Alan Hess - Mastering Nikon Speedlights: A Complete Guide to Small Flash Photography and the Creative Lighting System

A Complete Guide to
Small Flash Photography and the
Creative Lighting System

ALAN HESS

MASTERING NIKON SPEEDLIGHTS: A COMPLETE GUIDE TO SMALL FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE CREATIVE LIGHTING SYSTEM
Alan Hess

Peachpit Press
www.peachpit.com

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Peachpit Press is a division of Pearson Education.

Copyright 2016 by Alan Hess
All images copyright 2016 by Alan Hess

Project Editor: Valerie Witte
Production Editor: Tracey Croom
Development and Copy Editor: Linda Laflamme
Proofreader: Kim Wimpsett
Composition: Kim Scott/Bumpy Design
Indexer: Rebecca Plunkett
Cover Image: Alan Hess
Cover Design: Mimi Heft
Interior Design: Mimi Heft

Notice of Rights

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information on getting permission for reprints and excerpts, contact .

Notice of Liability

The information in this book is distributed on an As Is basis, without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of the book, neither the author nor Peachpit shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss, damage, or injury caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or by the computer software and hardware products described in it.

Trademarks

All Nikon products are trademarks or registered trademarks of Nikon and/or Nikon Corporation.

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and Peachpit was aware of a trademark claim, the designations appear as requested by the owner of the trademark. All other product names and services identified throughout this book are used in editorial fashion only and for the benefit of such companies with no intention of infringement of the trademark. No such use, or the use of any trade name, is intended to convey endorsement or other affiliation with this book.

ISBN-13: 978-0-134-08591-3
ISBN-10: 0-134-08591-4

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed and bound in the United States of America

This book is dedicated to my wife, Nadra;
without her, none of this would have been possible.

Writing a book does not happen in a vacuum. There is a whole team of people who help with the gear, edit the words, model for the photos, design the layout, and help keep me sane.

First and foremost is my very understanding wife, Nadra. She puts up with the crazy hours and with me turning the living room into a studio to photograph people and products for weeks at a time. With this book, I actually turned the family room into the spot where I photographed all the product images and gear groupings. Her patience with this process was amazing.

My wonderful parents for all their love and support, even though they are not sure what a Speedlight is or what it does.

Scott Diussa and the rest of the great folks at Nikon Professional Services (NPS). Scott was always ready to help with gear and technology questions and was a great sounding board for my ideas. As a professional photographer who happens to also write books, I rely on the NPS team to keep me informed about new Nikon products and services and to keep my gear in working order, and they do it all with a smile.

Joe McNally and Annie Cahill for the inspiration and friendship. Joe is one of the reasons I picked up a Speedlight in the first place, and I am forever in his debt. Joe and the images that he creates are both inspiration and motivation to go out there and create photographs that speak to people.

Nicole, Glenn, and Sam Melero for always being available for my crazy ideas and last-minute photo shoots.

Erika Thornes for happily providing a constant stream of willing models for me to photograph no matter what the subject. Thank you so much for all the help. This book would not be filled with so many great faces without you, your wonderful family, and your friends.

Jennifer Curry Wingrove for her amazing ability as a dancer and silk aerialist and for allowing me to use her Pilates studio, Pilates on Park, as a photo studio (www.pilatesonpark.com ). Jennifer is an amazing combination of strength, grace, and beauty, and when that is combined with her fearlessness, it results in fantastic images.

Cody Lovaas for taking time out of his crazy musician schedule to spend an evening creating images. You can find more of Cody at www.codylovaas.com .

Ted Waitt for his belief in me and help in getting this project off the ground.

Valerie Witte, Linda Laflamme, Tracey Croom, Kim Wimpsett, Mimi Heft, Kim Scott, Sheila Lease, Sara Todd, and the rest of the team at Peachpit for their hard work on this book. As I mentioned before, a book like this takes a team, and I have the best of the best.

Iron Mike Savoia for putting the SB-500 through some real-world testing and returning it to me in one piece.

Glyn Dewis and Dave Clayton for their support, friendship, and ability to make me laugh, usually at the most inappropriate time.

Theresa Jackson for introducing me to her dad, a true gentleman cowboy.

All the subjects in this book are my family, friends, and friends of friends. I cant thank you all enough for taking time out of your lives to help me with this project. Alex Mest, Alex Sinclair, Allen Pasalaqua, Andy Fons, Anna, Ashley Anton, Calum Worden, Chance Jimenez, Cody Lovaas, David Baron, Don McLellan, Eleanor Thornes, Emery Thornes, Emma Clark, Erika Thornes, Freddy King, Glenn Melero, Greg Torwick, Ivan Randall, Izzy Thornes, Jennifer Curry Wingrove, Jessica Lerner, John Ginty, Josh Thornes, Kaitlin Harvey, Kasey Harvey, Kevin La Rue, Mia Beck, Nadra Farina-Hess, Nicole Melero, Noah Thornes, Olivia Groves, Paige Teague, Rebecca, Rileigh Worden, Robin Harris, Sam Melero, Sierra Kriss, Stella Thornes, Ted Washington, Terry Sanchez, and Tim Faasse.

For years, I would just tell people I was an available-light photographer, and I would leave my Speedlight in the bag or, more often, at home. I would then end up making excuses about the quality light and my inability to change it.

That all changed one morning back in 2003 when I witnessed Joe McNally demonstrating the Nikon SB-800 Speedlight and the new Nikon Creative Lighting System. I watched in amazement as Joe photographed a dancer leaping across the stage using a couple of small flashes that were triggered right from the camera while audience members held the remote flashes. The resulting images were properly exposed, were well lit, and looked as if they were shot with a full studio worth of gear instead of just a couple of small flashes. The ease of setting up and using multiple flashes off-camera without big battery packs or extra gear was amazing. That day changed how I felt about using small flash, and it opened up a whole new way of lighting. With the Creative Lighting System, Nikon had created a way for the camera and flash to work together to get the best lighting possible, and Advanced Wireless Lighting now offered the amazing ability to trigger off-camera Speedlights with a Speedlight on the camera.