What China Doesn't Understand

Earlier this week, Chinese manufacturer YongNuo announced a new flash: the YN-565EX.

It's got full manual mode, a built-in slave, a PC jack, a modeling light -- and is compatible with both Nikon and Canon's proprietary light-based TTL triggering systems.

It may well be a great flash -- or it could be a piece of crap. But it won't get any kind of a serious look here for one simple reason: China's manufacturing and distribution system is sufficiently borked to make product quality control and customer service damn near impossible.

Which is a shame, really, considering how well they could be doing… Read more »

Guest Post: Brad Trent's Ocean Master Session

I'm back in Maryland, decompressing from a 12,531-mile road trip and getting my next few shoots lined up. Fortunately (and to give me a few days to get back into the swing of things) we have one more guest blogger: Brad Trent, who is pictured at left.

Not only was Brad the subject of the most widely read post on Strobist in 2010, but he has uncorked what can only be characterized as a Magnum Opus of a guest post today. Even broken into two parts, it is ... significant.

Part one, chock full of no fewer than 22 process images, inside. Read more »

Threadless T-Shirts BTS

Grover over at Photoshelter did a cool behind-the-scenes look into the one-man photo department at Threadless Tees, AKA Strobist reader Sean Dorgan.

Sean is self-taught and does all of the cool, better-than-they-have-to-be T-shirt shots for the site. (Most sites just import the design files into the web page, or at best shoot the empty shirts on white paper. Bleh.)

I have corresponded with Sean occasionally as he has grown from a newb flasher into someone who is doing some pretty neat stuff in the name of hawking cool, community-designed T-shirts. I was not at all surprised to see that beat-to-crap Tejada beauty dish he started out with, late in the vid either.

This should go without saying, but if your company has some sort of need for photography you might consider stepping up to the plate with your camera like Sean did. Worst case, you might rescue yourself from your cubicle a few hours per week.

Props to the increasingly education-oriented folks Photoshelter, and to Sean for raising the bar for Threadless.

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(Via A Picture's Worth)

Chris Crisman on Self-Investment, Reinvention and Reductive Lighting

It's Monday, and that means another guest post while I'm out on the road. This week's entry is from Philly-based photog Chris Crisman, whom I finally got to meet a few days ago during our stop there.

Kinda psyched, as Chris is writing not only about going out on a limb to add a new branch to his portfolio but also about changing up his lighting process. And this exact technique is something I have been wanting to try.

Better to let him explain it... Read more »

Detailed DIY Ring Flash Tutorial

If you are one of those people with more hours than dollars (we've all been there) you are gonna like this DIY ring flash video courtesy Roy at Motley Pixel. It's a variant of the design I first saw done by David Tejada. But the video (two, actually) lays it out in very nice detail.

Of particular note, and an evolution on Dave's design, are the multiple layers of diffusion at the flash end. This evens out the light around the ring. Nice touch.

First part is above, hit the jump for the second video. Read more »

Winters on APE

If you are a fan of Dan Winters (big fan here) make sure to check out Rob's interview with him on A Photo Editor.

In Part 1, they cover Dan's early career as a newspaper shooter and a fateful trip to the very first Eddie Adams Workshop. Very much worth a read. Part 2 coming soon, apparently.


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See also: From 2009, a two-part Dan Winters Video

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John Keatley's "Best in Show" Christmas Card

Ed. note: Today's guest post is from Seattle-based photographer John Keatley, who will shortly suggest you give yourself permission to blow $50 building your own set...
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I know by now many of you are missing David while he’s off driving around the country, flashing people from a bus.  Not sure how he convinced his wife to give him the okay on that one, but to each his own.  I would encourage all of you to turn the other way, or shield your eyes at the very least, if you happen upon the Flash Bus.  But seriously folks.  It’s great to be back on Strobist and I hope you find what I have to say interesting.

More and more, lately, I have been emailing and meeting with photographers who are just starting out, and have questions about taking the next big step toward photography as a career.  What I love about these conversations is the lessons I am reminded of myself as I try to guide others.  In those lessons, I have been reminded of one thing above all others.  Practice what you preach.  But to be more specific, work hard and go after it.  

This could be said in many different ways, but the point I will focus on today is this: do what it takes to make your vision a reality.  This applies to just about everything in photography, from landing that first job with your dream client, to making the ideas floating around in your head a photographic reality.  Read more »

How To: DIY eBay Beauty Dish Speedlight Mount

As noted last week, the 16" eBay beauty dish kit I got has seen much more time on a speedlight than on a big flash. It is small, and thus ideally suited to lighting from in close -- especially when using the included grid spots.

Today, how to securely connect it (or any thing else with a speedring mount) to a speedlight. Read more »

Flash The Bus

So we find out a few days before the TFB_Austin stop that we might actually be able to park the bus inside the venue if we were interested.

(Um, heck yeah, we're interested…)

Within about 5 seconds, it was decided that McNally would light and shoot it as part of the afternoon class. And I knew that Mr. Heinz 57 Speedlights would come up with something typically cool. But I wanted to grab it guerilla-style, before heading off to lunch, so I could have a souvy pic for myself.

Him: 19 cases of gear -- 1,000 pounds worth.
Me: Traveling light: 1 Nikon D7000, a 12-24 and a couple of SB-800s -- no stands, no mods.

Given that, I was happy with the ~3-min, lower-impact bus shot I got during the break. Keep reading for the "McNally wanna-be-on-the-cheap" version, and a link to the Real McCoy…Read more »