When it comes to photography, lighting is everything. After all, as an old photojournalism professor used to remind my class almost daily, “a photo is nothing more than a manipulation of light.”
And wouldn’t you know what my greatest enemy is when shooting? Poor lighting. It’s no wonder that I’ve become interested in strobe photography.
Strobe photography uses off-camera flashes and other light equipment to create desired lighting effects. This allows the photographer to control where the light is coming from, the brightness, the color balance, etc. The result? Your photos are lit the way you want them to be, instead of the way your available light would like them to look.
So, after much time spent researching the ever-helpful Strobist blog, and after soliciting advice from more experienced strobists on its discussion boards, I purchased my beginner’s strobe equipment. Now it’s just a waiting game until I have it all to practice with.
If you’d also like to take your first leap into strobe photography, I’d suggest reading a lot of posts on the Strobist’s blog first. And if you’re looking for low-priced gear, try looking on eBay for some of it, but you might want to be wary of the quality. Also, Deal Extreme (a recent discovery) sells lots of low-priced photo gear.
Strobe photography is becoming more popular among photographers, amateur and pro alike. I say it’s worth a shot.
Erica Motter 