The Hot Shoe Diaries: Big Light from Small Flashes
by Joe McNally
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Book Summary Information
Author: Joe McNallyBrand: Peachpit Press
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-03-13
ISBN: 0321580141
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: New Riders Press
Accessories:
- Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision
- VisionMongers: Making a Life and a Living in Photography
- The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world's top shooters
Book Reviews of The Hot Shoe Diaries: Big Light from Small Flashes
Book Review: Numnuts' Magnus Opus! Don't think, buy it. Click the button. Do it now.
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is a diary (don't call it a manual) that entertainingly journals how Joe uses portable strobes to create a studio anywhere in the world.
Before I continue with the review, I have two notes. First, if you have any interest in this photographic discipline, I would like to point you to Strobist. This is a blog managed by one D Hobby. You may have noticed his review for this book. He has a more complete review of this book on his web site. Additionally, he has two free complete do-it-yourself courses on getting started. These start with what equipment to buy and continue through all 6 ways that you can manipulate light. Additionally, there is a Strobist Flickr group and many actual Strobist clubs throughout the world. If you are new to this but interested, you owe it to yourself to check out this site.
One other note, even though Joe uses Nikon, this book is useful for any brand and type of camera that has a hot shoe (I shoot Nikon DSLRs(Nikon D700 12.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)) But I also use these techniques with my Canon Powershot G10 14.7MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom).
Back to the maestro, I read Joe's earlier book The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world's top shooters (Voices That Matter). I really enjoyed it, but it really did not get into the nuts and bolts of how Joe makes his amazing photos. I also, watched (and own) Nikon School presents A Hands-on Guide to Creative Lighting, which prominently features Joe, and was left wanting more. Hot Shoe Diaries delivers that in spades. (Hot Shoe and Nikon School DVD complement each other and I highly recommend both).
Joe starts the mental feast with an appetizer he call nuts `n' bolts. In this section (36 pages) he talks about what equipment he uses and why (on his blogs 19 Dec post he lists a great kit that Bob Krist showed on the Nikon DVD. McNally also has an equipment page on his site. All of this stuff is great but expensive, you can go to Strobist to see how to make many light shaping tools for cheap). Then he moves onto some of his wisdom for manipulating light and finally he shows how to hold a camera to enable steady shooting (this grip mostly applies to right handed, left eye dominant people)
As the pleasing appetizer tantalizes you brain, Joe dives right in and serves up an astoundingly delicious main course he calls One Light. This course consists of 110 pages of such succulent morsels as Make the Sun Rise, One light in the Parking Lot, and, my personal favorite, The "Killer Flicker of Light".
The second main course deals with Two Lights (74 pages) while the deviant, sinful, but delightful dessert covers Lotsa Lights (45 pages).
This book is not a manual and Joe goes out of his way to make this point. This means that he doesn't tell you when to use a snoot, grid, umbrella, etc. He also doesn't show the different light patterns that each throws. While it is a bummer that stuff is not in there it also keeps the book from being dry and as Joe points out he is not really a manual kind of guy.
What this book is, is a diary of many great photos that Joe has shot. After he shows you the photo, he then goes through, in great detail, his thoughts of how he first approached the shoot. Then he steps you through the process by which he continued to improve the photo until he arrived at his artistic impression of the world he is trying to record. This is the true magic of this book. You get inside of the brain (be careful what you ask for) of an amazing professional who has over 30 years of been-there-and-done-that experience. This book is a treasure chest of photos and knowledge that you will never tire of digging through.
Summary of The Hot Shoe Diaries: Big Light from Small Flashes
When it comes to photography, it?s all about the light.After spending more than thirty years behind the lens?working for National Geographic, Time, Life, and Sports Illustrated?Joe McNally knows about light. He knows how to talk about it, shape it, color it, control it, and direct it. Most importantly, he knows how to create it...using small hot shoe flashes.
In The Hot Shoe Diaries, Joe brings you behind the scenes to candidly share his lighting solutions for a ton of great images. Using Nikon Speedlights, Joe lets you in on his uncensored thought process?often funny, sometimes serious, always fascinating?to demonstrate how he makes his pictures with these small flashes. Whether he?s photographing a gymnast on the Great Wall, an alligator in a swamp, or a fire truck careening through Times Square, Joe uses these flashes to create great light that makes his pictures sing.
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