On-Camera Flash Techniques for Digital Wedding and Portrait Photography

by Neil van Niekerk

With this guidebook, photographers learn how to create stunning, professional images while avoiding the common pitfalls of using an on-camera flash. Techniques for using simple accessories such as bounce cards and diffusers, as well as how to improve a lighting scenario by enhancing it rather than overwhelming it, show photographers how to master this challenging aspect of portraiture.

Genres: Photography, Art and Photography, Nonfiction, Reference

126 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Natalie]

As I have seen other reviewers note, his blog offers similar information and doesn't cost money. On the other hand, his book presents it in a more coherent manner and actually reminded me of a couple things. After having read his blog for so long, of course, for me, it felt justified to pay a bit for all the learning, but this is less about the book specifically.

The book will provide an introduction to on-camera flash to anyone who's just picked up their speedlight, but in the end, as with anything, knowing all the theory in the world won't help you if you don't have the experience. For a hands on learner like me, this is, of course, crucial. If you need to understand what your flash is doing, read this book, but I would definitely recommend getting the hang of proper exposure without flash first!

[Jena Jenkins]

Gives advice about on-camera TTL flash, specifically for weddings but could certainly be applied elsewhere. I liked his practical approach with plenty of explanation but not too much technical detail. He advises (mostly) against typical diffusers and prefers to bounce flash whenever possible with the aid of a "black foamy thing" to block the flash from landing directly on the subject. Also discusses the use of gels to match the color of light from the flash with that of the environment for better white balance.

[Heather]

I have to have a second read-through with camera in hand this time, but the author really does successfully break down something that seemed almost like Greek to me into something I can understand. Hopefully my flash will become much more useful now! :-)

[Daniel Apatiga]

Great tips for taking wedding photography or portrait photography in general, though mostly the former. My only complaint was having to skim through the Nikon section since the author does a good job of including both Canon and Nikon cameras.

[JAMILA S. MENDEZ]

A serious game changer! I keep going back to read this book. It has helped my photography so much.