Business, Photography

April 26, 2019

Night Lighting Workshop with Kerri Lynne Education

Cazenovia, New York

I’ve said before how much I value education. Most of you know that I’m largely self-taught when it comes to photography, but there is something so valuable to learning from others in the field! My dear friend Kerri of Kerri Lynne Education has been one of my biggest cheerleaders over the years and I’ve learned so much from her. When she announced that she was doing an night lighting workshop, I knew I needed to sign up!

This workshop was SO timely for me because I’m at the point in my business where having a strong knowledge of off-camera flash is key. I’ve always thrived in natural light and have done extensive work honing my skills using sunlight. When it comes to flash, I’ve always been a bit timid! Well, as any wedding photographer will tell you, there are times when you just HAVE to use flash. So, when Kerri launched this course, I was thrilled!

Kerri did an amazing job putting together this workshop. She gathered a team of amazing local vendors (see the bottom of the post for the full list) including a florist, vintage rentals, a wedding planner, and even models! To top it all, the workshop took place at RedBarn20 in Cazenovia, which has the perfect set up for outdoor portraits.

We started by going over some basic flash knowledge before jumping into shooting. You would be surprised how many different types of flashes and flash modifiers there are! Once we had practiced lighting the models inside using a mix of flash and ambient light, we headed outside for some night portraits. These were my favorites from the whole workshop. Kerri showed us how to place our flashes to create a hairlight behind the couple. This really made the models pop off the background, added drama to the image, and highlighted any rain that was falling!

This workshop really pushed me out of my comfort zone, but I’m so glad. Now I have the skills needed to create beautiful portraits, even after sunset! Here are some of my favorites from the night lighting workshop.

: Here is a comparison of flash and no flash. The left image had an off-camera flash located to the right of where I was standing. The right image was taken using only ambient light. The difference is subtle, but the flash image has more depth and contrast while the non-flash image is much more flat!

: The left image here was taken using a Ice Light light wand and ambient light from the fire. The right image used the same light, but with a flash behind the couple. It really makes them stand out and highlights the rain!