In this video, photographer John Gress will help you learn essential lighting techniques with basic equipment to create and control artificial light, so that you don’t have to worry about the weather or the time of day.

When you first held a camera and composed your first shot, the image you created was almost certainly captured using available light. As photographers build their skills and start shooting portraits, it’s only natural to start using window light, but everyone runs into the same hurdles. A dark and dreary day brings a sinking feeling as you begin to worry that your images will be blurry or noisy as you balance ISO, depth-of-field and your shutter speed on the edge of a knife—trying to eke out a professional image. Or maybe it’s just an average day, and your client asks you to capture them in midair as they leap across the set, causing you to cringe.

These challenges are why you should be using flash. But you don’t have to be afraid of it.

Watch this 1-hour class immediately, and learn essential lighting techniques, by filling out the form and clicking Submit + Watch Now.