Creative Flash Photography

Book description

Small flashes can make a big impact! In this book, Tilo Gockel shows you how to make magic by mastering the use of light. You will learn how to use speedlights to create amazing photographs in any lighting situation.

Tilo uses 40 lighting workshops to teach his methods for producing impressive flash shots in portrait, fashion, macro, food, still life, and high-speed photography.

The richly illustrated, easy-to-understand workshops are filled with recommendations and instructions for flash setups, detailed lighting diagrams, and tips and tricks for how to achieve the look of high-end studio shots using simple, accessible equipment, even in your own home.

Also included is information on the settings that will help you master complex multi-flash situations, as well as tips on how to create cost-effective, self-built accessories.

Foreword by Strobist.com's David Hobby.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Creative Flash Photography
  4. Table of Contents
  5. Author’s Foreword
  6. Foreword by David Hobby
  7. What Every Strobist Needs to Know
    1. Flash Basics
    2. Choosing Your Equipment: What’s in the Bag?
  8. The Fun Starts Here! 40 Lighting Workshops
  9. Workshops 1–13 Portrait and Fashion
    1. Workshop 1: Portraits for Business Professionals
    2. Workshop 2: That Sunny Feeling
    3. Workshop 3: Gobo Projections Using Flash
    4. Workshop 4: Wide-Aperture Look in Daylight
    5. Workshop 5: Duke, Nuke Them 1
    6. Workshop 6: Duke, Nuke Them 2
    7. Workshop 7: Colored Gels Rock!
    8. Workshop 8: Creating a Fire Effect with an Orange Filter
    9. Workshop 9: Key Shifting
    10. Workshop 10: Fashion Shoot in Hard Light
    11. Workshop 11: Nighttime Bokeh
    12. Workshop 12: Dancer in a Flurry of Flash
    13. Workshop 13: Underwater Shoot
  10. Workshops 14–17 Macro with Flash
    1. Workshop 14: Using a Macro Rig
    2. Workshop 15: Extreme Macro Photography
    3. Workshop 16: Dewdrop Flowers
    4. Workshop 17: Coins in a Dark Field
  11. Workshops 18–24 Still Life and Product Shots
    1. Workshop 18: Still Life with Bounce Flash
    2. Workshop 19: Shooting for eBay
    3. Workshop 20: Photos for Catalogs
    4. Workshop 21: Photographing Reflective Objects
    5. Workshop 22: Perfume Bottle in Translucent Backlight
    6. Workshop 23: Acoustic Guitar
    7. Workshop 24: Studio-Like Modeling Light
  12. Workshops 25–35 Food Photos: The Most Important Ingredient is Light!
    1. Workshop 25: Basic Flash Setup for Food Photos
    2. Workshop 26: A Simple Off-Camera Flash Setup
    3. Workshop 27: A Complex Flash Setup for Food
    4. Workshop 28: Lighting Like Cannelle & Vanille
    5. Workshop 29: Simulating the Sun
    6. Workshop 30: Backlit Fruit
    7. Workshop 31: Glowing Pasta
    8. Workshop 32: Campari in a Bathtub
    9. Workshop 33: Using Smoke to Depict Aroma
    10. Workshop 34: Flavored Gins à la David Hobby
    11. Workshop 35: Chocolate
  13. Workshops 36–40 How to Make the Invisible Visble with High-Speed Flash
    1. Workshop 36: Milk and Chocolate Splash
    2. Workshop 37: Shooting Splashes in an Aquarium
    3. Workshop 38: Curaçao Wave
    4. Workshop 39: Kiwifruit Splash with a Cross-Beam Sensor
    5. Workshop 40: Dark Field Martini Splash
  14. In Depth Tutorials
    1. Spectra and Tricks with Color Filters
    2. Don't Shake It Up
    3. Depth of Field and Bokeh
    4. All About the Sync Speed
    5. Optimum versus Critical Aperture
    6. How to Use Mirror Lockup and Live View
    7. Optimum Focus
    8. The Pros and Cons of Using TTL Flash
    9. RAW vs. JPEG
  15. Appendices
    1. Appendix A
      1. How to Calculate Photographic Exposure
    2. Appendix B
      1. Tools for Creating Lighting Diagrams
    3. Appendix C
      1. Additional Sources
    4. Glossary

Product information

  • Title: Creative Flash Photography
  • Author(s): Tilo Gockel
  • Release date: December 2014
  • Publisher(s): Rocky Nook
  • ISBN: 9781457188787