Customer Reviews

The Hot Shoe Diaries: Big Light from Small Flashes

5 star:		(144)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

SPOILER:
'Hot Shoe Diaries' is pure McNally and the best book I've ever read on flash photography. Two words: "buy it."

LONG VERSION:
Joe McNally's photo secrets were kicked out of the closet by the skeletons a long time ago. That's great news for those of us who have become infatuated (and infuriated) with the use of small flash units. Joe's latest book 'The Hot Shoe Diaries' is an exposé that tells all. There's never been a book on flash photography that covers the subject so thoroughly, so beautifully and so humorously. I'm certain that 'HSD' will reign as the undisputed champion on flash photography for a long time.

The first thing to know about 'HSD' is that even Joe has a hard time taking himself seriously. Joe repeatedly demonstrates his understanding of where he stands in the universe by filling 'HSD' with memorable photos - such as the self-portrait where he uses a chicken as a lightstand. Joe's humor is what sets 'HSD' apart from other photo books. It is what protects us from mind-numbing concepts, such as the "Inverse Square Law" (when did Congress pass that one anyway?).

Joe starts with the basics: gear, the fundamentals of digital photography and simple flash. He moves on to talk about one light shots. And two light shots. And lots-a-lights shots. He talks about where to put the lights and what to put between the lights and the subject. He shares a lifetime of stories. He inspires and encourages. Like I said, "pure McNally."

As with his first book, 'The Moment It Clicks', Joe fills the covers of 'HSD' with amazing and beautiful photos. These are the heart of 'HSD.' It's one thing to talk about flash photography. It's entirely another to demonstrate it again and again with stunning images. [Thanks also to the book designer who ran a good number of photos as double-trucks, aka: two-page spreads.]

'HSD' is for photographers of all levels - novice to expert. If you read 'Clicks' and were among the few disappointed because it wasn't a "how-to" book with lighting diagrams and such, 'HSD' is the book you were looking for. Plan on reading it again and again. I guarantee that every time you do, you'll pick up something new.

SPECIAL NOTE To Non-Nikon Shooters - 'HSD' Is Non-Denominational
It's no secret that Joe is a Nikon guy. Nikon terminology is used throughout the book. If you shoot something other than Nikon, think of it like an American talking to a Brit [if "elevator" = "lift", then "Auto FP" = "High-Speed Sync" and "Rear Curtain" = "2nd Curtain"]. Does this mean that 'HSD' is Nikon-specific? Absolutely not. As a lifelong Canon shooter, I've no hesitation in recommending this book to shooters of all denominations. The ideas and illustrations are universal.

Pros:
1. If you are photography junkie, the book fun to read - feels like you are having a couple of cold ones with a pro, and he is kind enough to tell you about his work.
2. If you already have a solid understanding of flash photography, the book will help you to get to the next level. [...]
3. This book is extra helpful for Nikon shooters.

Cons:
1. If you are a newbie, phrases like "so I just dialed up the shutter speed to kill off the extra ambient light I didn't want in the shot" may not mean much. (not quoting here, just relaying what is sounds like)

The book does not contain many specific instructions a la Scott Kelby "the shutter speed controls the ambient light, and therefore when you reduce the shutter speed you are letting in additional ambient light which works great in certain applications for dimly lit scenes" right next to picture showing the difference. (Scott Kelby obviously sounds better than this)

Newbies want specific instructions with detailed settings information, and before and after samples! Most likely the book wasn't written for newbies (like myself) so can't really complain about it (I guess).

2. I love Nikon products just like any other loyal Nikonian, but sometimes the book sounds a bit like infomercial for Nikon products we may not need to get. For example, yes, SU-800 the wireless off-camera flash commander is great because it makes it very easy to control multiple flashes in multiple groups. Can't my D90 do the same thing (albeit for fewer groups)? Yes, one can take the SU-800 off-camera and put it in direct line of sight with flashes while I can't do that with D90 - ok, but then wouldn't Pocket Wizards / Radio Poppers do a better job anyway? So isn't the true reason Joe is constantly using the SU-800 is because his D3 can't control the flashes wirelessly unlike D80, D90, D200, D300, and D700 models? So why don't we see "if you are using D80, D90 etc. you may not need to drop $250 for SU-800 because of the reasons X,Y, and Z?"

3. I noticed many people left comments that Joe's type of humor is similar to Scott Kelby's in a bad way. That's not true, the difference is huge. Scott Kelby is funny (not rolling on the floor funny, but he makes you smile consistently, and occasionally you can't help but let out a giggle. Joe, with all due respect to his story telling abilities, is not funny.

Furthermore, Joe often sounds like a drunken sailor who recently went through company-mandated sensitivity training. Tolerable (frequent) uses of curse word replacements like "friggginnnnnnn", but in my opinion neither cute nor cool.

In summary, if you basically know what you are doing and want to take your flash photography to the next level - get the book, it's worth every penny. If you are a complete newbie like me - it's a toss up.

I have mixed feelings about this book. For anyone who has had some experience with mixed lighting, color management, etc., it is written in a very "easy to understand" sort of style, and contains great food for thought. For a newer shooter, you will drown in this technically.

My three problems with it are that it is completely Nikon centric and he advocates using TTL or some form of it in every situation. That may work for Nikon gear, but I have found Canon's flash exposures to be all over the place when left in "Auto" mode. You need to be aware that there is little to no guidance or advice other than that in this book. It is all about Nikon electronics and which buttons to push. If you are looking for advice on using speedlight flash manually, it's not here.

I actually wondered as I was reading it whether Nikon sponsored the book. Way too much emphasis on Nikon gear and specific settings. As a result, it is less about small flash and more about about Nikon small flash and "CLS". That should have been part of the book's title I think.

And to be clear, this is not about Nikon vs Canon and who is better. It is irrelevant. I just think that to do a book like this, it should not rely so heavily on one manufacturer's technical exposure system.

The second thing is that there are not enough scene diagrams. Joe describes the set-ups, but it would have been better to show more sketches as he did in just a few examples. Diagrams help to visualize the distances involved; whether he was working alone using stands for the remote flash, or having assistants moving and holding them, among other issues.

Lastly, he mentions issues repeatedly about remote speedlights not being able to see the signals, and methods he uses to solve it using extension cables on his "control" unit. He is using flashes that cost $400-500 each. What about Pocket Wizards? He hardly mentions them. Yes, they are expensive, but you can buy a set of three for what he spent on one flash and buy several manual flashes to go with them. If this book is supposed to be applicable to all photographers, I think that is an oversight that does not serve those photographers well.

If you have some location experience with mixed lighting, and if you can get past the fact that this is all about Nikon and letting the Nikon system determine your exposures, then by all means get the book.

I have been following Joe McNally via the Nikon DVDs featuring him and his incredible work. If you ever wanted to look right into the mind of this photographic genius and see how he thinks in regard to portable flash, this is the book for you.

In 25 years of photography both as a professional freelancer and full-time photographer, I have never learned as much in one sitting as I have from Joe McNally's new book. He goes in-depth and answers every question you could possibly have and then goes way beyond into exquisite (never boring) detail.

I have been a fan and follower of the Strobist techniques and have longed for a clear, detailed explanation of the concepts in one place. This book does that and then delivers far more.

The cost of this book is worth more than any course you could take: it is a master course with a true master. If you love photography and want to learn how to make portable flash your main light source, buy this book today. I am so happy I did.

Any time I see everyone giving something five stars with out a normal distribution of ratings, my internal alarms go off. I mean seriously, c'mon, right?

Wrong. The book is that good. Good enough to where I feel generationally slighted that I did not have a book like this when I was 20 years old and starting out as a photographer.

This is subject-specific, photographer-to-photographer teaching in its purest form. Hooray for Hot Shoe Diaries.

This book does have a TON of great info in it, but the text reads like the monologue of someone telling war stories at a bar. I found it hard to understand exactly what he meant, and unlike less slang books it wasn't easy to deduce by reasoning. It's a shame because honestly this book is full of great information.

The book is awesome. Buy it!

But, there is one *very important* difference between how exposure modes on Canon & Nikon work, that McNally doesn't mention. On p. 12, he write "The camera EV is an exposure-wide adjustment. If you program underexposure into the scene, then you're programming underexposure into the flash as well." This is *not* the case on Canon.

On Nikon: the camera EV and flash EV are indeed linked: lowering the camera EV lowers the flash output. So, to highlight the foreground, you go -2 EV on the camera, +2 EV on the flash (e.g., p. 34, p. 61, and many many photos in the book).

But on Canon, this is *not true*: the camera EV and flash EV are independent. Dropping the camera EV drops the ambient exposure, but keeps the flash output the same! So to do the same as above on Canon, you want to do -2 EV on the camera, and leave the flash at 0 EV. If you do what McNally says, you'll end up over-flashing your subject on Canon.

This difference is *not* well documented, but you can find some more info on it at Canon's web page -- Google for "Canon EOS speedlite system tips" and click on the tips by photographer Stephen Wilkes, and there are a lot of sample photos for how this works. Neither system is better or worse -- but you do need to be aware of the differences!

This book may be of use to you if you are a Nikon photographer wanting to shoot using Nikon's speedlight automation (TTL) system and have multiple speedlights.

Very little else of value - the average page of text contained 1, or if you were extremely lucky, 2 sentences of actual, usable information. The majority of the text is banal blabbering that appears to have been added in an attempt to fill the page opposite each (admittedly attractive) photo.

My advice - before buying this book, get to view a copy - open it to ANY page and read that page. See if you get anything at all from it. If you do, then it just may be worth your while, else steer well clear.

To be fair, I did gain a little useful info from the book surrounding alternative ways that gels can be used. But that snippet just wasn't worth the price.

As stated in my title, I gave this book to a friend who is a Nikon shooter and a newbie, so he just might get some direct use out of it.

It is helpful to read, because J.McNally is an excellent photographer and there is fodder in the book for another way to take small flash pictures. However, I had several problems with the book. First, it is a Nikon book. Period. And Canon owners should be aware that Canon flash photography has some fundamental differences with Nikon flash photography; for example, in Canon, ambient and flash exposures are completely independent, and in Nikon systems, they aren't. So, the authors explanations need continual translation for Canon owners, and that gets tiring. This is not an insignificant issue. The only camera manufacturer that is even mentioned in this book is Nikon. All others is as if they didn't even exist. This sounds like a Nikon-sponsored book -an infomercial, as another comment said-, and, in my opinion, it is a big problem.

Two more issues: the explanations are often sort of right-brain explanations, and for left-brained people like me, not enough. In fact, in a few places, in my opinion, they are just confusing. Also, I must say that his brand of humor didn't click with me, and became more annoying than amusing after a while.

Still, as I said at the beginning of this review, there are good ideas in the book about a style -his- that I do like.

I'm slightly disappointed. The book was recommended by the best in the business. I'm also a Nikon shooter. I also use CLS. I should have liked the book, right?

Well, the paper is great. The pictures are fantastic. The light is remarkable. The text, however, left me indifferent. Maybe it's because I'm a regular strobist.com reader - but this book felt somewhat shallow. It reminded me of 'advanced' manuals that tell you 'put your lights here and here and you'll get great pictures' (make no mistake - the book is obviously deeper than that; it's just the feeling). Reading it I realized that without prior understanding of stuff like flash exposure, light falloff etc that I've got from reading strobist.com I'd be utterly lost.

My advice - read strobist, get his DVD set, then maybe buy this book.