please recommend a book on flash / strobist technique

rampanthamster

rampanthamster

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hi all, i had a great time yesterday with my two flashes and a willing friend as a model. Just experimenting and learning how things work etc.

But it made me crave a good reference book to push my learning along nicely. I'm aware of various websites out there, which i do look at, but i'd also really like a proper book as well as i find them rather helpful and more concentrated than websites a lot of a the time.

any suggestions?
 
Hi Rowan,

One of the best around is the 'Speedliter's Handbook' by Syl Arena. All the information to help you with your speedlites and camers settings for on or off camera lights.
Available on Amazon within a few days. I have the Hotshoe Diarties and that's not bad at all, but IMO this is better.
 
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Several on my bookshelf (see sig link), but the Strobist 101 is the best starting point I've found. A lot of the good books on the subject assume a basic initial knowledge and understanding that the 101 covers.

There used to be a very good free ebook pdf on basic studio lighting set-ups that applied both to studio lights and small flashes (Studio Lighting Setup Ebook), but the link has died - it used to be here, anyone got a good link for it now? If not, I have the pdf somewhere..
 
Iphotouk said:
This is strobist info

A friend of mine recommended this to me. Looks very good. Im about to order a copy myself.
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I have it, and I was eagerly awaiting it after following Dustin's 365 project on Flickr. It is not an introduction or "how to", it's a series of photos and the set-up used to achieve it.

I can recommend TISI, but it needs a basic understanding to get the most from it. If you haven't yet seen Dustin's 365, have a look at that before ordering the book.
 
alexam said:
Hi Rowan,

One of the best around is the 'Speedliter's Handbook' by Syl Arena. All the information to help you with your speedlites and camers settings for on or off camera lights.
Available on Amazon within a few days. I have the Hotshoe Diarties and that's not bad at all, but IMO this is better.
Click to expand...

This is a really good book. But while a lot of the technique stuff applies to everything, all the technical stuff and equipment references are Canon only.
 
Cistron said:
I flicked through this once. Maybe I'm expecting too much factual content, but I thought this was full of waffle.

+1 for lighting 101 though. Concise enough for my liking.
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Certainly could be viewed as waffle, although the idea of the book was to include the thought processes and steps involved in realising the final image.
Quite an insight as to how Joe McNally works
 
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If you thought hot shoe diaries was too full of waffle, and you're after a dryer, more textbooky kinda thing, light science and magic is the way to go. Essential reference, but I just can't read more than a chapter without knodding off...
 
Syl Arena's Speedliter's Handbook.

Especially good if you shoot Canon.
 
Mike_T said:
Syl Arena's Speedliter's Handbook.

Especially good if you shoot Canon.
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The OP shoots Nikon, according to his info. However, Syl Arena's book is still quite highly regarded amongst Nikon owners, but it's definitely Canon centred
 
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itsdavedotnet said:
If you thought hot shoe diaries was too full of waffle, and you're after a dryer, more textbooky kinda thing, light science and magic is the way to go. Essential reference, but I just can't read more than a chapter without knodding off...
Click to expand...

It's definitely a case of two ends of the same spectrum Dave :)

LS&M is great but it is like a textbook written by a professor who thinks he can write 'light' but it's actually still quantum mechanics . Hotshoe Diaries is a nice read but not a clear, concise learning tool.

Personally, Strobist 101/102 is the most relevant speed light resource and it's free.
 
I've found NeilVN (Tangents) and Syl Arena (Pixsylated) both produce excellent free web sites and books to buy based on that.
 
Strobist 101 on strobist.com
McNally's books

That's how I started :)
 
If you really want to learn about lighting, you should just use the internet, man. The books are OK, but they all contain way, way too much filler, and you'll find the main message is completely lost on you by the time you finish the book.

This is the same of every book I've ever read on the subject of lighting. The best I know if is the Light Science & Magic one, but even that doesn't really teach you anything..

You'll read the book and find yourself saying "Oh wow, I never knew that" or "Yeah that makes sense now!" and then you'll go out, and you won't be able to apply it to anything you shoot.

Far better to just stalk youtube and other people's blogs for lighting setups, behind the scenes videos, etc, so you can actually see things in action. Then just copy the setups and see what you come up with.

Places like Strobist, fstoppers, etc are all brilliant places to pick up knowledge of this, and armed with those websites and a place to set up shoots, you're far better off than you would be with a book.
 
Oh and not forgetting this place. I find I ask how something was lit, or suggestions on how to light are always answered with great detail and ideas.
 
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