Photographic lighting can sometimes seem to be all about the toys. While it is important to cover types of lighting equipment, it is also important to understand how to make the right decisions about putting the equipment to use in the kinds of situations photographers encounter every day. Employing a simplified approach, ample before, during and after shots and a five-session presentation exploring different lighting challenges, Off-Camera Flash will help readers achieve fantastic, professional results.

If your past attempts at learning flash have all ended in failure (not to mention tears and/or blind rage), then The Off-Camera Flash Handbook is about to change everything for you. For years, photographer Vanessa Joy has been using off-camera flash to create gorgeous portraits that look like they were shot in the most beautiful natural light at the perfect time of day. Well, guess what? That consistent look was not created thanks to the most amazing luck with the weather. No. It was created by a pro photographer who mastered her use of off-camera flash. And with her down-to-earth and practical explanations, that’s exactly what Vanessa teaches you in this book.

Vanessa breaks down off-camera flash into an easy-to-understand approach, and instead of focusing on the gear and the settings (which are also included, of course), she focuses on the kinds of shots you want to make. This book is about learning to use off-camera flash easily and quickly so that you can create beautiful, natural-looking light in any situation, at any time you need it…regardless of the weather or time of day.

The book is divided into three parts. Part One covers the fundamentals of off-camera flash, and it does so without blasting you with a firehose of information. Instead, Vanessa gives you the basics you need so that you can start shooting right away without becoming overwhelmed with technical jargon.

Once you’re set up and ready to go, Vanessa jumps right into Part Two with specific photo scenarios and real-world situations where you’ll learn key techniques for using your flash to create consistent, beautiful photographs. For each scenario, Vanessa provides the goal for the shoot, a gear list, the step-by-step shooting instructions, and images that show both the progress of the shoot and the behind-the-scenes shots or lighting diagrams of the setup. She also discusses problems you may encounter, variations on the shot, and additional practical scenarios for each situation.

Just a few examples include:

• Recreating the golden hour at any time

• Shooting groups

• Making indoors look like outdoors

• Enhancing natural light

• Using flash at events

• Working in harsh sunlight

• Creating silhouettes

• Shooting at sunset

• Fixing an ugly-light room

• And much more

Finally, Part Three tackles the questions you’ll likely have once you’ve got the basics under your belt and you’re already creating great photos with your off-camera flash—things like high-speed sync, sync speed, a practical understanding of the inverse square law, etc. There is also a helpful FAQ section at the end of the book.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART 1: GETTING STARTED WITH OFF-CAMERA FLASH (OCF)

You Already Know This

Getting Your Flash Off Camera

Getting the Exposure

Light Positions and Modifiers

How to Add More Lights

PART 2: Off-Camera Flash Techniques

Creating Golden Haze

Creating Golden Hour

Creating Twilight

Photographing at Sunset

Making a Magenta Sunset

Group Shots with One Light

Individual Portraits

Portraits of Couples

Enhancing Natural Light

Making Indoors Look Like Outdoors

Super Soft Portrait Light

Warming up the Sky

Keeping a Blue Sky

Light like It's Coming Through a Window

Creating a Silhouette

Turn Day into Night

Tiny Little Details

Table Details

Event Speeches

In Harsh Sunlight

Shooting with Reflectors

Event Bounce Flash

Using Gels for Fun Color Effects

Using Gels to Color Correct

Lighting a Dark Room

Making a Rainy Day Sunny

Lighting to Look Like Window Light

Making Front Bokeh

Filling in Shadows

Wow, This Indoor Light Sucks

Rim Lighting

PART 3: Features, Troubleshooting, and FAQS

WTF Are You Talking About?

But Light Doesn’t Do That

FAQs about OCF

Photographers are always looking for perfect light. Unfortunately, the quality of available light, and the situations in which photos are created, are rarely perfect. This is especially true when photographing weddings or portraits on location. So while finding beautiful existing light is every photographer’s ideal, it isn’t always possible. This is the point at which photographers tend to reach for a portable, on-camera flash. Indeed, these intense light sources can prove invaluable, but only if you know how to use them effectively. In the hands of an inexperienced photographer, on-camera flash will produce images that look flat and lifeless—images with harsh shadows, washed-out skin tones, cavernous black backgrounds, and other unappealing visual characteristics. In this book, acclaimed wedding and portrait photographer Neil van Niekerk shows you how to avoid the pitfalls photographers new to speedlights often encounter so that you can produce professional images using on-camera flash. You’l learn to use simple accessories to manipulate the quality of light from your flash and how to improve a lighting scenario by enhancing rather than overwhelming the existing light. When the available light is too low and too uneven to be combined with flash, he shows you how to override it completely with flash and, with some thought and careful application of specialized techniques, still get results that look great. On-camera flash is one of the most challenging light sources to master, but with the techniques in this book you’ll learn to use it with confidence. For wedding and environmental portrait photographers who must work in ever-changing lighting scenarios, this can mean better images and better sales.

Now that you’ve had your DSLR for a while, are you ready to take a much closer look at what creating a great image is all about? It’s all about light! The ability to see, influence, modify, control, and create light will take your images from snapshots to great shots! In Lighting for Digital Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots, photographer and bestselling author Syl Arena begins with a primer on light itself—how to see its direction, intensity, color, contrast, and hardness—and quickly moves on to discussions of shooting both indoors and outdoors in the many different conditions of natural or man-made light. Then the book digs in to begin creating light with photographic lights, whether that’s small flash or big strobe, the pop-up flash on your DSLR or continuous lights. Follow along with Syl and you will: Learn the basics (and beyond) of light modifiers that make light bigger and softer, such as umbrellas, softboxes, beauty dishes, and diffusion panels Understand how to control and shape the light itself with flags, grids, snoots, and the zoom function on your flash Appreciate the color temperature of light (whether that’s the sun, a light bulb, or a flash), and how to influence it with white balance settings on your camera and colored gels on your flash Learn how to take great pictures across many different genres, from product and still life images, to simple (and not so simple) portraits and group shots With Lighting for Digital Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots, you’ll learn not only how light behaves—you’ll learn all you need to know to get started on the journey of creating and controlling light in order to make great shots. And once you’ve got the shot, show it off! Join the book’s Flickr group, share your photos, and discuss how you get great shots at flickr.com/groups/lightingfromsnapshotstogreatshots.

* The complete guide to mastering the technical challenges of lighting and flash * Explores locations, subjects and styles, and all the technical skills, tools and tips needed to master them * Written by multi award-winning photographer Richard Bradbury Aimed at the serious amateur, this is a practical guide to achieving professional results in digital photography. Light is at the very heart of photography and plays a fundamental role in creating successful images. Not only does light affect brightness, it also determines tone, mood, atmosphere, texture, colour and luminosity. Mastering Lighting & Flash Photography contains everything you need to know about controlling and manipulating light to capture the beauty of the world around you in your own signature style. Written and photographed by a multi award-winning photographer, the book describes and demonstrates all the key topics: from understanding light and how to use it; through choosing the best kit and mastering the essential techniques; to different forms of flash photography and studio lighting, tips from leading professionals, and elevating your prints in post-production. .

From a master of professional photography, a book that explores the exciting possibilities of artificial light. This guide to on- and off-camera flash picks up where Peterson's previous title, Understanding Exposure, left off--helping free photographers from the limitations of auto to get the images they want when natural light isn't enough. For the many amateur photographers afraid to venture past natural lighting, here is the book that will finally help them master artificial light. In his trademark easy-to-understand style, Bryan Peterson explains not only how flash works, but how to go beyond TTL automatic flash exposure to master manual flash, allowing readers to control the quality, shape and direction of light for a perfect exposure, every time.