Strobist Lighting Seminar on DVD review...

First, this is not your typical "seminar on DVD", often seminars will be boiled down to an 1 - 1 1/2 hours of "highlights" that leave you less than satisfied and hungry for more (a bit of desert, but no meat and potatoes). The "Strobist Lighting Seminar" is the full meal deal (great appetizer, prime rib to die for, and enough desert to feed two).

This seminar comes on 8 DVD's and has over 10 hours of mouth watering substance.

One of the DVD's sub-menus sums it up perfectly in just six words:

"Less Gear - More Brain - Better Light"

The first DVD, "Lighting Gear for Beginners", is just over an hour long and covers it all. Light stands, umbrellas, flashes, diffusers, and more. David covers what works, what doesn't work and "why's" on both occasions. He will also give more than one option for doing the same thing, the the DYI version, (Do It Yourself), the inexpensive option, and the gold standard.

One example is remote triggers, David gives you the ins and outs of what they are, how they work, why Cactus triggers is a good place to start your wireless flash education and will work just fine for some folks, and why many will graduate to Pocket Wizards.

This first DVD is a must view and not just for beginners.

The next four DVD's (two cover the morning session of the seminar and two cover the afternoon) are almost five hours from the actual seminar itself.

Watching these I learned that David is smart, real smart. He is a great public speaker, and he doesn't take himself too seriously. All of which made me realize that David Hobby was the perfect vehicle for delivering this message.

To give you an indication of the quality of the content, after watching just the first two DVD's my friend and fellow photographer went right down to the studio and started shooting and got these results:


Not bad, huh?

The four seminar DVD's are a wealth of information, things I had not given much thought to, like gels. David covers everything a photographer should know about gels, like how to use them to get the correct color temperature when shooting under florescent or tungsten lights. He will also show you how to use one gel to make the background an interesting color and another gel to warm your subject.

Speaking of interesting backgrounds, he will also show you how to use a plant or a stack of glasses to turn a blank and boring conference room wall into an interesting and vibrant part of your portrait.

Think you know how to deal with the problem of photographing folks who wear glasses (tilting their glasses)? David will show you how to use broad lighting to do it correctly.

You will learn how to use snoots, grids, gobo's, and you'll learn how to make them all from things you already have around your home.

From the first the first DVD to the last there are two constants: doing it well, and doing it as inexpensively as possible.

There is sooo much knowledge and insight that you can actually see information oozing out of the edges of the DVD's.

;)

In the last three DVD's David Hobby will take you through ten different shooting scenarios. Indoors, outdoors, in a conference room, in a gymnasium, at a pool, outside at sunset, and more. He'll show you how to evaluate the pros and cons of the shooting environment, how to use what is available to get the best possible image, selecting the right gear for the situation, setting up your gear, and finally getting the shot.

One of the things I like so much about his instructional style is that David not only tells you how things should be done, he goes into great detail regarding the "why" to do things that way.

Knowledge is power and this DVD seminar will make you feel like a king.

You want to know one of the most phenomenal things about the "Strobist Lighting Seminar"?

You can have it for just $139! Yup, $139.

Unless you have a PhD in lighting, this should be your very next purchase, not another lens, not a memory card, do not pass go, do not collect $200. Nothing else you could buy would be more important to your ability to take the best possible image than the knowledge and information that is contained on these DVD's.

It's available at Midwest Photo Exchange and is only $139 (yes, I've said that twice already, but deserves to be repeated).

Throughout the seminar when David talks about equipment, like everything else, he goes into details/specifics like the manufacturer, model numbers, and retail prices.

Midwest Photo Exchange goes to great length to have those items available and at the best possible price.

Hopefully, it's not too late to get this onto your Christmas list, if it is, start writing this very minute: "Dear Santa..."

The only thing that is not shown in the Strobist Lighting Seminar is using Speedlights in a wedding environment, and to see some stunning examples of what can be done using the techniques taught by David go take a (long) look at Flash Flavor.

Here is a ten minute excerpt from the DVD... one last thing, does anyone want to buy some studio lights?