher. The author of over two dozen books on digital photography and digital video, he is also a senior contributing editor to Macworld magazine, and a senior editor at CreativePro.com. His photography clients have included 20th Century Fox, Blue Note Records, Global Business Network, the San Francisco Jazz Festival, the Pickle Family Circus, and Grammy-nominated jazz musicians Don Byron and Dafnis Prieto. He has taught and lectured on photography around the world, including workshops at the Santa Reparata International School of Art in Florence and a class for imaging engineers at Apple, Inc. He occasionally dabbles in computer programming, and has written image editing utilities that are used by National Geographic, the British Museum, and the White House.

Product Details

• Full Video Tutorials
• Video File Format: MP4
• Skill Level: Intermediate
• Video Duration: 3h 50m
• Instructor: Ben Long
• Language: English

The post Photography Foundations: Specialty Lenses appeared first on EASY Digital Pro.