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This is the best Udemy Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals coupon code discount for 2024.

So if you’re interested in Les Gaddis’s “Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals” course, which will help you increase your Photography skills, get your discount on this Udemy online course up above while it’s still available. (The coupon code will be instantly applied.)

Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals review for 2024

In our review of this course, we try to help you answer all of your most important questions about Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals as quickly and efficiently as possible, so that you can determine whether this online education training is worth your time and money.

Feel free to jump to whatever question you want answered the most.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

Why use CL1CF as an abbreviation of the course name?

During our Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals course review, you might sometimes see us refer to it as CL1CF for the following 2 reasons:

  1. We created the acronym by taking the first letter of every word (which was very ingenious and innovative, we know)
  2. We’re lazy and CL1CF is simpler and easier for reviewing purposes

The full course name is 48 characters long, including blanks, while CL1CF is 5 characters long.

You do the math.

Okay, we’ll do the math. We’re saving 43 characters every time we use CL1CF.

So, just a heads up that we’ll be using this abbreviation sometimes, so you’re not left scratching your head and wondering what the heck we’re talking about whenever we refer to CL1CF throughout the remainder of this review.

Is the Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals course for you?

To determine whether Les Gaddis’s Udemy course is a good fit for you or not, ask yourself the following questions down below.

The more you answer “yes” to each question, the more likely it is that you’ll like this course.

Can you understand what Les Gaddis’s course is about in 30 seconds or less?

Hopefully, you can easily grasp in 10 seconds or less what this online course is about simply by taking a look at the title that Les Gaddis chose for the course, “Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals”, as well as its subtitle: “Learn how to capturing beautiful images through cinematography tips, tools, and techniques.”.

This combo of title and subtitle should be enough to communicate the purpose of the training if Les Gaddis is a good, clear communicator (which, of course, you want in a teacher).

In our opinion, if you still don’t know what CL1CF is about after looking at these two things, then this is a red flag, and you might be better off not taking this class.

Among other things, it means Les Gaddis hasn’t clearly and accurately conveyed what the course is about and might not be the best teacher for you.

For similar reasons, it’s important that you’re able to clearly understand what Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals is all about from the first few lines of the course description.

So take just a few seconds to read the opening lines down below and see what you think of them. 

Opening lines of Les Gaddis’s official description of CL1CF

The Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals Course is all about teaching you what you need to know to shoot better films immediately. The course covers topics such as:

The course is taught in a clear and concise manner, getting straight to the point to get you out there filming. This course also comes with downloadable pdfs, charts, quizzes, and even an Ebook, as well as access to me through my virtual office hours. If you have been on the fence about getting into cinematography, or overwhelmed with it, let this course be the one that teaches you the fundamentals to help start your cinematography journey. The course will take approximately 1 hour to complete.

See you in the course!

(Read more about this course on the official course page.)

Does CL1CF pass the 30 Seconds Test?

You can read a lot more about Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals on the official course page on Udemy, but the point is this: are the title, subtitle, and just the first few lines of the description enough to help you understand what the course is about?

If so, Les Gaddis has done a good job and can be considered more trustworthy and a good communicator, which are important qualities for any teacher.

And, if not, maybe you’re better off looking at other Photography classes that are more clearly defined and more tailored to your specific interests.

Did Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals appeal to you in 30 seconds or less?

Now that you’ve done the 30 Second Test with CL1CF above, what is your gut reaction to this Photography course with only the basic information of its title, subtitle, and the first few opening lines of its official course summary?

Did Les Gaddis do a good job conveying its subject matter, and did it immediately get your attention and appeal to you?

If so, Les Gaddis’s online course is certainly worth considering some more.

But if not, perhaps it’s in your best interest to consider some other Photography courses instead, because clear communication and being able to hook and maintain your interest are two very important qualities for your online learning success.

Does Les Gaddis sound like a course instructor you’d like to learn from?

You’ve already learned how to use The 30 Second Test to make a quick evaluation of whether the CL1CF course is worth taking.

We have a similar 15 Second Bio Test where you read only the first few lines of an instructor’s background — in this case, Les Gaddis’s background — and then you make a quick, snap judgment as to whether you think the instructor would be ideal for you.

There is no right or wrong answer. It’s just about going with your gut instinct. What might appeal to one potential student might alienate another, and vice versa.

(FYI, all Udemy instructors, including Les Gaddis, have a Udemy profile on their course page, so you can easily check for a bio and background on the Udemy website that way. We’re only including the first few lines of the bio down below for The 15 Second Bio Test).

Opening lines from Les Gaddis’s Udemy bio

I have over 16 years experience in videography and have spent the last five years further developing my skills as a Director of Photographer. My passion is working with a concept or script with the Director’s vision and adding layers of visual imagery to bring the story to life.

(Learn more about this instructor on the official course page.)

What did you think about Les Gaddis after reading just the first few lines of the bio above?

After reading just the first few lines about Les Gaddis, did it make you more or less interested in taking the CL1CF course?

And did it make you feel like Les Gaddis was more or less credible and qualified to teach Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals?

Finally, overall, did you feel like you’d receive the proper training from the instructor of this Photography course?

As always, we encourage you to listen to your gut instinct, which is different for every student.

Are the CL1CF lessons clear, specific, and organized well?

Part of the (good) problem with Udemy’s online courses, such as the Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals course, is that the instructors are constantly updating them, including adding and renaming lessons.

So it makes no sense whatsoever for us to list out all the modules and lessons in the CL1CF course here, because you can just as easily go to the Udemy course page and get all the up to date course structure as of right now.

We do, however, have some tips about reviewing Les Gaddis’s course structure, so that you can get a better sense of whether this program is worth your time or not.

In a nutshell, you want to scan the the titles of the different sections and lessons of the course, and verify that they are clearly relevant to the course’s name, Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals, as well as the course’s subtitle, Learn how to capturing beautiful images through cinematography tips, tools, and techniques..

If the section names and lessons are clear, specific, and relevant, then it’s a good sign that CL1CF is potentially a good, useful course for you, and you can have more confidence in Les Gaddis’s teaching abilities and lesson planning.

On the other hand, if the module names are confusing, vague, or irrelevant, then this is a red flag, which might indicate that the program is worth skipping.

Have you taken some free lessons from Les Gaddis that you enjoyed?

Have you already learned something from Les Gaddis that you valued or enjoyed?

For example, does the Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals training have some free lessons that you can try? (Almost all Udemy instructors will give you at least one or two lessons for free to help you make a better, more informed decision before enrolling in their course.)

But if you weren’t able to get any CL1CF lessons for free, have you perhaps watched a YouTube video by Les Gaddis, or perhaps come across this instructor’s thoughts on Quora, Facebook, LinkedIn, Github, Reddit, or some other platform?

Or have you perhaps even taken one of Les Gaddis’s free courses or free webinars? (Many online teachers offer these freebies, which is a great way to get to know them and evaluate their teaching methods before buying one of their courses.)

In any case, the more familiar you are with Les Gaddis’s teaching methods, and the more you enjoy them, the more likely it is that Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals will be a good fit for you.

(P.S.: We strongly encourage you to seek out some free instruction from Les Gaddis before purchasing this course, since it’s one of the best ways to determine whether CL1CF will be helpful for you.)

Are “Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals” reviews generally positive?

On the bottom of the CL1CF page, you can read student reviews of the class.

Prior to April 18, 2024, there were 13 students enrolled, 5 reviews / ratings, and it was overall rated 3 out of 5.

Obviously, the more highly other students rate CL1CF the better, but no matter what, keep an open mind when reading the reviews, since you might still like a course a great deal that other students dislike.

After all, everyone’s got their own opinion.

We recommend that you spend only a couple minutes scanning the CL1CF reviews to get an overall sense of them. You don’t have to read each one!

Is Les Gaddis responsive to student questions in the CL1CF training?

You can see what other students have to say about this in their CL1CF reviews.

But, our simple all time favorite way of gauging an instructor’s responsiveness is to simply email the instructor and see if or how they respond.

In this case, Udemy has a messaging system for students / anyone who has an account, and you can send Les Gaddis a message through this system quite easily, even if you haven’t bought CL1CF yet.

For example, you could say, “Hi, and I came across CL1CF while looking at Photography courses on Udemy. If I enroll in your training, would you mind if I asked you any questions along the way?”

If you use this approach, the response (or lack of response) from the professor will tell you everything.

Obviously, the quicker the response the better!

Are you comfortable going through the lessons in Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals on your own, online?

This is a big one, because Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals is an online course as opposed to a course that you physically take in a classroom.

Of course, you will need a good internet connection to have access to the course material and lessons, but beyond that, you also have to be comfortable being self motivated to some degree, being on your own, and not having any physical interaction with any of the other students taking Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals.

Yes, you will be able to interact with the students and the teacher, Les Gaddis, online, but it’s a different kind of experience than what you’d get if you were interacting with them in person.

This is not a big deal to most people, but it might be something for you to consider if you feel like you do better taking classes in person rather than learning online.

Do the pros / benefits of CL1CF make it worth your time?

Ideally, if you’ve gone through the evaluation steps above, you have a list of positive things about the Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals training that looks something like this:

  • The purpose of CL1CF can be clearly grasped and understood, and its lesson structure is clear, specific, and well organized
  • Les Gaddis is well qualified to teach this subject matter, has good teaching abilities, and is responsive to student questions
  • Other CL1CF students have great things to say about the program

Other benefits include:

  • You get to go through CL1CF at your own pace
  • You join a community of 13 other students taking the course
  • You get lifetime access to the training
  • All updates to the training are free
  • You have a 30 day money back guarantee

Even if there are some things that you don’t like about the program, so what?

The question is simply this: do you think that CL1CF would be worth your time, even if there are some things that could be better about it?

Can you comfortably afford CL1CF?

Can you comfortably afford the cost of Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals?

This is an important question to answer, because even if you think CL1CF sounds like the greatest online class in the world, it’s still not worth taking if you can’t comfortably afford it!

Before April 18, 2024, the price was $12.99 before any Udemy discount, and you were able to pay with a credit card.

Keep in mind that this is a Udemy online course, and there’s a great chance that you can get a solid discount on CL1CF with Udemy coupons / promo codes, especially with the strategies we provide for helping you find the best, most popular coupons available.

We’ll cover that in greater detail in the next section, because at the end of the day, its important that you can learn whatever you want to learn without getting into a lot of credit card debt.

How can you maximize your discount on Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals?

By far, the easiest way to get the best and biggest discount on this course is to use the Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals discount code link at the top of this page.

It will instantly give you the best coupon code we could find for Les Gaddis’s online training.

We don’t believe there’s a bigger discount than the one we provided, but if for some reason you’d like to try find one, you can use the methods below to hunt for the best CL1CF course coupons and promo codes you can find.

FYI, the methods below will help you not just with getting CL1CF for a better price, but also with any other Les Gaddis Udemy course that you’d like to get for cheaper.

How can Google help you get a CL1CF discount?

To use this method, do a Google search for the CL1CF training, but in your search query, be sure to add words like coupon code, promo code, deal, sale, discount, and Udemy.

For example, you might do a search for “Udemy Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals promo code” or “Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals udemy coupon codes” and see what turns up.

Similarly, you can use the same combination of search terms with Les Gaddis’s name and see what happens.

For example, you might do a Google search for “Les Gaddis Udemy coupons” or “Les Gaddis course coupon codes” and see if that helps you.

However, in general, it’s far more powerful to do a search for deals and coupon codes with the actual training’s name, than with the instructor’s name.

So in this case, for example, prioritize searches for “Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals coupons” rather than “Les Gaddis coupons”.

How can a Udemy sale get you CL1CF for cheaper?

Every once in while, Udemy will do a sitewide sale where they offer all (or almost all) their courses at a discounted price. For example, one of the best sales is where every course is only $10 or $9.99.

So, if you’re interested in saving as much money as possible, you could wait and see if you can get CL1CF for this cheaper Udemy sale price one day.

The problem is that these sales only occur sporadically, so you might be waiting for a while. Also, if Les Gaddis decides not to participate in the site wide sale, then you won’t get a discount on CL1CF, even though you could get a great discount on almost any other class at Udemy!

To understand this, think of there as being two different coupon categories for the CL1CF course. Category one is an official Udemy coupon (which instructors can opt out of), while category two is a coupon offered directly by the instructor.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what kind of a coupon tag you’re dealing with (for example, “officially from Udemy” or “officially from the instructor”), as long as long as as you’re dealing with active coupons that get you a better price.

How can you get a CL1CF discount from Les Gaddis?

If you’re really serious about getting “Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals” for the cheapest price possible, then perhaps one of the most powerful things you can do is get a coupon code straight from Les Gaddis, instead of waiting for a Udemy sale.

To do this, you can use either the direct approach or an indirect approach to try to get your discount.

With the direct approach, the big idea is to simply get Les Gaddis’s contact info in some way or another (whether it’s email, or Twitter, or whatever else).

Then you send a message saying something like “I’m interested in enrolling in Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals. Do you happen to currently have an active coupon code for it that I could use?” (And then, hopefully, you’ll get a reply with your discount code.)

On the other hand, with the indirect approach, you join Les Gaddis’s mailing list, if you can find it, and then you hope that at some time CL1CF will be promoted to you at a discount.

By far, the more powerful approach is the direct approach, because it tends to get results faster. But you can experiment with the indirect approach and see if it works for you.

Can you get CL1CF for free?

Of course, the best possible price for the CL1CF training is free! As in, you pay no money whatsoever.

And guess what? Sometimes Udemy instructors provide coupon codes that enable students to take their courses for free. So, perhaps it’s possible that Les Gaddis has done this.

Basically, if you’re trying to get this program for free, you will want to search for the course’s name along with other words like free coupon, or 100 off coupon.

For example, you might do a google search for “Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals free coupon” or “Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals 100 off coupon” and see what happens.

But keep this in mind: often, Udemy teachers will offer a free coupon for their course when it first opens to get some publicity and reviews. And then, after a few days, they’ll make the coupon expired.

So even Les Gaddis has offered free coupons for CL1CF in the past, the odds are likely they will all be currently expired. This is a common pattern that we have found.

What about a CL1CF free download?

It’s important to understand that there’s a difference between getting full access to the CL1CF training for free legally with a free coupon code vs. finding a way to download CL1CF illegally.

If you really want to go the download route, you can do a google search for something like “Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals download”.

And if that doesn’t get you the results you want, you can add the word “free” to your search.

For example, perhaps you could do a google search for “Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals free download”.

However, even if you get some results from these searches, we do not recommend that you take this course of action.

First of all, there are some shady sites out there that could be trying to infect your computer.

Second, Les Gaddis created this course and deserves monetary compensation for it.

And third, if you go the free download route, you’ll be missing out on a lot of value, because you won’t be able to ask the instructor questions or interact with the other 13 students enrolled in the program.

Can you get a refund on Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals if you don’t like it?

Let’s say that you used our tips above, and you were able to buy the CL1CF training at a fantastic discounted price. So at this point, you’re super excited.

Then, you actually dive into Les Gaddis’s course, and you discover that it just isn’t for you for whatever reason.

And now you’re super bummed, because you feel like it wasn’t money well spent.

Well, guess what?

Udemy offers a rock solid 30 day money back guarantee on all their courses, so you can get a refund on CL1CF no matter what. And this means there is absolutely no risk.

Indeed, even if you left a super negative, critical review on the CL1CF training, and then asked for your money back, you’d get a refund. For better or worse, there’s nothing Les Gaddis could do about it, since it is simply Udemy policy.

To sum it up: yes, you can get a full refund, so at the end of the day, don’t worry about the possibility of purchasing CL1CF and not liking it, since you can always get your money back.

What is OCP’s overall rating of Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals?

During this CL1CF review, you’ve learned about some of the unusual ways we like to evaluate courses, such as with The 30 Second Test and The 15 Second Bio Test.

So our overall review process is perhaps a little unusual and different from other reviews out there. Keep this in mind when you consider the overall rating / score that we have given this course.

Anyway, after taking a look at the CL1CF training, the instructor, Les Gaddis, and reading what other students have said about this program, we give it an overall rating of 3.5 out of 5.

Ultimately, though, what matters most is what you would rate it based on the same criteria.

What are some potential alternatives to Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals?

If you like this course, you might also be interested in:


1. Beginner Photography – From Start to Finish!

Steppings stones to discovering confidence in your photography.

Taught by Photo Designer


2. Video Editing For Beginners: Learn How To Edit

Learn the world of Video Editing and Start Editing Today!

Taught by Achieve Life Transformation


3. Become Video Editor & Creator GURU Using Final Cut Pro X

Learn To Edit Video Like Professional. Improve Overall Quality Of Videos By Learning Editing Secrets in Final Cut Pro

Taught by Certified Teacher and Youtuber


4. How to Film Epic Travel Videos with Gopro & the 360 Fusion

Learn to make Epic Travel Videos with Gopros products Filmed in the Maldive Islands

Taught by Canadian Travel Videographer, MBA


5. Composition in Photography Masterclass

Master the composition of your photos, learn how to see the composition around, learn how to analyze your photography

Taught by ESL Teacher; Technical Trainer

TLDR: Just the quick facts about CL1CF

Okay, if all of this was Too Long Didn’t Read for you, here is the Cliff’s Notes version of what CL1CF’s online training is all about:

CL1CF coupon & course info

Course Name: Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals

Subtitle: Learn how to capturing beautiful images through cinematography tips, tools, and techniques.

Instructor: Taught by Les Gaddis

Category: Photography

Subcategory: Video Design

Provided by: Udemy

Price: $12.99 (before discount)

Free coupon code: Get Udemy coupon code discount at top of page (no charge for coupon, especially since we are compensated for referrals via affiliate marketing)

CL1CF review info & popularity

Prior to April 18, 2024…

Students: 13 students enrolled

Ratings: 5 reviews

Rank: ranked #834 in Udemy Photography Courses in Udemy Photography Courses

Rankings tip: rankings change all the time, so even if Capturing Light 101: Cinematography Fundamentals is a bestseller or one of the top Udemy courses one year, it doesn’t mean it will be a top Udemy course the next year

CL1CF final details

Languages: English

Skill level: Beginner

Lectures: 17 lectures lectures lessons

Duration: 32 total mins hours of video

What you get: Learn camera basics and settings

Target audience: The Capturing Light Course is meant for beginner students who aspire to become camera operators and cinematographers.

Requirements: Having access to a camera and lighting is recommended but not required for the course.

Access: Lifetime access

Peace of mind: 30 day money back guarantee

Availability: available online, as well as on iOS and Android

Download options: check course to see if you can download lessons