Light is the true building block of photography and I believe is it really important to master lighting in order to become a great photographer. Through my food photography, I have played quite a bit with natural and available light, but have had limited exposure to artificial light. This unit provided me with some of the knowledge needed to understand the various types of lighting equipment and how to use them to obtain great results. After completing this unit, I feel a lot more comfortable with artificial lighting.

Unit 3 – Harnessing the Light, was broken down into 8 lessons:

• Lesson 1. Natural and Available Light: This lesson covered  sunlight and available light and how to best capture it to give the desired effect/mood to your photograph. We looked in detail at light direction, colour, quality and also learned about night time photography.
• Lesson 2. Artificial Light – Continuous: In this lesson, we were introduced to continuous artificial light such as floods and spots and their characteristics (intensity, direction, quality and colour). I found this lesson very valuable because we learned how to set up a home studio at with basic equipment. During this unit, I set up a small studio in my living room and was able to get lots of practice done. This practical experience really helped understand the principles tought during this lesson.
• Lesson 3. Artificial Light – Flash: This lesson on flash was extremely complex and probably the most difficult of Unit 3. There were lots of numbers and calculations for using guide numbers, synchronization speed, ratios, outputs, etc. When I got my new Canon Speedlite and tried to play with it, I realized that these external flashes are quite complex and I will likely have to supplement what I learned in the course with additional readings and videos. I have also started re-reading this unit a second time to see if I missed any key elements that would help me use my Speedlite properly. I can do the basics but I feel that there is so much more that I haven’t completely grasped yet.
• Lesson 4. Travel Photography: This was such a fun and simple lesson that was very quick to complete. There was very interesting information about what gear to pack when traveling, how to prepare for airport and customs and how to protect your gear in extreme conditions (hot, cold, humid, rain). There was also information about how to get great travel photos that are different and unique, and finally tips on how to organize and process your travel photos.
• Lesson 5. Landscape and Flower Photography: This lesson, similar to Lesson 4, was very interesting and quick to complete. In the landscapes section, we learned about lighting, reviewed information about depth of field, and touched on framing and converging lines. We also got some tips on shooting in different conditions such as sunset, fog, snow, water and waterfalls. In the second part, we learned about various ways of photographing flowers indoor and outdoors.
• Lesson 6. The Perfect Print: This unit was quite interesting and I surprisingly learned a lot of stuff I did not know about the different types of printing labs, colour, and even the different types of paper that are out there.
• Lesson 7. Essential Business Skills – Introduction to the Business Correspondence: I did not learn much new information in this unit on business correspondence, which mainly focused on how to write emails. I can see the value of it for people who do not have much experience in the business world. I did not learn much in this lesson, but it was very short, so it’s ok!
• Lesson 8. Optional – The Darkroom: I have to be honest here, I did not go through this lesson since it is optional and I am not planning to do any darkroom work in the near future.

After finishing all the lessons, I completed the open book multiple choice exam. I found the exam to be an excellent opportunity to go back through each lesson and review the information one more time. This helped make the information sink into my brain even more. As I mentioned in my previous posts, I find that I need to see information 2-3 times to really remember it, and the open book exam is an excellent way to review!

Finally, I completed my Photography Project for Unit 3, in which I had to submit 6 photos to demonstrate that I understand some of the lighting techniques that I learned in that unit. I submitted my pictures for the photo project and received feedback from my instructor about 3 days later. My instructor sent me 10 minutes of comments on my photos and I always find his comments so constructive. He highlighted what I did well, but really goes further by outlining some tips and ideas to push the concepts even further. I truly enjoy listening to his review and tips to improve even more. Here are the photos I submitted:

Photograph 1 – Direct Sunlight coming at 45 degree angle: For the first submission, I had to photograph an outdoor object (not a person) that was lit by direct sunlight coming at 45 degree angle. I went down the road one evening and took a few pictures of sailboats. On this picture, the sun lighting the rocks at a 45 degree angle. To take this picture, I used my 24-105mm lense at a focal length of 65mm, shutter speed of 1/100 and F-Stop of f/11.

Photograph 2 – Sidelighting: For this photo, I had to photograph an outdoor object (not a person) that was side lit by direct sunlight coming at 90 degree angle. Sidelighting is great to bring out texture in an object. I went under a bridge and was just amazed at how much texture that pipe had with the paint peeling. The sun was lighting at a perfect 90 degree angle so I captured a few shots and this one was my favourite. For this shot, I used my 24-105mm lense at a focal length of 85mm, shutter speed of 1/80 and F-Stop of f/11.

Photograph 3 – Backlighting: For the third picture, I had to photograph an outdoor object (not a person) that was enhanced by the effect of the sun coming toward the camera to backlight the object. I decided to photograph the sun coming through the branches of a tree, I like the effect and the transparency of the leaves that comes out – I will play around more with backlighting. To take this picture, I used my 24-105mm lense at a focal length of 24mm, shutter speed of 1/80 and F-Stop of f/11.

Photograph 4 – Diffused Lighting: For this picture, I had to take a portrait where the sun is diffused by clouds or shade. Our wedding anniversary was the perfect day for this – an overcast day with a bit of rain. We went back to the place where we had a picnic on our wedding day last year and took a picture in the same spot. This is a tradition that we will do every year, bringing the picture of the previous year with us to get a fun picture each year. To take this shot, I set my camera on a tripod with a timer. I used my 24-105mm lense at a focal length of 85mm, shutter speed of 1/60 and F-Stop of f/11.

Photograph 5a – Still Life with 45 degree light: For this still life picture, we had to shoot a subject with 45 degree frontlight indoor or outdoor. I was so excited to have the opportunity to pick a subject that is related to my true passion: food photography! Since it is fall, I thought I would set up a still life with a basket of apple, my grandmother’s tea pot and some handwritten recipes. I lit up this picture using my Canon Speedlite 430 EXII diffused with a white umbrella that I placed 45 degrees to the right of my camera. I used my 50mm prime lense at a shutter speed of 1/200 and F-stop of f/8. I really enjoyed playing with the strobe for this shot!

Photograph 5b – Still Life with Reflected Light: For this last picture, we had to use the same subject as above but add a reflector board to open up the shadows. In this case, I just added a white foam board to the left of the subject and you can see that the shadows are more open. The camera and flash are set up exactly the same as for photo 5a. It is pretty amazing to see how much light reflects off a white foam board! For this particular picture, I think I actually prefer the more moody look of photo 5a. What about you, which one do you prefer?

I am loving this course and as I write this, I am already through half of Unit 4 – Photographing People. This unit is so interesting! I get to practice a lot more with my studio setup and lighting equipment!! I can’t wait to share my next review with you!

If you are interested in learning about other sections of this course, here is my review of  Unit 1 – You and Your Equipment, and Unit 2 – Capturing the Image.

Note: This post is not sponsored. The opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Unit 2 took a bit longer to go through than Unit 1 because it was very loaded with lots of technical information (some parts were even quite dry…but I understand that not everything about photography can be exciting). Unit 2 – Capturing the Image, was broken down into 7 lessons:

• Lesson 1. Image Capture: This lesson covered how an image is captured digitally or on film. We learned about the different types of memory cards, different types of film, white balance and ISO amongst other things.
• Lesson 2. Exposure: This was by far the longest, hardest but most valuable lesson so far in the course. Lesson 2 is filled with technical information on aperture, shutter speed, exposure brackets, camera metering, histograms, light meters and a lot of other tricks to get good exposure. This lesson alone probably took me about 3 weeks to read, but I definitely learned a lot of information that I have been putting in practice since. I really saw a huge shift in my understanding of good exposure.
• Lesson 3. Exposing and Developing Black and White Film: During this lesson, I learned how to develop black and white film with minimal equipment. It was quite an interesting read, but I tried to flip through it quickly because I don’t have any intentions of developing black and white film in the future. When I was in University, I used to go in the darkroom and developed my own black and white film, so it was a great refresher, but I dont think I will be doing that again. Now that we have digital cameras, I have no interest in handling chemicals to get my pictures developed.
• Lesson 4. Digital Processing: This lesson covered the principles of Image editing, file types and scanners. There were definitely some interesting parts, but there was a strong emphasis on scanners, which is not something I am looking to use now. However, I do understand the value of this information and will likely be very happy to flip back through this lesson when I need a scanner!
• Lesson 5. Filters: A very short and to the point lesson showing the various types of filters that exist out there, with examples of how each of them is used. This was a very captivating and quick lesson that I enjoyed.
• Lesson 6. Developing Your Eye: This was my favourite less of Unit 2. It covered composition and presented 12 guidelines to improve the composition of your photo. The concepts and guidelines really got me thinking about looking at a scene from different points of view to get the best composition. I have learned so many concepts that help me understand and better analyze pictures I look at. I can finally find the words to describe what is good and what could be improved in the composition of a shot. This is a lesson that I will definitely read over and over again to ensure that all the guidelines are really well embedded in my mind and can transpire in my photographs. This lesson was the basis for the photo project to be completed in Unit 2.
• Lesson 7. Essential Business Skills – Introduction to the Business of Photography: Each unit ends with a Business lesson. In this Unit, the business lesson covered starting up a photography business. The information really touched on the legal aspect of the photography business, such as different types of businesses, taxes, leases, privacy and photo release forms. I do not want to start a photography business right away, but this is something that I might be interested in a few years so this is definitely great information to read.

After completing all the lessons, I completed the open book multiple choice exam. I found the exam to be an excellent opportunity to go back through each lesson and review the information one more time. This helped make the information sink into my brain even more. I find that I need to see information 2-3 times to really remember it, and the open book exam is an excellent way to review!

Finally, I completed my Photography Project for Unit 2, in which I had to submit 3 photos to demonstrate that I can put in practice some of the techniques that I learned in that unit. In June, I went to visit my parents in rural Québec, so I took this opportunity to practice the new concepts I learned. The bonus is that my dad is also really into photography and I was able to borrow some of his great lenses. It was awesome to get to play with different lenses – I particularly loved his 70-200 lense!!!

I submitted the three pictures for my photo project and less than 3 days later, I received feedback. My instructor sent me 10 minutes of comments on my photos and I find his comments so constructive. He highlighted what I did well, but really goes further by outlining some tips and ideas to push the concepts even further. I truly enjoy this constructive criticism. Overall, I need to work on applying the rule of thirds and adding secondary subjects. Here are the photos I submitted:

Photograph 1 – Focus attention on subject: For the first submission, I had to place a person or object to focus attention on the subject using two methods:

1. place the subject up front so it is larger than everything else
2. place the subject off-center, following the rule of thirds

One day, we went to the new piece of land that my parents got to build their cabin. It is currently forested so as I was walking around to check out the property, I saw some beautiful fiddleheads. There were ants marching up and down one of the fiddleheads so armed with my dad’s 70-200mm lense, I shot a close-up scene to check out the action. This was the perfect subject for this first photo: a fiddlehead that is larger than everything else in the background, and that is placed off-center, along one of the vertical line present in the rule of thirds. One of the comment of my instructor is that to make this picture even more interesting to the eye, I could have added a secondary subject in the background along the right vertical line. I will definitely try this next time.

Photograph 2 – Framing: In this picture, I had to use framing to focus attention on the subject. When we were driving, we saw this really cute barn and we stopped just in between two trees to photograph it. The two trees are acting as a nice frame for the house. Unfortunately, I somehow did not feel like getting out of the car (I was tired from a long day in the sun and there were just so many flies biting me!), so the branches overlap with the roof. I should have stepped out of the car and lowered myself to get a better shot, and this is the main comment my instructor had to improve this photo. To get this shot, I used my 24-105mm lense at a 70mm focal legth, and set my camera in manual mode with f/16, shutter speed of 1/200 and ISO 400.

Photograph 3 – Converging Lines: I had a lot of fun practicing for this photo. We had to use converging lines to focus attention on a subject. I was having fun taking photos at the railway and with docks, but I ended up submitting one of a path leading to a farm house. I also tried to apply the rule of thirds in this picture, but the instructor gave me some great input on how I could have improved my application of the rule of thirds. The first picture below is the one I submitted, and I am also including one of my mom walking on the railway bed behind their house and my dad photographing birds on a dock. For the farm picture that I submitted, I set my camera at f/22, with a shutter speed of 1/30 to try and make everything in focus, all the way to the horizon. I was also using my 24-105mm lense set at 55mm.

I am loving this course and I really can’t wait to dive into the next Unit!! Unit 3 – Harnessing the Light.

If you are interested in learning about other sections of this course, here are the other units I completed and reviewed:

Unit 1 – You and Your Equipment

Unit 3 – Harnessing the Light

Note: This post is not sponsored. The opinions expressed in this post are my own.

I have a full time job on top of this blog and lots of volunteering and social activities. I had to really think about whether or not I would have time to dedicate to a professional photography course because when I start something, I need to finish it. After doing a bit of research and really thinking things through, I decided that I really wanted to master my camera so I jumped in and registered for the Complete Course in Professional Photography.

I registered on April 17, and in less than 1 month, I was able to complete Unit 1. In case you are curious, there are the 6 units in the course:

1. You and your equipment
2. Capturing the image
3. Harnessing the light
4. Photographing people
5. Broadening your subject range
6. Professional pathways

Each unit is further broken down into various lessons, in which you have a combination of text to read, videos to watch, and audio recordings. I really enjoy the way each lesson is broken down into various mediums because it makes it more interactive and motivating to continue. I love that I can read a few lessons on my ipad before going to bed, or listen to an audio segment while doing dishes. You really have the opportunity to do this course anytime and anywhere! I had originally ordered the printed material, but since I had not received it after completing the first Unit, I called NYIP to cancel the order. They gave me a refund without any questions asked, which was great. Once I got started, I found that the web portal for the course is really well designed and I really did not need to use any printed materials.

I have to say that I have learned so much in Unit 1. Before starting the course, I was not able to use my camera in manual mode. After completing this small part of the course, I now use my camera exclusively in manual mode. In this unit, there was a lot of detail about the range of photography equipment that is out there, and there was also a great focus on how to use everything, including a great section on understanding the aperture, shutter speed and ISO to get sharp images. I still have lots of learning to do, but this is a major accomplishment that I am so pleased with. I feel like I have more control of my camera and can play with aperture and shutter speed to get the effect I want to show on a picture.

Each Unit ends with a multiple choice open book exam and a Photography Project to be submitted electronically. What is great about the Photoraphy Project is that it is reviewed by a professional photographer who provides audio comment on your work. In order to complete Unit 1, I had to submit 3 photos to demonstrate that I can do some of the techniques that we learned in that unit. Here are the photos I submitted:

Photograph 1 – Sense of Speed: For the first submission, I had to show a sense of speed with one of three techniques:

1. use a slow shutter speed to blur the image with a sharp background;
2. pan the camera to have a sharp subject and blurred background; or
3. set a high shutter speed to freeze the action.

My plan for the first photograph was to use a panning motion. I practiced on the streets of St. John’s to capture cars against the jelly bean coloured houses, but in the end, I got a nice shot of a bird taking off and decided to use that picture. It was pure luck as I just saw the bird and quickly changed my camera set ups to try and take a close up shot. I barely had time to set my camera and the bird started flying.  To get this shot, I used my 24-105mm lense at a 105mm focal legth, and set my camera in manual mode with f/4, shutter speed of 1/320 and ISO 200. I could have set the shutter speed a bit higher to really freeze the tip of its wings, but since the bird was not going very fast, a 1/320 shutter speed worked fairly well in this case.

Here is one of the shots where I practiced the panning technique. I did not end up submitting it because I am not quite pleased with the composition, but I will definitely keep practicing this technique, it gives quite interesting results!

Photograph 2 – Selective Focus: In this picture, I had to use a narrow depth of field to make the subject stand out. I went to a rocky beach in Holyrood to check out some icebergs and saw this old boat on the beach. I took a close up shot of the tip of the boat. I love the texture of the old paint and rusted metal. To get this shot, I used my 24-105mm lense at a 92mm focal legth, and set my camera in manual mode with f/4, shutter speed of 1/320 and ISO 200.

Photograph 3 – Feeling of Distance: In the last shot for Unit 1, I had to demonstrate that I can use the hyperfocal distance principles to get a view that stretches as far as the eye can see, with a great depth of field. In order to do this, we need to set the lens to a small aperture. In this case, I set my camera at f/22, with a shutter speed of 1/125 to try and make everything in focus, all the way to the horizon. For this shot, I wanted to get a bit of a close up of the iceberg so set my focal distance at 85mm. My instructor said the shot was good but suggested to use a wider focal distance to really maximize the effect.

I am loving this course and I really can’t wait to dive into the next Unit!!

If you are interested in learning about other sections of this course, here are the other units I completed and reviewed:

Unit 2 – Harnessing the Light

Unit 3 – Harnessing the Light

Note: This post is not sponsored. The opinions expressed in this post are my own.