Strobist Video

Immersion Training: Strobist® Video

2011-07-05T19:20:00.000-07:00

Strobist has over two thousand free articles on lighting -- including theory, practice and gear. It is the most comprehensive website devoted to lighting instruction in the world.

If you would like to learn in a more efficient visually-based medium, there are two DVD boxed sets available. These are the only two commercial products offered by Strobist.com.
__________

If you are a beginner, there is a full-day lighting seminar available on DVD. This is a start-from-zero course in lighting theory and practice. Released in May of 2008, Strobist Lighting Seminar is now in its sixth printing.

It's an 8-DVD boxed set featuring an entry-level session on gear, the full-day lighting seminar and eight bonus location shoots. It is $139.99, and a full description is here.
__________

If you have some experience (for instance, you have experimented with flash, or read Lighting 101 and/or 102, etc.) I recommend you jump straight to Strobist's second DVD series, Lighting in Layers. It is a 7-DVD set featuring an immersive ridealong into six real-world shoots. In addition to higher production values, Lighting in Layers includes significant post/during shoot discussion, lighting diagrams and a series of talks on setting up your own photo ecosystem.

The 7th DVD contains all of the content on the first 6 discs, ready to drag-and-drop into your portable player if you want to study on the go. Released in 2011, Lighting in Layers is $159.99 (DVD boxed set) or $99.99 (download). You can find out much more about it, plus view a trailer and finished photos, here.

Either way, thank you for your support. The proceeds from the video series support the site and keep it growing, to serve as the best possible resource on small-flash lighting in the world.

-David Hobby

DVD Boxed Set: Lighting in Layers

2011-01-30T08:25:00.000-08:00

NOTE: For those looking for the resource list for the gear used in the video, please click here.
__________

In May of 2008, this site introduced its first commercial offering, the Strobist Lighting Seminar on DVD. It was a start-from-zero tutorial, complete with a newb discussion, a lighting seminar and a set of bonus shoots which were mostly designed around teaching different basic lighting techniques.

A lot has changed since 2008.

The number of photographers using small flashes creatively has exploded, all over the world. And the way photographers share techniques and knowledge has evolved, too.

As a result, people's understanding of lighting has gotten more nuanced. Photographers around the world are pushing their small-flash skills into different outlets and business models. But others are still mired in the technical, searching for outlets for their new-found techniques.

Or spending way too much time photographing the cat in their basement studio.

To that end, I am happy to announce Strobist.com's second DVD installment, "Lighting in Layers"...

An Immersive Ride-Along

One of the best things that has happened as a result of starting Strobist is that I have had the chance to get to work with an steady group of enthusiastic, crowd-sourced assistants. Alas, my shoots are almost never big-budget affairs. Or, frequently, any budget. So any assistance is much appreciated.

(I'm looking at you, Dave, Erik, Lisa -- and lately, John and Sebastian)

In return, my hope is to make those shoots as educational as possible. And this kind of "learning-by-watching-and-doing thing" is very powerful. The regulars have grown more and more intuitive in their own lighting skills. I am very proud of them.

That process -- and more important, their progression -- is the idea behind Lighting in Layers. We started bringing cameras along on the shoots, and just left them rolling. But it's not just about the lighting. So we also included the peripheral stuff.

The thinking out loud, the subject interaction, the post-mortem discussions, the lighting diagrams -- all are opportunities to gain understanding about a shoot in particular, and photography in general. So while the video series is very lighting-centric, we left room for a more wide-angled perspective, too.

No Scripts

With the exception of the first shoot, which is more instructional in nature, we wanted to make the final product as much as possible like being a fly on the wall at a shoot. So we let them breathe. Generally, I am shooting through one eye, trying to keep rapport with the subject through the other and talking over my shoulder to you -- all at the same time. Sometimes it gets a little crazy.

If you have never synced a flash off-camera before, you might find the Strobist Lighting Seminar DVD set to be a more appropriate series. It is a little more al dente than this one, granted, but starts from absolute zero. In it, you will get the technical background to be ready to start to explore your own path. It is a little dated (again, things have changed since 2008) but it is a fire hose of information for newbs.

In Lighting in Layers, we pick it up where the first set leaves off. If you are already comfortable with Lighting 101, you'll be fine, too. There is a little remedial stuff early on, but it is mostly real-world, real-time problem solving.

It is not "show off" lighting, either. Just dealing with the problems the subjects and locations throw at us. Not so much aiming for the fences every time, rather than learning to hit for average.

And sometimes, how to hit a curve ball, too.

Our Format

The complete set features six full shoots, spanning nearly nine hours over 6 DVDs. The first shoot was originally designed to be a teaching vehicle. Something process-oriented, to bring the newbs up to speed pretty quickly. But it ended up morphing into an exploration of a white room full of windows and Ramona, a young businesswoman with a mind to explore local modeling.

Ordinarily, that's not my normal cup of tea. But it allowed us to work through the day in teaching mode without slighting the subject of a more traditional shoot. The remaining five shoots are more real-world, and a accurate cross section of my chosen focus of community-oriented photography.

There are shoots for local organizations -- a dancer for the Howard County Arts Council, three young goalkeepers for a local soccer club and a blacksmith, shot for the Howard County Conservancy.

Speaking of the Conservancy, we included a behind-the-scenes feature on the recent meet-up/group shoot 15 local photographers did for that organization in November. This is something I very much hope will replicate itself all around the world -- it's immensely fun and rewarding.

There are also editorial shoots, all done for HoCo360, a local visual journal which I am nurturing into a standalone business for my next 20 years as a photographer. We photographed a local beekeeper for a piece on the various encroachments they face, and also spent an evening with an epic group of fencers tucked away in a local industrial park.

All of the photos on this page were produced using only speedlights during the shooting of the DVDs. You can see a fuller set, bigger, here.

A 360-Degree Approach

And speaking of building a business, we spend some time talking about that, too. The business of photography is in a state of flux, what with the decline of traditional print and the rise of zero-cost publishing online. I have spent more time thinking about my particular place in that new photo food chain than nearly anything else over the last few years.

The truth is, it is a very scary time to be an editorial photographer -- which is what I consider myself to be, if an atypical one. But it is also a fantastic time to be a photographer, with low-cost digital technology available to both create and publish your photos.

So I have developed an approach to my shooting that draws on 20+ years' experience as a community photojournalist -- and another five as a caffeine-laced blogger. That separate discussion weaves throughout the whole series. And, as with the lighting, I try to be as open and honest about the business side as possible.

My primary goal is to try to be happy and fulfilled as a photographer, to create work that is of value to others and to do so in a way that is economically sustainable. Period.

Is my roadmap the exact same one you would use? Almost certainly not. But the point is to open up new lines of thought in your own head when you're plotting your own photographic path.

So in the end, we try to tie it all together with a full, detailed look at the business ecosystem I have developed for my own shooting. For me, this obviously includes this website as a component. But there is a lot more.

And for those of you who are accountants, real estate agents, students -- whatever -- my hope is that this walk-thru will help you to examine your own potential as a photographer.

Eat In, or Take Out

For those of you who decide to purchase the set, your support makes it possible for this site to continue to thrive. And for that, I am very grateful.

So we worked long and hard to include a high density level of information in this series -- both the discussion kind and the kind that you get by just hanging out watching things happen. My hope is that you will find value in the experience.

And for those of you who want to be able to take it with you -- either while shooting or during your mass-transit commute or whatever -- it could not be easier. There is a seventh DVD included. It is a DVD-ROM which includes a duplicate copy of all of the video, compressed and formatted to be dropped into your iOS or Android device via iTunes or other media managers. Just don't pop this disc into your DVD player. Because unlike the other six DVDs it won't work there.

Discuss Amongst Yourselves

As with the first set of DVDs, there is now a Flickr thread set up in which to ask questions, post (or link to) reviews, compare notes and get answers. This is much better than doing the questions 1-on-1 via Twitter or email (ahem, especially via email) as other people will learn from the process, too.

If you are not a member of Flickr it is free and easy to join. And if you live in "one of those" countries, use Firefox and the latest Flickr unblock workaround. We'll be waiting for you when you get there.

How to Get Them

The Lighting in Layers 6+1 DVD set is $159.95 in hard copy DVD set, or $99.95 instant download (see below).

DVDs are now available at Midwest Photo and Gulf Photo Plus.

The downloadable version ($99.95 USD) is available through Fastspring. I know many non-US readers were waiting on this due to delays on shipping (and customs fees) for hard copy DVDs. Content-wise it is the same drag-and-drop (iPhone/iPad/iPod, laptop, Android, etc.) file-set that is included as a bonus along with the $159.95 hard copy version. They are 640x480 .mp4 files, encoded via h.264 for maximum compatibility file size economy (2.9Gb total) for portable media players.

PLEASE NOTE: If you want to test the CODEC on your machine first, you can download a short vignette in the exact same format via Mediafire, for free.
__________

Gear List for Lighting in Layers

2011-01-28T17:18:00.000-08:00

For those who want more info and sources, a list of the gear used in the individual shoots for the Lighting in Layers video series. Where practical, I am pointing to the manufacturer. On discontinued items, eBay can be a good source but I also have listed some substitute ideas.
__________

Basics 1

LumoPro background stand kit
Savage 9' white seamless paper
Cheap clamps from Home Depot

Basics 2

Nikon SB-800 (Discontinued. Can substitute LP160)
Standard light stand
Cheap clamps from Home Depot
Westcott 43" shoot-through umbrella
LumoPro umbrella swivels
frio cold shoes
Sekonic L-358 flash meter
Botero #023 5x7' flex backdrop

Basics 3

Nikon SB-800 (Discontinued. Can substitute LP160)
LumoPro LP604 compact stands
LumoPro normal stand
LumoPro umbrella swivels
frio cold shoes
Westcott 43" shoot-through umbrella
LumiQuest Soft Box III
LumiQuest Ultra Strap

Basics 4

Nikon SB-800s (Discontinued - can substitute LP160)
Voice-activated Light Stand (AKA Erik Couse)
LumoPro LP604 compact stands
Standard light stand
Orbis Ring Flash Adapter
frio cold shoes
Westcott 43" shoot-through umbrella
Nikon SC-17 (discontinued - cheap on eBay, or pay up for the new SC-29)

Basics 5

Nikon SB-800s (Discontinued - can substitute LP160)
LumoPro LP604 compact stands
LumiQuest Soft Box III
LumiQuest Ultra Strap
Standard light stand
Orbis Ring Flash Adapter
frio cold shoes
Westcott 43" shoot-through umbrella

Basics 6

Nikon SB-800s (Discontinued - can substitute LP160)
LumoPro LP160 compact stand
LumoPro LP604 compact stands
LumiQuest Soft Box III
LumiQuest Ultra Strap
Standard light stand
frio cold shoes
Manfrotto Justin Clamp

Sticky the Frog

Nikon SB-800 (Discontinued - can substitute LP160)
Nikon SC-17 (discontinued - cheap on eBay, or pay up for the new SC-29)
LumiQuest LTp
LumiQuest Ultra Strap

Blacksmith 1

LumoPro LP160 compact stand
Nikon SB-800s (Discontinued - can substitute LP160)
LumoPro LP604 compact stands
Standard light stands
Westcott 43" shoot-through umbrella
frio cold shoes
LumoPro umbrella swivels

Blacksmith 2

Nikon SB-800s (Discontinued - can substitute LP160) with diffusion dome
Gaffer's tape
Nikon SC-17 cord (discontinued -- very cheap on eBay)
LumoPro LP604 compact stands
Standard light stand
LumiQuest Soft Box III
LumiQuest Ultra Strap

Dancer

LumoPro background stand kit
Savage 9' white seamless paper
LumoPro LP604 compact stand
Standard light stands
LumoPro umbrella swivels
frio cold shoes
Paul Buff 13' stand and boom
Inexpensive sand bags for stability
Nikon SB-800s (Discontinued - can substitute LP160)
Cheap clamps from Home Depot
David Honl 5" snoot
PocketWizard +II's
Westcott 43" shoot-through umbrella
Spaghetti box snoots (fit SB-800s perfectly)
Gaffer's tape

Dance on Black

LumoPro LP604 compact stand
Standard light stands
Cheap clamps from Home Depot
Umbrella swivels
frio cold shoes
Nikon SB-800 (Discontinued - can substitute LP160)
David Honl 5" snoot
Paul Buff Boom kit
Inexpensive sand bags for stability
Westcott 43" shoot-through umbrella
PocketWizard +II's

Soccer GK and portraits

Standard light stands
Nikon SB-800 (Discontinued - can substitute LP160)
frio cold shoe
LumiQuest Ultra Strap
LumiQuest LTp
Nikon D70s, for high sync - Discontinued but can be had pretty cheap on eBay. Also D40 will do this. Canon users can grab an original 1D, which also does this cool trick.

Beekeeper

Standard light stand
Nikon SB-800 (Discontinued - can substitute LP160)
David Honl 1/8" grid
PocketWizard +II's
Nikon D3 w/35/1.8 (small-chip) lens

Bees closeup

Orbis Ring Flash Adapter
Nikon D3
55/2.8 manual lens (waaay discontinued -- any macro lens would do)
SC-17 cord (discontinued - cheap on eBay)

Fencing portrait

LumoPro LP604 compact stand
Paul Buff Boom kit
Inexpensive sand bags for stability
Nikon SB-800 (Discontinued - can substitute LumoPro LP160)
LumoPro LP160
Photek SoftLighter II (60")
Orbis Ring Flash Adapter
Nikon D3 w/24-70 f/2.8

Fencing Action Shot

24" Silk Lantern (Woot: Only $6.98!)
Fishing Line (Wal Mart)
1/4" x 20 eye bolt with a wing nut (Home Depot)
O-ring and clip for quick release and attachment (from my junk drawer)
Standard light stand
Nikon SB-800 (Discontinued - can substitute LP160)
Nikon D3 w/24-70 f/2.8
__________

(Full info on Lighting in Layers DVD set, here.)

Strobist Lighting Seminar on DVD

2011-01-07T10:42:00.001-08:00

UPDATE: Are you reading this from outside of the US? Strobist DVDs, now in their sixth printing, are now being shipped from the US, the UK and Asia. This should significantly reduce shipping costs, time and duties from international readers. (Details at the end of the post.)
__________

What began last summer as an idea over a pair of delicious Chipotle burritos is now here: The Strobist lighting seminar is now on DVD.

Keep reading to find out what it is, whether it might be suited for you, and how to get it.

Right off the bat, many thanks to those of you who have expressed both interest and encouragement over the past months -- and especially to those who helped on the project. Yes, everything took longer than I expected. But in the end I think we came away with something that will pull together the learning process for a lot of people.

NOTE: Throughout this post, I have included photos which were shot for the DVD. You can see more photos here.

Before I get to what it is, I want to explain what it is not.

First, it's not slick at all. I'm not into the infomercial-in-the-studio type of thing, because (a) it's not my style, and (b) that is not the way things happen the real world. Or at least, in mine.

Being a self-funded project, we were presented with a continuous series of hard choices and priorities. For every choice that had to be made between content or bells and whistles, we went for content.

Basically we were just hanging out and shooting. It could not have been more casual. It was hot and we were dressed for it. Or rather, undressed for it.

Rochelle, above left, got to enjoy a nice, cool pool for this shot. Whereas we got to sweat through heat, humidity and yellow-greenish sodium vapor lights.

A bad day in shorts and a T-shirt is better than a good day in a suit, I always say.

I was mic'd and we had still photos popping up onscreen as we shot. We decided that shooting in HD would have left us with way many terabytes of raw footage. So we chose to shoot in plain old DV so we could more easily go long-form with the content.

In the end, the look may have been closer to home movies than high-end video. But the net result was that we were able to include many more situations with the same resources. Besides, mine is a face that benefits from lower resolution.

We started with the idea of creating a two-hour DVD and trying to condense as much as we could into that. When the dust settled we had eight DVDs and about ten hours of content. The price will be $139.00 US. (Which, if you are in almost any other country, is probably getting cheaper every day due to our plummeting dollar...)

What's On It?

The first disc is a discussion about lighting gear -- what you need, how it works, syncing options, etc. This is for the inevitable people who will be watching the series without having read Lighting 101.

Discs two through five are from a lighting seminar that was held in Columbia, MD, last September. A bunch of cool folks dragged their butts out of bed early on a Sunday morning (I am not sure Katy the Night Owl ever totally woke up until after lunch) and we talked lighting and shot photos all day.

The format was similar to that of the lighting seminars I have given in hotel conference rooms in many different places over the last two years. Looking at the morning session, I can see now that I was clearly a bit nervous at the idea of going straight through a day like that live on film. But by midday that was long forgotten and we were having fun.

(Seminar photo by David Hoffmann. More here.)

As is the usual format, the morning was for theory (Lighting 102 format) and the afternoon was for shooting. The photo at left is one of the shots from the afternoon.

As an example, I have uploaded a ten-minute clip of this shot being done in the conference room:

This is typical of the seminar sessions and how we shoot and talk the results through. Just working in the environment we have (i.e., usually not much) and improvising through different lighting techniques. This, like all of the shots on the DVDs, is technique-driven and designed to show different ways to light using small flashes.

We did several other shots that afternoon, but as is always the case we never have the time or environment to do all of the examples we want.

So the remaining DVDs (six through eight) are a series of nine location shoots in which I was mic'd and had stills popping up as we were shooting.

We did head shots, indoor and outdoor portraiture -- even an eleven-person group shot in a room that can best be described as sadistic for small flashes.

I also decided to do something that ended up being very difficult as a photographer -- to leave the camera running while I made mistakes and tried to solve problems. Sometimes it is not pretty. But I feel that the best way to learn is not just to learn camera technique, but to see how others solve problems when the curve balls start coming.

We decided to air it out, too. Rather than just editing down to highlights, I think it is valuable to see pretty much the entire workflow, to the extent it is practical. (This would have been much more pleasant if I were a tall, lanky supermodel. But I do try to make up for it with bad jokes.)

Some of the problems we faced were painfully obvious and thoroughly complained about -- my plan to bounce lights off of the group portrait room evaporated when the ceiling turned out to be 30 feet high and dark-paneled. Oh, and with a curved, dark wooden background, too. And way dark. Yeesh.

But that is what we often get. And I believe that being able to improvise your way through those problems is an important skill.

We shot in conference rooms, in fields, in a gym, in busy hallways -- as was the case for the shot of a kendo practitioner at left. (How could I turn down that red background?)

One of my favorite things about photography is working around the limitations of a shooting environment. We never set foot in a studio. This is not about expensive gear and/or exotic locations. Heck, we even did one shoot with a Canon G7 just for kicks.

But some of the problems were more subtle, and/or personal in nature. You will recognize those, too, and how we solved them -- even if we could not comfortably articulate them out loud at the time.

Who Are They For?

Granted, most of the pros reading this will likely look at all of the photos and say, "Yeah, I can do that." And that's great. But it is easy to forget where we were when we all started out.

For what it's worth, when I write for the blog my target is usually myself as a 22-year-old (green) pro. I would put these DVDs at the level of advanced amateur. Especially for people who can learn better by watching someone actually doing something -- and having them think out loud during the process.

For all of the good things about photography, one of the worst is the fact that we so often shoot by ourselves. We never get to see others' workflow and thought process. That is all changing now with the web. And I am trying to nurture that change in small part with this project.

It is important to note that no great new lighting secrets are revealed on these DVDs. We work every day with the same gear, and the same laws of physics. And if you have been reading this site since the beginning, the vast majority of the material will be familiar ground -- although all of the shoots are new and done just for this project.

But for many people, I think watching the process is a big aid for learning. And I hope that seeing it done will be of benefit to many of you who quietly lurk but maybe feel uncomfortable throwing your photos into the Flickr pool. I especially want to help to jump start you folks.

For Readers Outside the USA

Three things to mention. First, Midwest Photo will ship worldwide. But if you are anywhere in the EU, it will be cheaper to get them from The Flash Centre in the UK. For those of you in Asia and the Middle East, they are now shipping from Dubai, too. Details and links below.

Second, the DVDs are coded Region 0 (which is, essentially, region-free) and are in the NTSC format. So you should have some way to play NTSC DVDs (many players play multi formats, as do many laptops) whenever you are. There are no plans to go PAL or SECAM any time soon.

Last, for those of you who read English better than you hear it, the DVDs are subtitled in English. So if you can read the blog, you should be able to understand the DVDs.

Especially on that last point, (and for everything else) I would like to thank Bill Millios, a long-time Strobist reader and my partner on this project, for his insistence on including subtitling with the DVDs. Bill happens to be hearing impaired, but sold me on the subtitles for a variety of good reasons.

I would not have thought of that, and I think many more people will be able to understand the videos because of his foresight. More on Bill at his site: Hopeland Studios.

Questions/ Ongoing Discussion

I have set up an ongoing discussion thread for the DVDs. If you have questions/comments arising from the various shoots or seminar, etc., please post them here. I am starting this thread rather than a normal comment stream, as the Flickr thread makes for a more efficient discussion venue.

If you have any shipping-related questions, those should be directed towards MPEX rather than placed in the discussion thread.
____________

Strobist Lighting DVDs are available Midwest Photo for $139.00, and at The Flash Centre in the UK (and EU) for £102.35 incl. VAT. No duties to UK/EU if shipped from TFC.

And, as of August 2009, they are also shipping from Gulf Photo Plus (US$139.95) in Dubai, which should reduce shipping costs and times throughout Asia and the Middle East.

And special thanks to Rui M. Leal for his comprehensive "Review from the EU" here.

Thank you!

2011-01-01T18:08:00.000-08:00

Thanks so much for the Lighting in Layers videos. I sincerely hope they help you continue grow as a photographer.

And if you do have any questions, please don't use the email associated with the PayPal account. Instead, visit the project-specific discussion group linked in the main Lighting in Layers video page. We have an organic discussion that will develop to allow people to share info. That way, any lighting questions can be answered in public -- and will help others, too.

Thanks again for your support,
David

Be One of the Good Guys.

2011-01-01T17:58:00.000-08:00

Fact #1: Many people will acquire Lighting in Layers via, shall we say, channels other than retail -- P2P, D/Ls, etc.

Fact #2: There is absolutely nothing I can do to stop it. So it does no good to be angry. It's just the way things are.
__________

And I do realize that for many of you, grabbing the low-res h.264 files off of the 'net will be far and away the most logistically efficient way to get the video content. In fact, we spent a lot of time balancing quality vs. bandwidth to get the 8.5 hours of DVD content down to <3Gb.

And yeah, including DRM-free, drag-and-drop version on every DVD set we sold probably didn't help, in terms of how many people will just torrent it. But we thought it was the right thing to do.

If you did torrent it my hope is that you will take a moment to realize how much time, effort and out-of-money this stuff costs to produce. And that the overwhelming majority of the content on Strobist is already free. So if you have gotten something of value out of this set and want to do the right thing, it's pretty easy to do so.

If you downloaded or P2P'd Lighting in Layers and want to give back/pay it forward, please click here to do what you can via PayPal. The amount is entirely up to you, and anything is appreciated.

At its heart, Strobist.com is a one-person operation. And your support for Lighting in Layers makes a difference for its ongoing existence. Either way, I hope we were able to turn on some switches in your brain and open up some new possibilities. That was the whole idea, after all.

Thank you,
DH