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Quick Start - Flash

This course is one of a series of quick start 'shorts' we offer, the idea of the quick start, is to give you rapidly just enough information to get you started rather than the whole picture across ground that you are not necessarily going to use immediately. Being one to one you should still cover and understand over twice as much ground as you would in a day group course. It is also relevant to the camera and equipment that you personally have now.

Run with and for you personally, you cannot get left behind, or attend this course and be unable to use your camera. It is relevant to you, your interests and the equipment that you have now. Delivered by the most experienced and knowledgeable tutors who specialise in Nikon cameras only, and know every one well.

We start by finding out about your interest and where you have got to so far. The equipment that you have or are about to get.

If necessary we explain and show you each of the Nikon flash units the SB200, SB400*, SB600 . SB800, as well as the two macro kits and the SU800 controller/commander. We have all of these here except the SB400. If you already have a flash unit and are not at this stage looking at getting any other this is skipped.

What is covered:

• We go over the flash controls on your camera
• how to set them up using the buttons and menu options
• how to use the inbuilt flash where you have one.
• The combination of other exposure controls with flash and other facilities within your camera and its settings that have a baring on flash, such as the flash preview and FV lock are reviewed.
• We go over the controls on the flash unit(s) you have or are going to get, their capabilities and how you can use them.
• We look at techniques in using flash, including direct flash, bounce flash, use of diffusers and other accessories or facilities that the units you have or are getting can provide.

If the camera or equipment you have, or are getting has a commander function we explain how these work, and demonstrate their use before showing you how to set this up yourself in detail. The use of the commanders and remote flashes with no wires between them is known as the Nikon Creative Lighting System.

We show you how reflectors can be used and both DIY and bought in reflectors. Reflectors can be used in some cases instead of a flash unit, as well as often with them. In some cases a flash reflector can be used with flash units to give the same effect as several flash units.

Any other relevant items that you have such as flash extension leads, flash cubes etc is also looked at and their use explained.

The objective of this quick start  is to get you fully functional with either the flash equipment that you have or are about to obtain. It is not the breadth of coverage that you get from a day course.

Course Code:- CIS-QUS-FL

Other options

The difference between this course and the flash and creative lighting day course, also run by Camera Images, is that the day long course has both the time to explore a wider range of equipment and possibilities, as well as looking at both a mains and creative lighting portrait studio setup and a backlight background called a HiLite. The day course also has a couple of hours of practical with a model, allowing you to get both a wider theoretical knowledge and some practical experience of using a flash studio setup. There are other shorts that cover this ground and you can add them on the same day or come back later to take these if you prefer this route now or later.

The using flash short is similar to this one, and covers the flash units and creative lighting. It is more general in nature covering wider ground rather than covering just your current needs. It covers most of the ground covered by the day course but does not include the practical session with a model.

See also our Lighting and Reflectors Section