The Flash Bus & DVDs are Now Live

UPDATE: Several cities have sold out, and many more are getting close. Latest info: NYC, SF and Buffalo are probably next to go.


Thanks so much for your patience over the last few days. As you can imagine, it has been quite the madhouse around here lately.

Fun fact: I was scheduled to turn 46 years old yesterday, but that has been postposed until next week. No time. (Plus, I just might be onto something with this deferred aging thing.)

Be that as it may, hit the jump for registration and DVD links. Read more »

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Introducing: Strobist Lighting in Layers DVDs

UPDATE: Now available as an instant download. See below.
UPDATE 2: The full gear list for the video series is here.


In May of 2008, this site introduced its first commercial offering, the Strobist Lighting Seminar on DVD. It was a start-from-zero tutorial, complete with a newb discussion, a lighting seminar and a set of bonus shoots which were mostly designed around teaching different basic lighting techniques.

A lot has changed since 2008.

The number of photographers using small flashes creatively has exploded, all over the world. And the way photographers share techniques and knowledge has evolved, too.

As a result, people's understanding of lighting has gotten more nuanced. Photographers around the world are pushing their small-flash skills into different outlets and business models. But others are still mired in the technical, searching for outlets for their new-found techniques.

Or spending way too much time photographing the cat in their basement studio.

To that end, I am happy to announce Strobist.com's second DVD installment, "Lighting in Layers"... Read more »

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Road Trip.

NOTE: This is one of two big announcements coming within a few days' span on Strobist. (Announcement #2 is here.)


I don't really know how to set this up rather than just to come right out and say it: Dude, I'm going on a 13,000+ mile teaching road trip with Joe Fricken' McNally.

We have cleared our calendars for March and April. We've got a totally fly set of wheels, an excellent radar detector, a trunk full of speedlights and a mapped list of every Chipotle in the United States.

It's gonna be epic... Read more »

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Watch this Space

Big news coming tomorrow.

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Rosco CalColor: The "Whatever You Want it to Be" Gels

At this point, most of us are probably pretty familiar with the gel fixes for fluorescent and tungsten ambient light situations. And for the trickier sources, you can check Rosco's free FIlter Facts booklet to learn what filter combinations can be used to balance lights such as sodium- or mercury vapor, etc.

But what about really weird, non-standard lighting environments, like a high school gym with sodium vapors and a brightly colored wall affecting the overall ambient color?

There's a gel kit for that, too. Read more »

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On Assignment: Inside the Black Box

Normally, a "black box" is a metaphor for the part of a process during which you cannot see what is going on. Much like the "show your work" section in my math tests in high school.

But any long-term reader of this site will know that we do not take kindly to black boxes around here. So this OA is not about the metaphorical black box but rather the literal kind. As in, shooting something literally inside of a black box. Read more »

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NiZn Batteries: Long-Term Update

Remember those nickel-zinc batteries-on-steroids that came out a few months ago? Long-term usage reports are starting to come in.

The short version: When you send your SB-800 in to get its fried PC board(s) replaced, you might not wanna mention your choice of battery.

Longer version, inside. Read more »

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Mini-Rant: Screw the Critics

It's a new year, and I have been thinking a lot about this. There was even a long, rambling rant all written up, but I just spiked it. I'll save you the reading time by condensing it down to this:

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Don't try to please everyone. The more worried you are about pleasing everyone else, the less likely you are to ever please yourself. Nor are you likely produce anything truly interesting or develop any kind of a personal style worth having.

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That applies to your lighting. But it is also true for your composition, your choice of subject matter, your cooking, your performance review, your haircut -- whatever.

If you are not getting the occasional blowback, you are almost certainly playing it too safe and worrying too much about what others might think of your work.

The important thing is, what do you think of it?

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Sketchy iShoot Sniper Remote Claims 500m Range, Immunity From Copyright

UPDATE: 500m? Bzzzznt. More like 30m. And it can't hold a 1/250th sec sync, either. Surprise, right?


Need to place that speedlight five football fields away? No problem.

Or, at least no problem 90% of the time, according to the specs on the "iShoot Sniper" remote transceiver from the Chinese company McLovin' Photoloving.

Highlights include... Read more »

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Hack Your Grid II

Here is a quick-but-cool little hack inspired by the permanent way I altered my Honl grids a little earlier.

Using a piece of elastic and two hooks (tiny bungee cord, hair band and two paper clips, etc.) you can mount any grid to any smaller sized flash. I use them to mount my old Paul Buff grids to speedlights.

Why? Because if you are mixing speedlights and big lights, your gridded accents can usually be handled with low-power flashes. And many people have full sets of grids in varying beams for their big lights but not their speedlights.

Works on big modifiers, too. Using two larger straps in "X" formation allows me to mount the relatively inexpensive grid from my AlienBees dish onto my slightly smaller Profoto dish -- thus deferring the need to purchase the brand-specific beauty grid.

In short, as long as the grid is bigger than the target light/reflector, you can mount any grid to any light. Use two straps for more control and/or tension as needed, and you're good to go.

They take up almost no space -- just keep a few of the elastic hook sets (at your needed lengths) tucked away in your light bag. Like me, you're probably gonna find more uses for them on location, too.

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So, I Got Published in TechCrunch Today…

UPDATE: I answered some of the folks who found multiple other publications of this photo via a Tineye search below, in the comments. #WelcomeToMyLife
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I was trolling my RSS reader today during a break and saw a post containing one of my photos -- a golden egg shot originally done for J. D. Roth over at Get Rich Slowly.

Funny, I don't remember being asked… Read more »

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On Assignment: Stephanie Yezek

My ongoing partnership with the Howard County Arts Council has yielded a steady stream of talented, interesting people to stick in front of my camera. And dancer Stephanie Yezek, above, is a great example. She can pretty much disobey the laws of gravity whenever she wants. She has amazing strength and control.

Regular readers will know that I love shooting against dusk. And since this project is essentially a license to experiment, that's exactly what we did… Read more »

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New Year, New Bookshelf

Three brand new additions to the recommended reading list include a book of DIY photo projects, a must-read for anyone selling their home and a long-awaited, uber-comprehensive manual aimed at Canon Speedlite users.

:: Strobist Bookshelf ::

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