At the start of my photo career, I was terrified of using strobe lights. To combat that I said, "I only shoot with natural light" to cover up my fear of using lighting. As I learned how to use strobes it became easier and easier, but it took a lot of time and effort (and years of working as a photo assistant) to learn the art of lighting.
The first part of learning how to use strobes is learning how to SEE light. This took a while but by working under a few amazing photographers as a photo assistant and working with strobes every day I was able to start to see light and learned the rules of lighting and then how to BREAK the rules.
The first part of learning how to use strobes is learning how to see the light but seeing strobe light is difficult. First start by using one light only. Using one light will help you start to see how light works.
I remember when I first started using strobe lights and thought my light would look one way, but when the images came back they looked very different than I imagined. I'd add more light, thinking it would solve my problems, but it often made them worse. Then I discovered soft boxes and used them as an easy solution to make decent shots but I still wasn't happy with my images. They looked the same as everyone else. It wasn't until I starting breaking down the process and taking lights away that I began to understand how strobe lights work.
Take your time and start by using only one light and discover all the different ways to use one light. Let me know specifically what you'd like to know about lighting by filling out this one-page survey on lighting. Just click the link below for the survey.
Survey Link: Lighting
Always dream big!