
Create natural, beautiful light – Flash photography
With Hannah Couzens
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Reviews
Very good starter course for someone who needs introduction to flash.
Clear and easy to understand with her direction.
The lessons were simple and easy to follow.
Short but surprisingly in-depth introduction to using flash for portraiture.
Great Class. Clear and concise instructions.
Excellent course very concise. Showing multiple different lighting techniques.
Like the short form of this course. A very good reminder for the basic things or to look up something. On point
Good ideas
Love it simple
well covered on topics
Hannah Couzens
Profoto products in action
You don’t need to own Profoto products to learn from this series. But just in case you’re interested, here are the ones we used:

Frequently Asked Questions
A series consists of two or more courses from the same photographer. If you buy a series, you will benefit from a bundled offer for the entire package. Also, when you complete a series, you’ll receive personal feedback from one of our instructors and become a Certified Light Shaper.
No. All our courses are designed to improve your photography, regardless of what equipment you’re using.
As soon as we’ve received payment, you can view or take all your courses online - simply by logging on to the Profoto Academy website. You’ll find your courses at the Profoto Academy start page.
Should include more example tips for fellow Photographers new to flash
Amazing course, excellent instructor, concise and very informative
I loved the way that this was easy to understand and supported by examples.. The only thing I would suggest is to give just a few seconds over to explaining what Hi speed sync is.. Thanks Hannah x
Simple yet concise learning tool!
For beginners
I would Have liked to see more steps tutorials of different type of flash setting for outdoor and indoor
Nice and simple tutorials!
Excellent course, you will refine your technique.
I recommend this class for any photographer but I wish there was a printed information for each lighting technique for a refresher
Easy to follow, i know most of the technics but got some new ideas
Like the way it's straight forward and clear to understand.
simple and straightforward!
More information about using HSS is missing
Really short and basic.
great learning tool from beginner to a more seasoned shooter good stuff thanks
Fantastic explanation
I think the narration needs some edit
Great instructor. Pleasure to watch.
Good
Very good course a lot of valuable advice
Elegant course. Smart, to the point and simple concepts necessary to help build OCF skills
Very handy and practical to watch and answer short quizzes
Very nice course!
This was an excellent course! Well demonstrated and easy to follow.
Basic course for kick off för flash in ambient nature. Pedagogical good and structured.
The course are simple and clear
I want you to multilingualize the question
A good course with simple instructions!
Background music.... If you have a earingproblems, this is very hard to have together whit the talk from the teacher... NO MUSIC, thanks!!
Easy to follow al steps and try it your self
Very nice, but a bit short to be a paid course, especially as this is promoting your products.
Some Pro's, that I have associated with, may disagree with some of the matters demonstrated here. But I am fully responsive to what was displayed and will adopt those methods into my daily photography work.
Could be better with optional subtitles (in french for example)
Good course with interesting flash techniques.
Good course with interesting introductions about basic lighting techniques. Perfect for beginning students.
Hannah’s direction is clear & concise, the video doesn’t over run so it’s easier to pay attention. I liked the step by step guides & how she supported this with images to show us her output. I especially liked the camera setting key that popped up on the side, this was very useful as it stops learners from guessing & truly gives you that online teaching experience. Thank you Hannah.
An enjoyable and easy to understand introduction to flash. Really enjoyed Hannah's presentation style
Instruction was explained simply without too much technical detail...good job
I like the fact that you have a quiz after each section.
Nice little intro to some key lighting techniques
It was pretty basic stuff but great for beginners i would reckon. Maybe if you had made it a longer course it would have been so much better too :)
I love this! Especially as it was free. I can't believe how quickly Hannah, (who I have come across before), teaches a (fairly inexperienced) flash user, to become more proficient in just a few minutes. I will certainly be using more of these lessons to help me become a better Portrait/Wedding photographer and will be recommending you to my friends.
Great course on lighting basics.
nice teaching and very good tips
I gained a great deal from the simplicity and direct demonstrations, building as we went. I also liked the ability to pause and go back when I had to digest something. I have a problem with lighting concepts but now think I will challenge myself with creativity. I really learned a great deal in a very short time.
Great for a beginner wanting to learn the basics of flash photography. However the Questions can be confusing.
Simple coarse that is easy to approach and understand and gives you great ideas to take away
This course was perfect for me. I just purchased an A1 with TTL and learned a great deal. Love Hannah's straight-forward style. I am looking to add either a second A1 or a B10 along with one or two modifiers as I get started. Any advice?
Nice and easy to follow guide for beginner Photographers. For me nothing new, but nice as a refresher. I love the a1 flash. Seems so easy to use. I use a b1, b2, d1 and on location sometimes speedlights and hss.
I saw all video with Japanese subtitle. It was very good.But, I tried quiz without Japanese subtitle. It was so hard.
Its Really easy understanding
I've learned great basic techniques that I will use when starting up using flash for the first time (been a natural light photographer for years).
I think is missing the flash setting and more metadata on the shoots
As a fundamental class, this is a great beginning for flash photography
good course, useful tips
manque de traduction en Français
Nice information in the Profoto courses. Though, these courses are very pricey for the short, limited content (especially compared to other online course options like CreativeLive, etc.).
This is a short and educational course.
I liked the lessons of a few minutes in video. The quizzes to know his progress are good, I would have liked to have the same type of questions but with photos different from those of the video.
Literally 4x 2 minute videos
Great course! Thanks a lot
great course
I wanted to see more of how to actually set the flash. Got to go back to the user guide. I usually have to shoot in manual since I can't find which button to set
Good easy to understand and apply information.
It's simply to learn
Good course Techniques well explained in a simple and concise way
More info/detail would be nice. Were you using TTL? What about Manual mode? I still have several other questions after watching, but I did get some good tips. Thanks.
the course is precise and concise
very simple to understand and reproduce
Great information, and very resourceful.
Could you Explore HSS and LSS more with and without flash ?
Very nice as an entry level course. I will appreciate for next courses specific advice regarding the set-up and configuration of the Profoto tools used during the shoot. Please also add always the focal length of the shoot (not only the general lens used, for instance 160mm and not only Zoom 70-200mm).
I would like that she use the flash on manual mode, in short your lessons are excellent,thank you so much
Nice and interesting course for a beginners
I genuinely enjoyed and would highly recommend this entry-level course devoted to on-camera and off-camera flash techniques. Cheers! Tony
Very clear but very basic. Very useful to beginners.
SHORT VERY CLEAR AND EASY TO UNDERSTAND
I would recommend it to photographers who are initiating in lighting with flash
Outdoor was done rather poorly with hap hazard results. Or maybe the video was incorrectly exposed.
The great thing is we can replays the video. Most of the example I was already using them, after several try’s on my own, but it’s always good to have examples we can directly apply. I will look forward for the gel...
Like your products the courses are well constructed and easy to follow.
basics...nothing new...but nicely made!
Great, easy to understand class. Hannah is a terrific teacher and a pleasure to listen to. There's one significant typo. In the first outdoor setup where 3 images are shown side by side, the caption reads translucent umbrella, but Hannah is using a white umbrella. Enjoyed the class a lot!
Excellent short course. Clear and to the point. Informative and useful.
I have read lots of books and seen loads of youtube videos, but this is by far the best. I have found this easy to follow and the quiz is great. I will definately reccomend and wil be purchasing other courses.
Loved the class and the examples helped to show how she did it and let you see the result
It's not for the beginner and too simple for flash user
Well done and easy to understand. I do wish the courses on HSS had a bit more detail one setup.
I like how each lighting technique follows a precise presentational layout: objectives, demo, checklist, quiz. I'm switching from X brands to Profoto. I enjoy the feel, look, and ease of using Profoto lights and mods. TY
Very clear and short! Well done!
The course is very light
Good course for the beginner
It will solve the problem precisely in a simple way!
It would be greater if the course went into a bit more detail with regards to the technical setup
On quiz 3, when someone checks the correct answer it's showing up in the results wrong. I selected option c 3 times, but in the results it says I selected option b. You should get this fixed.
Subtitles would be really helpful
As an amateur, it really helped me a lot understanding flash lighting.
Would be helpful if the flash settings were shared. ? TTL was it manual, what power was used if manual etc
It's very easy to understand and follow, great tips and examples. There's a summary at the end of each tutorials and quizzes to check the knowledge. I really like it.
Good refresher with quite a few new things to try.
I loved this course!
Muy interesante el curso
very simple and efficient configurations, easy to apply, just try now !
Very simple, clear and well-orientated course!
It's great
I am concern the lighting setting in manual mode
Very good course, Hannah did a good job!
I would have liked to see the A1 TTL used to meter the skin tone and then set to manual if this is possible with this unit.
Overall well done!
Also share the flash reading and settings for better understanding.
"Perfect" is a strange Expression, strange Word, for something .. but that's exact what I thought after the course. And, it fits all together, products and course and results. Thank you.
It's very helpfull and it's giving true knowledge for using flesh it's totally use full i love it... Tn1 profoto...
great for a beginner
Hannah explains things very well. I like that it right to the point.
Good navigation through questions and lighting instruction.
More in depth tips for HSS shooting would have been nice. Balancing multiple flashes manually instead of just using the fancy TTL would be great too. Overall nice course.
These are helpful for most photographers who are looking to integrate flash photography into their workflow.
Great for a free intro and so much more to learn
Very basic introduction how to use flash. I didn't learn anything new. Nothing for people who are interested in Profoto equipment
doing a great job .
thanks for a great course. it was both inspiring and motivating
Very sound advice, clearly given. A great aide memoir.
Great for starting photographers!
it was a excellent course for anybody just getting into flash photography, love where instructor gave tips on inside and outside
Good refresher, I need to get out and practice more.
Great intro to using on and off camera flash with modifiers that is very easy to follow and understand for anyone wanting to learn how to use a flash.
TEST! Where does this end up?
it was better than I accepted
Really quick and easy to consume.
it was bette than I accepted
Hannah made everything look so simple. I like the format of the video, with details on the exposure settings used on each shot. The quizzes help consolidate learning in a fun way.
There is nothing here, thats not already on Youtube.
Too simple
Very well explained for beginners and still interestingly done for professionals
It make me want to go directly to my camera and A1 flash and use it right now!
Courses are really great especially with the questions to confirm understanding
An easy way to learn how to improve flash lighting techniques on portrait
Quite basic. But good stuff to know
Clear directions
Good tutorial for amateur photographers.
I actually liked how quick each lesson was. It was to the point with simple set ups.
explication très simples et très efficace.A expérimenter tout de suite. Merci
Great course. Thank you
The video by Hannah was very informative, I like the idea of engagement via the quiz. Whilst the questions are not too difficult, on getting the answers right it inspires one to go on to the next level.
Course very well explained with a quick and effective method. Very helpful.
Good tutorial
A Little too fast spoken... for someone which mothertongue is not english.
Very informative and practical course, presented in a concise but engaging manner.
i tried it, i like it, i experiment it, i love it!
Very well put together Thank You
Now I just have to get the Profoto A1. I currently use Nikon SB-5000, but want more of a strobe than flash. I hope I can use it with my Phottix Odin transmitters and receivers.
Thnaks first, the lecons have bben clear an pro
great timing. very clear and very good image quality to see difference between shots
Not over complicated, easy to follow and understand, good to see the differences with the picture samples
Well presented and easy to follow.
Wonderful course -- well paced and easy to follow and understand.
Muy bien. Me parece correcto para aclarar conceptos de iluminación para empezar.
Succinct and to the point. Covered it all quickly and competently.
very usefull course, appreciated. I know need one Profoto A1
it is awesome and well explained
To the point, short, usable
Ms. Hannah explained everything in her videos in a light and easy manner. It was very easy to understand what she is teaching.
The video in French would be a plus.
Easy to understand. Good basic flash setups.
This course was definitely designed to keep it simple without adding in the usual jargon that can sometimes confuse the beginning student - well done!
Awesome and practical tutorial, my favorite part was having a quiz after every video.
Well done, simple and clear instruction, more for the beginner and intermediate photographer. I enjoyed it all the same.
I understand this is a freebie that tries to entice a person to buy more courses. But I found this too basic and makes me question the quality of information in future courses. I would rather see a sampling of sections of all courses to get a idea of the value of this learning system.
Great techniques for those choosing to enter into the 'realm' of Flash Lighting.
Great introduction to blending natural light and flash. Learned to use clamps and reflectors in a new way.
Good, could be improved with manual settings of flash for non ttl users with Leica myself.
Only slightly useful if you've never shot with flash in your life. I expected technical details regarding flash distance and angle, as well as suggestions for manual Profoto settings, as TTL for fill flash isn't generally ideal. This should be offered as a free video on the Profoto site. It's not worth $10.
Great info in bitesize chunks
I put an 8 because I would of like to of known the colour correction setting eg was it on AutoWhite balance or was a white balance card used. Other than that it was good
Its was very easy to follow and understand the videos and the length of them was perfectly appropriate!
Enkel, informativ och direkt matnyttig!
Really helpful builds using some relatively simple techniques with a huge positive impact. Crystal clear and easy to apply immediately.
I think this was very basic tutorial but it was very good. I liked how she used Profoto A1 which is very interesting product. As a Elinchrom user I'm more curious to try Profoto products in future. Thank you very much giving this tutorial for free.
BTW, your social media appearance beats Elinchrom 10-0 especially in Instagram ;)
I thought that a glaring error was not showing how the flash unit was set up. I can't believe that was not done to help explain the process. UNLESS I MISSED SOMETHING. The camera settings were shown on a side bar but nothing was shown about flash unit settings. I would love to hear from you about that issue. Other than that, speaker was clear and the videos matched the subject very well. It was very efficient and sensitive to time.
So simple but so useful.
Very good, structured, concise information. Just feels a bit short for $10.
I thought she did a great job of showing how to get the results she was looking for. It was simple to understand but technically great instruction. Keep up the good work.
Very straight forward
its very helpful.i really like it
This was both a great reminder of basic techniques and intro to ideas about using Profoto A1 light efficiently. So this course works for both pros and beginners trying to become professional photogs.
Really good introduction to flash work. Easy to follow and straightforward. Excellent for beginners, which I assume is who it is aimed at.
Decent summery of basic 'speedlite' photography. I do however want to say that some of the lightning angles used wasn't ideal - like the distance between umbrella and subject; bare-bulb rim light at the same level as the head is not flattering, higher angle with an umbrella will give a much better rim light.
I found the information really useful but felt it was lacking a bit in content for the price. Really happy to receive this as a gift from the photography show though. Thank you!
Good tips to begin flash photography.
Enjoyable course format. Hannah presents it in a friendly, engaging style which is very clear and to the point. Loved the mini quiz after each section too!
It is simple and easy to understand but to short... would be awesome if we can explore some other techniques.
Wäre in deutsch nicht schlecht!
The video was very well made. However, it would help greatly to have a downloadable pdf like option with the lighting diagrams and details provided so one can refer to the lessons offline later in a readable format.
Good use of examples, good flow of material, quizzes are just OK
Nice course but more explain what settings you use on camera.
I need Japanese subtitles.
Nice course, quick and easy to understand
This was simple and well presented. Very clear
it should be free as it your marketing tools. make profoto a company of know ledge how to control light
good
Good introductory look at the subject.
I found it a good refresher course. For that reason I would definitely recommend it.
More for beginners but it's ok
Good info in the course. I found it very basic, but I have an extensive photography background and experience. That being said this would be a good course for a beginner.
Good basic series
This course is very simple but valuable.
Great, thanks for the free course.
It is too short, most of the information is so basic that you can find it in youtube with no cost. You do not give technical basics as the power of the flash, is it a TTL? how to look for a hss in your flash. I bought this course to see if it is worthy to pay the expensive ones... I am very disapointed for the short time and the poor information.
Clean and simple
Good guidance - very helpful
I wanted to know more about it.
Pretty elementary for a professional photographer...but excellent for a beginner!
Very well :-)
Effective but pretty basic.
This course is really basic. Good stuff to know. Doubtful a beginner will run out to buy Profoto A1's to experiment with these techniques. Those ready to set-up to Profoto gear should already know these things.
The instructor was very good in telling us what she was doing (however, her HSS sync was shown at 1/200s, not HSS)
Basic, but very well made course
Great easy clear teacher. Enjoyed.
I am a beginner with flashlight and this is exactly the kind of information Im looking for. Short, exact and understandable.
Good intro to lighting, exposure, & using flash
very detailed course
Easy and entertaining way to learn the basics
I would have liked to know the distance from the flash to the subject
very basic ! not sure if that merits the cost
Very enjoyable and especially enjoyed that the courses were short and on point without a lot of babbling.
Nice training, introducing the basics of adding flash to improve your portrait shoots. It is well designed and contains didactic elements, repeating the learned material with quiz questions. I like this approach (I developed something similar in export control e-learning for my company). I would recommend this course for the enthusiastic beginner in portrait photography. It also demonstrates, that you can produce amazing results with an off camera speedlight and a simple shoot through umbrella - so no expensive & fancy gear required.
The lesson is great, but in my case I am a professional photographer in Portugal and I already knew these techniques and others similar.
I found my course to be very useful in my day to day shooting. I look forward to enrolling in the next class.
Quite basic, but enjoyed.
Good, but pretty basic tutorial
Basic lighting, good for beginners. Nothing on the flash settings.
Just brilliant :-) So happy for my A1´s
well known stuff ...
The course feels small for the money and could use more details on why using particular shutter speed and aperture.
Hannah seems awesome!
A very basic course, where the positioning of the flash/reflector seems formulaic, rather than responsive to the resultant light. Okay as an introduction, but should be more clearly labelled as such. The naturalness of the resulting light certainly is questionable.
for beginners ok, nothing for pro-users
I feel this course is good to me. In addition, if I go to extra courses, one of key factors is who lectures us. For example, Andrea Belluso, Matthew Jordan Smith and so forth are preferable.
Good and useful tips, but I thougt the course would be longer. Comparing to other courses on the web the price was quite high as for how much i got out from it.
Perhaps needs an explanation as to why an umbrella is used and not just a diffuser on the flash.
Very basic course.
Basic level instruction with nice visual to accompany content.
All my lighting equipment and modifiers are profoto, I love the quality and consistency . Great courses, hope to he a profoto ambassador one day😁
Brief, straight to the point and good results
Although this video covered the pertinent issues regarding the different type of on/off camera flash, it did not explain (or describe) how the photograper achieved the various exposures...it just stated them. Adding "this how" would have improved the video.
Hello there,
it's a good overview of lighting techniques. Beginners will enjoy it. I had a free course entrance: But personally i wouldn't pay for it, just because it wasn't new for me. But anyways i like to give feedback, because i'm a fan of concious work.
You could increase the sense of the quiz. It's too much related to words. For example you give two similar answers, with the only difference in the side of the model "left vs. right", but it's not clear to the viewer/customer if you mean the viewers point or the models point. For me as a viewer is 'left' the left side i see, but for the model the exact same side is right. So like i said it's too much playing with words.
For one of the biggest and one of the best lighting companies, that trying to establish some kind of "academic teaching" it would be better to have some kind of personal relation. If people are going to pay for these kind of education give them something to grab for - e.g. example images and let them describe the lighting situation in a few words within a text field and try to give personal feedback to their statements. Of course it'll take time, but waiting 1 or 2 days for personal feedback is way more useful to the customer and will probably lead them back with joy, than just clicking some answers in a prepared textrelated quiz.
Anyways thank you for giving me the opportunity to test your service and giving my feedback. I enjoy working with your products as well.
As a professional photographer for more than seven years i think i would recommend this course not to my fellow photographer friends (with five or more years of experience) but to the beginners because it is a really interesting and well done video format course with easy to understand content.
A bit too basic for me but I guess if you’re new to flash then OK
Good clear narration across the techniques, as well helpful aids for the settings. However I would have liked a subtle insight on use of the A1.
I like the gel of background and will different be using that one, the rest I've already do.
Found the narrator a bit too simplistic
Covers the basics well in an easy to understand way - a great introduction to on and off camera flash and directing light.
Pickup a few ideas on this course that is really useful and can use on my own photoshoot
Great lessons. Fast learning with short videos. Thumbs up.
I would show the equipment (flash and light modifier in more detail perhaps at the beginning & also to recommend locations searching to avoid direct sunlight etc.
Very, very basic
Very basic, put me off the whole academy idea if this the standard.
Too basic. Too little content.
The technical quality of the course and content was fine on its own, but I think it's missing the target audience. If you get Profoto, what was shown here can be assumed to be known. There were a few tricks here and there, but for most parts, this is way too basic to be worth it.
This is quite basic.Gives an basic idea how to work flashes
I think the coarse i did was a short and sweet intro into flash photography. i am not new to flash and understand the basics but maybe someone unfamiliar to flash might find a bit confusing. i am skeptical on paying a higher cost for a more advanced course.
Could we have te reference of the materiel use (reflector, tripod etc). Also not sure but the flash were in automatic mode ?
This is the absolutely basics for beginners.
Very basic, but a good refresher.
Its amazing beginners tutorial for beginners.
I would love to see as part of this tutorial bit that explains modifiers use in bit more depth. What to use in what scenarios, differences between product that are seemingly same to uneducated person. For instance, difference between deep and shallow umbrellas in both translucent and reflective range. Most people I know have no idea why is deep translucent umbrella *white shoot through* better or worse then shallow one. Me personally would love to know what is the difference between the 2.
too simplified the whole process, eg. how to setup the umbrella
The information was pretty basic. But it was a good refresher.
There is an error in it, penultimate set up shows white umbrella but talks about shoot through. Also last question, answers 1 and 2 are right, whether you meter subject or background first makes no difference.
Also seems odd that generally shot to shot shutter speed is changing, best leave everything alone to show effect of light.
Much too basic
very clear and basic
I would like to include some basic flash settings as well
It's been ok could do with a bit more info.
Bit basic
This is a course for beginners. For me its a waist of time. Sorry.
Video has Japanese Caption, but Quiz and Feedback does not have translation.
Seriously Profoto?, I thought you where a company aiming at professionals, this is not selling your academy at all :(
Best regards Kristian
This course is only for beginners.
Too basic and Profoto should not be charging for this
I guess there needs to be away to discover what is the expertise level of the photographer seeking the training. For me this was very elementary.
Its too basic. You can find this for free on youtube.
Class is very basic, for a photographer it is not worth the $10, now for a beginner it is good.
Its good and helpful but all to expensive, you tube is full of videos like this for 0 cost
Very basic stuff you can get for free on YouTube.
Nice work but on youtube we can found a lot like these for free
She is not showing flash setting
Too basic for a Profoto user
To simple. Maybe its for beginners?
good with 3 different lightings but otherwise to basic