Digital On-Camera Flash

Better light quality, color and exposure using any flash in AUTO, MANUAL or TTL exposure modes.
In this video, we improve the light quality of the biggest troublemaker in the digital photo world, on-camera flash with digital expert Will Crockett. The good news is that we now have a wide variety of flash tools to make some terrific images quickly and profitablty. But the bad news is that some of the digital camera and flash systems don't quite work as advertised. So let's take look at the problems most photographers face when shooting with on-camera flash, then a variety of solutions to fix or just deal with the problem and make the best photos possible.

"We've solved just about all of the on-camera flash problems by taking a completely different approach - working backwards. Choose the light quality you need FIRST, then let us show you the best, easiest, and smartest way to use it in your everyday work " - Will Crockett


RAW? JPEG? White Balance Settings? Diffusion?
Which settings are the best? All of them. You need to know what each one of these settings does for you and how to put them to work. Smart photographers shoot RAW when they needs to, JPEG when it's the right choice, and know how to shoot an on-camera flash photo with confidence and control over exposure and color values.

TTL: Here's how to make it work.
We've poured 6 months of research into figuring out the Canon, Nikon and Fuji TTL systems and shot over 10,000 test frames using a wide variety of pro grade flashes to provude you with the facts you need to make your TTL system work. Also included in this DVD are the TTL tips from two world-class on camera flash shooters; Paul Gero and John Kringas.

Hardware decisions made easy.
Those of you who are regular readers of shootsmarter.com or who are "Will Crockett fans" know that we don't pull any punches. During our testing, we discovered the flash hardware that works, and the combinations of cameras and flashes the work well together. Our flash hardware recommended list, and why we have chosen them is all here for you.

Light modifiers: choosing the right one for you.
Bounce cards, diffusion caps, ceiling bounce, bounce + direct blends all have their place in flash photography. We shoot a terrific series of sample images of a gorgeous bride using a wide variety of flash light modifiers to show you how well, and how easy you can sculpt your light quality.

Exposure problems? Solved.
Will Crockett is widely considered "the" expert on digital exposure control and this DVD outlines the camera settings, the choices between TTL, AUTO, and MANUAL flash exposure modes - and shows you how to use each one correctly. No one mode is perfect for all your photo assignments, so let's learn how to use the tools you already have?

Chapter ONE:
PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
The first goal of this video is to guide you to the right way to use the tools you already have. The second goal is to show you how to create better quality light for all your OCF shooting situations. Both have their own series of problems we need to solve.

Chapter TWO:
CHOOSING LIGHT QUALITY
The end result (a nice picture) is much more important that how you got there, so let’s take a glimpse at what we can do as far as the look and feel of our OCFlash images so we can decide what type of photographic light quality we want.

Chapter THREE:
INDOORS vs. OUTDOORS
How ‘bout we take a quick review of the light quality choices we have for indoors and outdoors?

Chapter FOUR:
EXPOSURE ISSUES EXPOSED
No matter which type of light modifer we choose, we need to keep it in control with regard to exposure.

Chapter FIVE:
EXPOSURE MODES: A AA, TTL, AUTO, MANUAL
We have three basic types of controlling exposure in the OCFlash world: Manual, AUTO and TTL. Each has their place in professional photography, but where and when?

Chapter SIX:
TTL EXPOSURE MODES
There has been a TON of technology poured into the TTL systems in the past few years. Each new TTL camera and flash gets better and better, but we cannot rely on TTL to make all of our exposure decisions unless we discover where TTL fails. Here’s how to make your TTL system work better.

Chapter SEVEN:
MANUAL EXPOSURE MODE
Some photographers don’t have the patience nor tolerance for automated exposure systems that cause trouble. Instead, they take the old-school manual exposure route and shoot JPEGS with exposures as tight as a drum. We’ll show you how they do it.

Chapter EIGHT:
AUTO EXPOSURE MODE
Resting comfortably between TTL and manual exposure methods is auto exposure. Auto mode does a respectable job and is the cornerstone to many successful OCFlash shooters who rely on JPEG exposure tolerances for their bread and butter. Let’s take a closer look?

Chapter NINE:
CHOOSING THE RIGHT MODE AND MODIFIER FOR YOU
Wow, TTL, AUTO, MANUAL modes, direct, diffused, bounce bounce+direct. How are you going to choose the right system for your OCFlash images? Let’s make it easy by narrowing down the choices you have to look at.

Chapter TEN:
HARDWARE: CHOOSE THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB
There is nothing worse to a photographer than not having the right tool for the job, or worse, having the wrong tool for the job. Here’s our top performing flashes and (in our opinion) the only ones you should be using.

Chapter ELEVEN:
SHOOTING VERTICAL IMAGES
We all need to flip between shooting horizontally and vertically. But once we get your flash and light modifiers set, how can we just turn them sideways and get good light? Here’s some tips.

Chapter TWELVE:
USING TWO LIGHTS
So many photographers ignore a second flash because they think it’s too much work and effortor it’s just not worth it, but let me show you some neat ideas for making your flash images so much more appealing than your competitions images?

Chapter THIRTEEN:
WIRELESS TRIGGERING
So how are we going to trigger these single and two light shots? Simple. We have a few different ways that work well.

Chapter FOURTEEN:
THE IMPOSSIBLE TASK
Keeping an eye on technology pays off.



FORMAT:
DVD Video in NTSC format, non-region coded.

CONTENT:
Practical technique in Will's typical "regular guy" language for the setup, shooting, file prep and process, and printing of DSLR-based workflow for the professional and semi-professional photographer ranging from wedding and portrait, to editorial and commercial shooters.

TARGET AUDIENCE:
PROFESSIONAL AND SEMI-PRO PHOTOGRAPHERS AS WELL AS TO COMMITTED PHOTOGRAPHY STUDENTS AND ADVANCED PHOTO ENTHUSIASTS. BEGINNERS, PLEASE START WITH OUR PRO SOLUTIONS DVD FIRST BEFORE JUMPING INTO THIS ONE?

LENGTH:
76 minutes of running time.