Understanding Flash Photography: How to Shoot Great Photographs Using Electronic Flash Paperback – August 30, 2011

I have read many of Bryan Peterson's books, mostly because I like his style. Of course, they are all helpful as well, with Understanding Exposure probably being his best book. Well, this book is right up there in terms of helpfulness!I'm an amateur photographer: I really love photography; but I have a day job, so photography is only a hobby. I've read dozens of books, and I like to think I understand quite a bit about photography. But somehow, flash was always a bit mystifying. I understood some of the basics: flash is basically instantaneous, so flash exposure is entirely controlled by aperture and not shutter speed; however, beyond a certain speed, the sensor is never fully exposed, so you need a special mode (High-Speed Sync) to be able to use flash. But I never really understood what was going on with my flash: it gives me distances, and zooms, and power levels ... how was I supposed to use that information? Sure, I could use the automatic TTL mode and not worry about it. But if you're a true amateur, you want to know whats going on in order to experiment creatively. And I never quite got it. This book explains it well and painlessly! In fact, it's so easy, I'm amazed none of the other books I've read have explained it.After explaining the basics, he goes on to explore some advanced topics. Not as many as some might like, and probably not in enough detail to make you an expert. But I don't care, and you shouldn't either. This is a book about UNDERSTANDING flash photography, not about mastering techniques. I went in confused and I came out feeling that I now understand flash. I can now read more advanced books, or just experiment and learn through experience. Either way, I'm much better off than I was before. And all thanks to Peterson.I highly recommend this book!

I read the latest Bryan Peterson book from cover to cover within moments of its arrival at my mailbox. I have now also read the reviews and I agree wholeheartedly with the favorable ones and must respectfully disagree with the negative reviews. First, Bryan Peterson is the most understandable, approachable photography author in circulation today. His new book on flash is no different - completely understandable, completely approachable for novice and enthusiast alike. I am a Nikon shooter; if you own a Nikon SB900, the book is a masterpiece. If you don't however, I disagree with the critics who suggest that the book has no application. The thesis of the book is straightforward: compose the shot in full manual mode in your camera, and add light back manually (not in TTL mode) to light the subject. How much light, Bryan suggests, is based on the distance of your flash to your subject. In an SB900, once you determine the distance (you can eyeball it most of the time), the SB900 allows you to input that distance (as well as your ISO and f-stop based on your creative juices when you composed the shot) and as a result, the SB900 will then adjust the flash output for you. The SB800 will also do so for you, as well will newer manual flashes such as the Lumopro. I assume the various Canon speed lite flashes will also do so. If so, great. If not, then the thesis of the book is simply to use full manual mode, and by playing around a bit, the Canon user can determine what level of power matches the distance and subject. I do not read the book as limited to SB900's anymore than I read Syl Arena's book as only for Canon users. I recommend this book as the latest in the string of Peterson books for the everyman photographer.

While apparently geared towards digital technology, it really feels like a book about film photography with digital as an afterthought.Fortunately, that is a small flaw in an otherwise educating book on flash. First, the concepts here don't pertain a whole lot to the camera anyway and the concepts of exposure and flash settings are the same no matter what camera you use. The bigger problem comes with regard to manual flash and the behaviors observed on today's cameras. Today's flashes don't necessarily have all the manual behaviors this book talks about. In today's automated world, the manual modes on a flash still assume the user is dumb and don't give you nearly the flexibility that the author assumes you'll have here.This really isn't a flaw with the book as it is a flaw with the companies building our flashes and cameras. Unfortunately, I feel that the author should account for that to some extent.I do love that the book at least goes over the concepts very clearly. The focus is on using your flash in manual mode, and that is useful even if it is difficult to implement with your own flash. It took me three days of reading my flash's manual and internet forums to get to a point where I could make the book work for me (again a flaw of my flash and its manual). Once I got to that point, I find that everything in this book is spot on. The concepts are useful. I especially like the discussion on essentially removing the ambient light from your photos.I do question a little bit of the books organization. The discussion on power and guide numbers would have simplified the challenges I faced at the beginning if they would have been placed at the beginning of the book. The author calls the concepts advanced, but I think that Guide Numbers are essential to understand flash from the start.Last, going back to digital vs. film. In the limited discussion on automatic flash settings, the author discusses TTL, which really doesn't exist anymore as the author describes. I don't think it is a big deal as the current iteration on TTL tends to work well enough as described in digital, but it does have its limits. The author does acknowledge that todays dSLRs have better capability in low light and gives examples of when flash shouldn't be used. As a user who tended to be scared of flash, I was aware of these abilities, but it can be just as easy for many users to use a flash for everything. I can't believe how often I see flashes at baseball games. The author does a good job of also showing how a flash can be used in situations where it may not be technically necessary but can hugely improve a photo.The other item I question is the emphasis on items such as gels to color flash. My intuition is that there is value in the discussions, but the use isn't as necessary as it was during the film era. For one, digital editing allows us to shift the color of our images. Unchanged flash in combination with photo editing seems like it offers the most flexibility.Ultimately, I give this book 4 stars because it feels like it could use just a bit more updating for its time (a book in 2011 needs a bit more digital emphasis). Never-the-less as a reference on Flash photography, it is a great starting point. As in any book on photography and in any learning of techniques, I suggest supplementing it with internet forums, blogs, etc. I also suggest reading up on your own camera's flash as well as possible.Last, I wouldn't hesitate in buying an old flash (with care to ensure compatibility with your camera and its electric circuits). I picked up an old Pentax flash for my Pentax camera and found the concepts and use a lot easier to follow. It doesn't have to be the most powerful flash, but it will help to understand the concepts so that the use of your primary flash is much easier.Have fun... This book has made flash photography a joy for me. Before I always felt it was a chore. That is worth the price alone.