The secret to lighting

[@mehdialiani5482]

The best ever 10mins lesson, ppl that have dedicated to photography knows that how stunning and important is this minutes!

[@sittingbull9986]

This has to be the best demonstration of the inverse square law on the web! And all this in under 12 minutes. Well done Sir!

[@thatboy353]

I don't say this about many people... nor would I if i wasn't on the internet but your accent is like a fresh breath of air, its very easy to understand and follow what you're saying. Thanks for the videos!

[@PhillipMcCordall]

My mother always said to me "Phillip don't drop the Ts when you speak" she's 93 and sill says it when she watches my tutorials :))

[@AgnishChakrabortyarka]

you just dropped the T.... ;) anyways sir, your tutorials are a great way to learn which nobody ever taught us before.

[@anewcareerinanewtown]

Great to have someone with years of industry experience who can pass their knowledge on in an understandable and humourous way without gimmicks, annoying music or trying to be 'cool'. Looking forward to more photographic wisdom.

[@titroxmexico]

You are the best internet Master Teacher... thank you again Phillip.

[@LongTimeTTFan]

Thank you so much for going through the trouble sharing your knowledge. Your demonstration and explanation make it much easier for the lay people like myself to comprehend the otherwise obscure concepts/rules. You are an excellent teacher. Thank you again.

[@PhillipMcCordall]

The f90 represents the fstop required for the correct exposure, so when it's very bright a small aperture represented by a high number f90 in this case. A large aperture represented by a low number f22 is letting more light through the lens would create the correct exposure for the dark end.

[@PhillipMcCordall]

Quite right , neutral density filters do exist in rolls but ther'e very expensive, thanks a very good point. Phill

[@PhillipMcCordall]

Thankyou , I'm glad you appreciate them. Phill

[@hbertini]

Now you've made me rethink the portrait lighting awareness! I usually feel concerned about the contrast and sometimes find myself drowning into trial&error, wasting my patience and the model's. Thanks a lot for your great work Phill! :) Cheers, Hugo

[@mossaic13]

Awesome Phil... This lesson has got to be the most informative video on youtube. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge. Thanks

[@PhillipMcCordall]

Thankyou I'm glad you enjoy them. Phill

[@PhillipMcCordall]

The problem is the same for every type of light used, it's just the degree of difference that changes, I think it's something that can be used as a tool rather than thinking about it as a disadvantage, that's why I left it a little open ended. You're right in saying a large light source and more power gives you less falloff , although the shadow will be more defined than if the light was closer. Phill

[@ef451ye]

Hello Phillip, I've just bought myself a Yongnuo YN660. It's manual as I have a Pentax and they don't make TTL for them and that's why I'm watching various videos to learn how to use it properly. I had absolutely no idea about the inverse square law and that's why I'm very grateful for your videos. You explain everthing so well and you are lightyears from being boring. Cheers once again Phillip.

[@DAW1968]

Extremely important and very useful lesson, many thanks. I do enjoy your videos mate, clear and to the point without the need for any fancy nonsense. Darren.

[@herminigildojakosalem8664]

I really want to get this into my head so I will watch this over and over again. Thanks, Phill.

[@RedSoxKal]

I just started learning photography and I've discovered your videos Mr Phillip McCordall. Let me tell you, they are one of the best compared to the rest of youtube photography channels. I have subscribed right away. Your teaching style is clear, understandable and the variety of videos are great. Great work :)

[@efemerum]

This is what is missing in my life! Good old theoretical photography. The machine does it all and when we want to do it by ourselves we do not know how because we do not truly understand the principles behind it. I am you fan. Thank you

[@TheOpenDataLab]

Thank you so much for this lesson. I am a student of science (PhD in toxicology to be specific) and take picture to tickle my creative side. Like many other scientists I know my concepts but find it hard to put them in simpler words so that a person from non scientific background could understand. I think photography has taught me how science can be translated into art in a very beautiful way. You have rightly said at the end that this lesson is a lot deeper than it appears. I know the concepts of physics that apply in this little experiment that you conducted but to visualise them through photography emphasises its importance in every person's life.

[@justininfrance]

Genius. Thanks Philip, I will watch this repeatedly until it stays in my brain.

[@PhillipMcCordall]

Thanks' for your support :))

[@louenriquez]

I just discovered your channel today and I'm very happy I did. Keep up the great work my friend. I really appreciate your talent, skill and knowledge!

[@majam1n]

Thanks for putting the time in to do an explanation WITH a demonstration. Straightforward and informative. Love this channel.

[@DaddyGuiver]

Thanks Phillip. Being new to photography, your videos are a joy to watch. You make them interesting, informative and most importantly enjoyable to watch. This video was particularly very helpful as before I just used the Auto setting on my camera and allowed it to make all the decisions. I now am getting to the point where the Manual function is not such a scary place and I have enough knowledge to being experimenting more. You now have a new subscriber for sure :)

[@hakobart2]

I enjoy your lessons. You talk so easy, so natural and so deep. I would like to got a chance to work with a professional artist and interesting person like you. Thank you for your videos. You help so much!

[@robertobrancofilho]

Wow, this was really good! No edition frills to distract you from the subject and lots of good, deep knowledge! Congrats!

[@annafennell1273]

I love shadow and light so a huge thank you for taking the mystery out of it! :)

[@bernios3446]

A hugely instructive video, so basic, so important, so revealing. A Big thank you from Berlin...

[@poodledude100]

Great stuff, thanks for taking the time to do this Phillip.

[@kungfuhaggis3489]

When I started watching this I was a bit unsure on what I was going to learn, by then end I felt it was was of the most interesting things about light I could have learned, thankyou

[@PhillipMcCordall]

Thanks Brad

[@tarunbhatia5889]

Thank you so much sir for this lesson!! This has changed the way I will be looking at off camera lighting from now on!

[@babarghias]

As always, a Great upload. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.

[@sonhaipeterpham4557]

well well well, when everything is automatic, people seem to forget about the basic theory that you are teaching! old fashion but gold!

[@stitch413]

Very much appreciated, Thank you. A well explained lesson - I could never quite grasp the inverse square law from other explanations - but your inclusion of the demonstration and the consequences on the hardness of the light hit the nail on the head for me! cheers

[@dkdude]

Thank's a lot mate! that's been very helpful and interesting to watch and learn. waiting for more of your tutorials! regards!

[@OlcayMsrloglu]

Thank you very much for your efforts. It is an episode for everybody, not only for novice.. Olcay from Istanbul/Turkey

[@papapintos]

You really are a master.. i never really understood the concept untill i saw your video .. absolutely lovely.. thanks a lot.. :)

[@herminigildojakosalem8664]

Thank you for teaching me. However, its all new and foreign to me that I have to watch these tutorial videos of yours over and over again before it all sink in. Have a long, long life so that you could teach me plenty more.

[@PhillipMcCordall]

Thankyou :)

[@jacquelinehotard5749]

The was one extraordinary and very valuable tutorial.. Thanks so much!!!

[@jlcst60]

I did enjoy that Phillip and never thought I would hear myself say that thanks mate. Hope your keeping well

[@catsinspace3815]

thank you for all your hard work! this was a great lesson and will help in so many ways! Thanks again!

[@RandellJohn]

Great video and one of the finest examples of a practical demonstration of the inverse square law on the net. It's particularly good because you actually demonstrate how a light source further away from the subject will cast a harder shadow. Digging a little deeper you can easily see how light source to subject distance is an important consideration when controlling different zones of exposure in a scene. You should get yourself on 'Creative Live'.

[@DRI1966]

Thank You, this was really clear. I was not aware of the impact on the shadows.

[@PhillipMcCordall]

The difference between f32 and f90 is three stops, which means at f32 there is 8 times more light entering the lens than f90. I would be surprised if I said 8 stops, although when I get time , I'll have a look and check. Phill

[@Luisif3r]

This is so helpful and very simply explained. Thanks!

[@janeclemmons8625]

Thanks! This is very important to know and I had no idea about it up to now.

[@saffronfalcon]

thank you for sharing with us your knowledge and experiences that you have gathered over the years. its really tough to find this content. the crux of photography, lighting. digital processors and sensors have empowered as well as crippled us. we rely a bit too much on a computer to tell us what is good and what is not. thank you for showing what it really takes to understand light.

[@PhillipMcCordall]

Will do probably in about three weeks. Phill

[@antonysnape]

Hi Phil Always enjoy your tutorials. No middle finger from me, just a good old Aussie thumbs up :) Keep up the great work. Regards Antony

[@maplou]

Vous êtes un excellent pédagogue. Merci!

[@theengagementguy]

Wonderful! Just super and totally necessary!

[@zasvedogovore]

Everything is perfect. Thanks for this lesson, it helped a lot.

[@franklock6696]

amazing amount of information. thank you.

[@PhillipMcCordall]

Modern lenses use a standard f-stop scale, which is an approximately geometric sequence of numbers that corresponds to the sequence of the powers of the square root of 2: f/1, f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22, f/32, f/45, f/64, f/90, f/128, etc. It's amazing what you learn on Google :)

[@betb48]

Very interesting...well explained .

[@JimProng]

If only all the instructional video's on KZbin were as good as yours. Many thanks.

[@PhillipMcCordall]

Thankyou, I was worried that this one would be a bit difficult to understand, you've made my day with your comment, Thankyou Phill

[@JimProng]

+Phillip McCordall Unlike you, I'm a relative newcomer to photography Phil, but like you I'm retired but still working :-). I've had a Nikon D90 for a few years but still have not spent the time on it I should have, so your videos are being a big help to get me started. I wish I'd watched before I bought a Flash as I could have spent a few more quid and got a TTL Flash. Still its my sons good fortune, as he gets the one I just got off Amazon, and I'll get a bit more advanced which is still well short of £100.00. Cheers Pete

[@PhillipMcCordall]

Go for a HSS (high speed sync) if you can it allows a lot of extra possibilities, I'll soon be doing a couple of lessons on using strobe lights.

[@gazthewoodsman6483]

+Jim Prong For what it is worth, (if you haven't purchased one already) have a look at Yongnuo flash units, about 1/5th the price of Nikon SB-910. I recently purchased YN-568ex and so far very happy with it. Will sync to 1/8000s, second or rear curtain sync and works well with Nikon i-TTl, no issues on my Nikon camera bodies. Not as durable as my SB-910 and 900 but time will tell. Only drawbacks for me are recycle time is slower but not unworkable (recently used on a wedding shoot) and the zoom range is only to 105mm so not quite as effective with 70-200 zoom.

[@petermainwaringsx]

+gaz thewoodsman Thanks for that. I did buy one few months ago and what you say is right, as far as I'm concerned its great value.

[@PhillipMcCordall]

It's a pleasure.

[@gonemadfar]

Allways look on the bright side! I'm going to go watch that movie now

[@estudianteingles2]

It has an amazing value to my learning process, I am going to watch it over and over again till it stick on my mind :) Good man. Thanks a lot ;0

[@shally8764]

Awesome breakdown, thank you and thank you

[@lanadowling6419]

Excellent lesson! Thank you very much.

[@ysbharath]

I am very much impressed. I never thought about these basics of light.. Anyways..I just started learning.. so this is a good boost. Thanks you very much sir... Hope u share your vast experience with young budding photographers of today... :)

[@MrRenoman2011]

Great video Phillip thank you

[@Andee148]

I am a lucky person that I subscribed your channel.Amazing lesson.

[@PhillipMcCordall]

Don't worry about that , I just set my exposure meter to give me f90 the iso and shutterspeed have no importance at all in this situation, all I'm measuring is the difference caused by moving the light, obviously after the first f90 I didn't change anything on my exposure meter.

[@PhillipMcCordall]

Thanks , that saves me having to watch it yet again :))

[@jack002tuber]

Excellent vid. I was looking for something on controlling light and what it does, this is it

[@tigerallied]

I understand now, thank you very much for the answer.

[@MightyWizard1970]

l really do appreciate your tutorials , it’s priceless all the knowledge you share with us . Sorry to say that, but your tutorials to be 100% perfect the middle finger should not appear .

[@EntropiaMusic]

Thank you very much for your lessons!

[@shawn.m.schmidt]

Great video! Thank you.

[@sega62s]

Thanks, great experience from a gentleman MERCI

[@DigitalMoneyMakers]

Just purchased a beginner nikon DSLR, so learning about what 'f' numbers mean and how lighting and aperture change was explained well - I can switch away from auto and experiment in the coming weeks and months!

[@dozer72]

A brilliant video, thank you:)

[@ethandrood]

Thanks for your tutorials they are really useful. Can I make a suggestion though? I have bean a math teacher for 10 yrs now, in my experience never start a lesson by saying it is not fun as you do at 00:20. You also say that it wasn't fun to make. Yet toward the end you get very enthusiastic about the subject and put it across really well. You are clearly enjoying it. You also say 'this is getting interesting' at 8:52. Which contradicts your intro. Start every lesson positive. Thanks again.

[@Helicaloptera]

Very interesting, thank you!

[@leondelsur]

Very educational, Thank you!!

[@heipuntnl]

Thanks, Master. It was helpfull, maybe in the future you can do A tut with A model to show the light fall of. Or even A little more in depth about the invere square law. Thnks again. Groeten uit Nederland.

[@juliannevillecorrea]

thank you sir

[@PhillipMcCordall]

I would love to use models but this is for every type of photography. Also these videos make very little money so that makes paying models impossible. I am however preparing a one and a half hour DVD only on still life, that will let me cover things in detail. If that is successful It will be followed by one on Portraiture. Glad you enjoyed it. The master :)) Phill

[@johnbilsborough4626]

Phillip McCordall

[@MrRenoman2011]

Great lesson thanks

[@backstab86]

I just love how everything can be solved by math ^^ Sat in front of the telly yesterday and saw a show about how music waves from instruments in fact are algorithms :D

[@LeConcerto]

I suppose that if you want to reduce the falloff but retain the softness of the light, you would use a larger light source placed farther back, increase flash power?

[@MrNishiith]

Thank you sir!

[@TheTanatito]

thank you ! very interestingly said :)

[@AartBrockhaus1]

GREAT Thanks from The Netherlands. Gr. Aart.

[@algadophoto]

Wery intersting :)! Thanks

[@gonemadfar3]

great video

[@CeciliaBurnette]

OMG it is deep but it’s a lesson I have understand fully nd eventually master so I will be watching it again…….and again……and possibly again. Thank you Philip.

[@PhillipMcCordall]

glad you enjoy it :))

[@robertcavanagh263]

I kept hearing people say the closer the light the smoother it will be. Thats why. Thankyou

[@BJEPhoto]

+Robert Cavanagh No, that's because the light is coming from more directions because the light source is bigger relative to the camera. In fact if it's super close it will fall off faster and can be more contrasty.

[@MrPerlishells]

I know 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128 is taken by doubling 2 or 2^X but how did they get the numbers in between?

[@sasman1964]

Thanks very informative..

[@lewisallrightsreserved7879]

Thanks for the video. You can also take advantage of the light sources inefficiency (brighter at the center, darker at the edges) by "feathering the light" in which you win the central hot spot of the light towards (or even past, if necessary) the side of the subject that's furthest away from the light source so it gets more light while the side closest to the light gets less illumination from the edge of the light source. This evens things out exposurewise between the near and far sides of the subject while (usually) not changing the quality of the light's transition/edge from lit portion to shadows. May I also recommend what I consider to be one of the, if not the best book on photographic lighting called "Light, Science & Magic" by Paul Fuqua (and other author(s) whose name(s) I forget at present). You might want to it up at either Amazon or some other favorite book sellers. Happy shooting!📷🎨🔦😀

[@aljones9684]

Well done.

[@javier7high]

Thank you very much!

[@josepedrocarvalho3111]

you spoke portuguese @8'59'' :) Obrigado for this great video.

[@Normanskie]

All the numbers are set by the camera lens, which correspond to the aperture (opening)allowing twice or half as much light as the previous or subsequent number.

[@johnbilsborough4626]

Norman Butler

[@tigerallied]

Hello and thanks for the good tutorial. There is one thing that I am confused about that is the device that you use to measure the f stops, I really don't understand how it works. My understanding is that f stops are directly influenced by ISO and shutter speed. So before taking the measurements, did you set the device to calculate the f's based on a predetermined shutter speed and ISO ? ( for example calculate the f for ISO 100 and a shutter speed of 1/160). Thanks again.

[@tranvthuy]

am i right in saying that by moving the light further, the light is diffused and therefore become softer and more even.... so say if your in a limited space and there is no way that you can move the light back, can you in some way diffuse the light to get the same effect? something like adding a diffuser in front? will the shadows change? if so, how much will it change?