Picture Perfect Flash: Using Portable Strobes and Hot Shoe Flash to Master Lighting and Create Extraordinary Portraits

Conquer your small flash and create extraordinary portraits!Roberto Valenzuela is a photographer, author, and instructor who has an unmatched talent for helping others conquer photography’s most challenging topics in their pursuit of becoming better photographers. Over the past decade, he has written numerous bestselling books that have empowered readers around the world to break through barriers and improve their craft.Here, in Picture Perfect Flash, for the first time Roberto dedicates an entire book to the subject of using small, portable flash to create powerful, creative, and extraordinary portraits. Flash photography has always been daunting for many photographers. Without a system for thinking about and working with flash, you can easily end up feeling stuck, or you end up flailing—randomly changing settings, positions, and modifiers—and hoping for the best. It’s not surprising that this leads to failure and frustration.In this book, Roberto teaches you two systems he created, which will allow you to finally conquer your flash and create photographs that fulfill your intention and vision. Roberto calls these the FACES and NAME systems. The FACES system gives you a framework for thinking about how you want or need to use flash in a particular scene:•  Fix: Do you need to fix a low light problem or an unwanted color cast?•  Add: Do you need to add more light to boost or enhance the available light or create separation?•  Create: Are you creating all of the light in the scene to achieve a certain mood?•  Effects: Are you using flash for creative visual effect?•  Subtract: Do you need to subtract light from the scene?Once you’ve found your purpose for the light, the NAME system provides an essential workflow for working through the execution of your flash photography in a methodical way so that you get consistent results:•  Number: How many flashes do you need?•  Angle: Where does the flash need to be positioned?•  Modifier: How do you need to modify the flash?•  Energy: What power does the flash need to be?These two systems provide the core framework for the book. Along the way, Roberto explains all the features of flash and flash photography that you need to know: TTL, manual, 1st and 2nd curtain sync, channels, groups, flash exposure bracketing, ratios, stroboscopic flash, flags, using gels, and using modifiers such as grids, softboxes, umbrellas, and snoots. With this technical knowledge, combined with the FACES and NAME systems, you’ll have everything you need to know to finally conquer your flash...and make the kind of portrait photographs you’ve always wanted to create.
Conquer portable strobes and hot shoe flash to create extraordinary portraits!Roberto Valenzuela is a photographer, author, and educator who has an unmatched talent for helping people conquer photography’s most challenging topics in their pursuit of becoming better photographers. Over the past decade, he has written numerous bestselling books that have helped readers around the world break through barriers and improve their craft.In Picture Perfect Flash, for the first time Roberto dedicates an entire book to the subject of using small, portable strobes and hot shoe flashes to create powerful, creative, and extraordinary portraits.Flash photography has always been daunting for most photographers. Without a system and workflow for thinking about and working with flash, you can easily end up feeling stuck, or you end up flailing—randomly changing settings, positions, and modifiers—and hoping for the best. It’s not surprising that this leads to failure and frustration.In this book, Roberto teaches you The Picture Perfect Flash system he created, which will empower you to finally conquer your flash and create photographs that fulfill your intention and vision. There are two key components to this system, which Roberto calls FACES and NAME. The FACES system provides a framework for thinking about how you want or need to use flash in a particular scene:• Fix the Light: Do you need to fix a low light problem, an unwanted color cast, or a situation with poor quality of light?• Add Light: Do you need to add more light to boost or enhance the available light or create separation?• Create a Mood: Are you using light to create a desired mood for a location or subject?• Effects with Flash: Are you using flash for creative visual effect?• Sculpt the Light: Do you need to sculpt the light to add drama, shape, and contouring?Once you’ve found your purpose for the light, the NAME system provides an essential workflow for carrying out your flash photography in a methodical way so that you get consistent and predictable results:• Number of Flashes: How many flashes do you need?• Angle of Flashes: Where do the flashes need to be positioned?• Modifiers for Flashes: How do you need to modify your flashes?• Energy of Flashes: What power do the flashes need to be?These two systems are covered in Part I: The Flash Advantage, which is the core framework of the book. In Part II: Flash Basics Explained, Roberto covers the flash features you need to know: TTL, Manual, 1st and 2nd Curtain Sync, High Speed Sync, and Channels and Groups. Finally, in Part III: Dynamic Flash Exercises, Roberto gives you a dozen lighting exercises that will substantially hone and advance your skills. With The Picture Perfect Flash system, you’ll finally be able to conquer your flash...and make the kind of portraits you’ve always wanted to create.TABLE OF CONTENTSForeword by R'Bonney Nola, 2023 Miss UniverseIntroductionPART I: THE FLASH ADVANTAGEChapter 1: The Picture Perfect Flash SystemChapter 2: Fix the LightChapter 3: Add LightChapter 4: Create a MoodChapter 5: Effects with FlashChapter 6: Sculpt the LightChapter 7: NAME: Your Game PlanPART II: FLASH BASICS EXPLAINEDChapter 8: TTL: Let the Flash DecideChapter 9: Manual ModeChapter 10: 1st Curtain Sync, 2nd Curtain Sync, and High Speed SyncChapter 11: Channels and GroupsPART III: DYNAMIC FLASH EXERCISESChapter 12: Lighting Exercises