If you have been putting off learning how to work with artificial light and are currently stuck at home, now is an excellent time to break out your speedlight and start working on the basics. This excellent video will explain how flash helps to freeze motion and get you up and running in no time.
Coming to you from Gary Gough, this fantastic video will show you how flash works to freeze motion and how you can use that for creative shots. Even if you only have a speedlight laying in your bag, this is a great time to take it out and start learning the basics. In it, you will notice that Gough discusses the t.1 time of his flash; this is one of the most important parameters of any flash. It dictates the time it takes for your flash to drop to 10% of its initial power. In other words, it measures how quickly your flash dumps the majority of its power and thus, its motion-freezing ability. If you are taking care to not allow ambient light into the scene, this will dictate how you can stop motion (as opposed to traditional shutter speed). Be sure to also note that the t.1 time changes with the power setting on your flash. Check out the video above for the full rundown, and grab your speedlight and start shooting!
