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:
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:
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 CONTENTS
Foreword by R'Bonney Nola, 2023 Miss Universe
Introduction
PART I: THE FLASH ADVANTAGE
Chapter 1: The Picture Perfect Flash System
Chapter 2: Fix the Light
Chapter 3: Add Light
Chapter 4: Create a Mood
Chapter 5: Effects with Flash
Chapter 6: Sculpt the Light
Chapter 7: NAME: Your Game Plan
PART II: FLASH BASICS EXPLAINED
Chapter 8: TTL: Let the Flash Decide
Chapter 9: Manual Mode
Chapter 10: 1st Curtain Sync, 2nd Curtain Sync, and High Speed Sync
Chapter 11: Channels and Groups
PART III: DYNAMIC FLASH EXERCISES
Chapter 12: Lighting Exercises
