Look out there's a strobist about

Yesterday was strobist day in London. My chance to finally meet David Hobby and around forty other photographers for a seminar about small off camera flash lighting. Unfortunately it turned out not to be the mega picture opportunity I'd hoped for but I did learn some really good things about how close you can and indeed may need to be with umbrellas, plus the value of gobos in pictures.

David's style is that of an amazing storyteller and entertainer, from the shorts & t-shirt wearing (it was 2 degrees celsius) to the story of flash being just a way to fix problems with photos it all adds up to quite a show. I must say I thought we'd see a bit more practical stuff but actually the shooting part was fairly limited; we must have asked too many questions and eaten all the time up with talk instead of demonstration. Not helped when the venue staff wanted to get us out on time!

Should you go to a strobist seminar? Yes, this small flash lighting is the best thing since digital cameras. It's accessible for all photographers, portable and usable in a wealth of photographic situations. You need to want to think about pictures much more creatively. It's worth reading his lighting 101 and also maybe the light science and magic book.

Is David a good presenter? Yes, he's entertaining he knows his stuff and he can teach something to all levels of photographers.

Would I go again? Maybe, i'd prefer to have the chance to shoot with him, maybe on a group shoot or similar.

Do I need loads of expensive equipment? Not yet, but when you add the cost up then three or more Speedlite flashes, some stands, some radio triggers, some umbrellas, some grids/honeycombs, grips, clamps, bungees will cost a reasonable chunk. But as David says you already bought the real expensive bit the camera and the lens.

What camera is best for strobist work? Pretty much anything that has a way to trigger off camera flashes and has a full manual mode where you can control the shutter speed, aperture and ISO settings.

So there you have it strobist in a nutshell, in my view worth the money, and the opportunity to spend some time with other like minded photographers is always good in what can be a solitary profession or passion.

- p4pictures -