Control Light!

I must say, this has been an amazing week. I purchased a two light strobist kit in the mail a couple of weeks ago and it arrived recently so I had to learn how to use it. How did I do this? Well, I have been reading a lot lately, some scientific, some technical, and others artistic. The first thing that pushed me into this strobist movement is probably the man who coined the term, David Hobby, who writes the blog Strobist. You can find everything you need to know to start off on your way to becoming a better master of off camera lighting. It's an amazing way to make your photos more dynamic and artistic while giving them a professional look that is so easily recognizable.

While I definitely recommend strobist to start with, there are other ways you can learn about off camera flash(OCF). For instance, flickr hosts a plethora of great strobists who are willing to show their techniques and tricks to get that unique photo you couldn't get with an on camera flash. In my opinion, one of the best ways to learn OCF is by looking at photos that spell it out for you. A lot of people don't want to learn the inverse square law, and that's okay(unless you want to be the best :)), so turn to other platforms of learning. The best source of spelling things out in an easy to understand format would have to be Dustin Diaz's flickr profile. He is/was a huge flickr "star" that gave people great photographs every day in addition to pictures of the lighting setups he used for most of them. He also wrote the article "Flash photography, and pwning the inverse square law" which every aspiring strobist should read to become well-versed in the science behind the subject. Knowing the background information is crucial to succeeding as a strobist and on a broader spectrum, a photographer.

The last method to learning how to use OCF should be the most obvious....get out and DO it. Practice, practice, practice. You've heard it a million times and it is hands down the best way to increase your knowledge of the subject. Yes, you will fail...get over it. We all fail at some point so you just have to realize it's inevitable and practice so you can grow and reduce your odds of failing when the consequences are serious.

I have produced two photos this week that I am proud of...the first is number 9 out 52 photos for the year and it is also my first photo to make it to flickr's explore(top 500).

The second is a self portrait that was my second photo to make it to explore.