104 Comments »

1. 

   Neil…Big fan of your site, wish I had time to keep mine up. Love your book though. I actually was waiting for it to come out and was pleasantly surprised. Never thought of metering with the histogram for flash, nice tip. Keep up the good work.

         Comment by David Gould — October 31, 2009 @ 6:30 pm

2. 

   Neil,

   I bought your book two days ago and I’m almost finished. Let me tell you I loved the book. I think I’ll will began reading it again to pick up what I have missed the first time. Thank you!!!

   HC

         Comment by Hector Castillo — November 2, 2009 @ 8:26 pm

3. 

   Ordered and received mine last week. Excellent read. Nice reading from cover to cover and then referring back when something niggles.

   I saw some errata somewhere on your site but can’t find it now. Can you please let me know where to find it?

         Comment by Etienne Bester — November 3, 2009 @ 6:30 am

4. 

   Nevermind…saw it when I scrolled back up. So much for situational awareness!

         Comment by Etienne Bester — November 3, 2009 @ 6:31 am

5. 

   Decided to support a hardworking photog who contributes much of his knowledge to the public – not to mention needing a good book on this subject! Looking forward to many details so often left out of many publications. Are you listening Joe?

         Comment by Brian Patterson — November 11, 2009 @ 10:47 pm

6. 

   Great book, highly recommended!

         Comment by Markus Linke — November 23, 2009 @ 4:27 am

7. 

   Hi Neil,

   I am a big fan of your web site in which I find lots of intersting tips and technics that help me a lot in my work. Before finding your tangents I barely used flash.

   I don(t know if there’s many of your book in France but I have one and I love it.

   Seb

         Comment by Sebastien Lamadon — December 8, 2009 @ 6:05 am

8. 

   Great stuff, man. Always nice to see the work of a peer. You should add buttons to the bottom of your posts to digg, stumble, etc your content.-Tom

         Comment by Tom @ Leica Camera Source — December 8, 2009 @ 7:08 pm

9. 

   Tom .. thanks for the suggestion. I had my web designer implement that.

   Neil vN

         Comment by Neil — December 8, 2009 @ 11:48 pm

10. 

    Neil,
    The simplest way to get all those social bookmarking links in is to use something like AddThis. (free service)

    http://www.addthis.com/

    It generates some HTML/Javascript that can be inserted into a website, WordPress, Blogger, or MySpace. It carries all the major social bookmarking websites, including a few you might not have heard about. A lot of commercial websites are using this service, so AddThis is an accepted technology.

    Your web designer should look into AddThis. It will be easier than setting up the links/buttons manually.

    (I’m not affiliated with AddThis, but we do use it at my workplace to support our websites.)

          Comment by Stephen — December 9, 2009 @ 11:55 am

11. 

    Stephen .. thanks!

    Neil vN

          Comment by Neil — December 9, 2009 @ 2:05 pm

12. 

    Hi Neil

    I’ve been following your site for sometime now and throughout I’ve had a suspicion that you have a South African connection. Seeing the Madiba photographs added to my suspicion, which has finally been confirmed by the Bio in your book. I’m interested in buying your book preferable one with an autographed. Could you please tell me if there is a way for the book to be sent to Pretoria and how much it would cost.

          Comment by Thabiso — December 16, 2009 @ 6:02 am

13. 

    Thabiso .. I do ship worldwide. Check the drop-down menu. The only possible snag here is South Africa’s unfortunate postal service. But we can give it a try. : )

    Neil vN

          Comment by Neil — December 16, 2009 @ 5:37 pm

14. 

    Neil, I have read your book which I buy on Amazon and the only thing I ask is when your next book will come, “of camera flash” which I am sure I will enjoy as much as the first.
    I’m from Dominican Republic.

          Comment by Alfredo Medina — December 16, 2009 @ 10:10 pm

15. 

    Alfredo .. I am busy writing just such a book at the moment. : )

    Neil vN

          Comment by Neil — December 16, 2009 @ 11:02 pm

16. 

    Got your book from Amazon and just finished reading it last night. A veritable treasury of knowledge about flash photography. As I read the book, I could visualize photos I had taken over the years and knew now how I could improved them.

    I will have to read it again to absorb the lessons until I do all this without thinking. Thank you.

    Rajoo.

          Comment by rajoo — December 17, 2009 @ 5:10 pm

17. 

    Neil–I was referred to your Web site as an excellent resource for understanding and effectively using TTL metering techniques with ambient light. The site’s show-and-tell teaching style is very practical and straightforward, with immediately actionable tips and techniques based in practice, not just theory. After working through the TTL pages only, I ordered your book. Thanks for publishing great content online and, better, thanks for bundling it up into a purchasable volume. Cheers! Will

          Comment by Will — December 30, 2009 @ 8:55 pm

18. 

    Got your book today, first impression is great!
    Thanks for your little note, much appreciated.
    When your next book is ready (off camera flash)
    i will buy that one immediately. Happy New Year
    and all the best. Greetz! Twan

          Comment by Twan — December 31, 2009 @ 9:24 pm

19. 

    Twan, glad to hear it finally arrived. Enjoy! : )

    Neil vN

          Comment by Neil — January 2, 2010 @ 6:49 am

20. 

    Hi Neil,

    Can I get a an electronic download of the book

          Comment by Harinder — January 8, 2010 @ 6:11 am

21. 

    Harinder .. not at this time. An electronic download of the book is something the publisher would have to provide.

    Neil vN

          Comment by Neil — January 8, 2010 @ 10:00 am

22. 

    Ordered your book today in The Netherlands, will receive it in 5 to 7 days. Looks to me as a very usefull book to master my on-cam flash

          Comment by Rob — January 12, 2010 @ 10:34 am

23. 

    Please, let me know when the electronic download of the book is available.

          Comment by Marius Augustin Popa — January 29, 2010 @ 3:50 pm

24. [...] flash photography book [...]

          Pingback by wedding photography – and some homework .. « planet neil – tangents — February 3, 2010 @ 7:05 am

25. 

    Neil

    I’m just finiahed your book and it has helped me enormously. I am not ashamed to admit I was a 45 deg omnibouncer but now I’m boucing it all over the place and getting much better results. I do look strange wandering the streets of Oxford (UK) with a large piece of black foam attached to my flash though! ;-)

    (I left a glowing review on Amazon as I think so many would benefit from your book – do you intend to write any more?)

    Giles.

          Comment by Giles — March 12, 2010 @ 4:06 am

26. 

    Giles, I am writing a new book, and it will be on the topic of off-camera flash. It should be published next year some time. I’ll post news about it as soon as it is out.

    And thank you, a good review on Amazon always helps. :)

    Neil vN

          Comment by Neil vN — March 12, 2010 @ 4:46 am

27. 

    Neil

    Glad to hear about the new book in progress – I’ll watch out for it next year.

    Your book talks about flash synch speed and my D300 has an option for 1/320 (auto FP) but when I set this and have the shutter at 1/320 (manual mode) I get reduced power from the 1/250 shutter speed. I’m using an sb-900. I have had to set the d300 to 1/250 (auto FP) and this works fine at 1/250 shutter speed. Am I doing something wrong?

    Cheers

    Giles.

          Comment by Giles — March 13, 2010 @ 10:08 am

28. 

    Giles .. nope, that’s the behaviour once you go over 1/250th ..

    More here on the custom settings of the Nikon D300,
    and on the choice of maximum flash sync speed.

    Neil vN

          Comment by Neil vN — March 13, 2010 @ 1:13 pm

29. 

    I read your book, and I am using it as a bible!
    EVERYTHING makes so much more sense after I read your stuff!!!
    THANKYOU!

          Comment by Isobel Q. — March 30, 2010 @ 9:27 am

30. 

    I downloaded the book thru Kindle Store today . Not started reading yet and just glanced thru . I am sure its going to be a life time experience going thru all the practical examples but one thing which is disturbing is that the quality of photographs on the kindle edition is bad . These are not clear .

          Comment by Harinder — April 20, 2010 @ 8:40 am

31. 

    Yeh I downloaded it from Amazon last night and shame about the photo’s being poor, I guess the kindle thing is poor resolution? I use a app on mac to view the book just wish I bought the book now. That said it is so far a fantastic read and easy to follow. I have bin following this site for a few months now and is up there with my fav sites too follow.

    Keep the great post’s coming and look forward to the next book

    Jay

          Comment by jay — April 22, 2010 @ 5:01 am

32. 

    Neil

    Merci, Thank YOU. Your book is just great. As a French guy I had a bit of hard time reading it in english but now I am part of the black foam Ninja French Team :).

    Before I did not know how to use my 580EXII. And now I am training myself all the time with it. Your book is THE book for on-flash camera photography :).

    Michael

          Comment by Michael — April 22, 2010 @ 8:09 am

33. 

    I lurk on your blog regularly and learn as much as I can, or reaffirm things I’m doing with lighting. I bought the book, if you read blogs like this you should support the content creators in what ever way make scenes. Good luck with the book.

          Comment by Brian — April 22, 2010 @ 4:35 pm

34. 

    Neil

    At first I thought the book was simply a collection of your blogs, as many of the images and lessons in the book have appeared on this site. However, it is much more than that. As a pro, I am not in the habit of spending my hard-earned cash (very hard-earned in some cases) on yet another how-to manual, so it needed to be special to get me to buy. It needed to be even more special for me to actually start using the techniques. It worked on both levels.

    So, even though you struggle to tell left from right, congratulations on a spectacular success….

          Comment by Nick — April 27, 2010 @ 3:21 pm

35. 

    Nick, and everyone else .. thank you very much! It’s always heartening to hear that the book has so much impact and value. And of course, a good review on Amazon will also help. ;)

    Neil vN

          Comment by Neil vN — April 27, 2010 @ 4:29 pm

36. 

    Neil, reading your book at the moment! Thanks for the clear explanations!! Discovered a small typo on page 13: if a flash bracket is used the battery pack can be screwed onto the onto the vertical pillar. This might be added to the list of typos if you wish.

          Comment by Karla De Smedt — July 4, 2010 @ 11:32 am

37. 

    Hi Neil,
    Greetings from downunder(Adelaide)!! Found your book really, really useful. I am astonished by the quality of light you get using on-camera flash bounce appropriately. I am also very happy that you share your personal experience and settings with your public through the website and your book. There is a lot for me to internalise and practice from reading your book, but I am very keen to begin practising your techniques because it will eventually free me up from carrying too much gear on location shoots; indoor or out.
    Thanks once again for an engrossing read, and I look forward to your upcoming book on off-camera flash. Any firm timelines yet for publicaton???

    Alan

          Comment by Alan Meyer — July 11, 2010 @ 10:31 pm

38. 

    Hi, Neil

    Hi from Tokyo, Japan!
    I got a copy of your flash photography book about a week ago and have kept reading it again and again since then. It does help me understand more and more about using ceiling bounced flash light effecively and controlling it as I want, and I am sure that it adds more spice on my wedding work.
    Thank you for sharing your techniques, experience and useful tips through the book. I’m also looking forward to your next book, and please let us know when it comes out!!

    Shig-

          Comment by Shig T — July 12, 2010 @ 6:27 am

39. 

    Hello Neil

    I got your book few months ago and iam reffering it almost everyday. well on page 38 i saw following
    1) When the scene/Subject is light in tone,you will increse the Exposure
    2) when the scene/Subject is dark in tone you will decrease the exposure

    and its stated under the section of Flash exposure compensation. my question is are you talking about the FEC or Total Exposure compensation on Camera body? if i understood it correctly its about FEC .is the Darker objuct less Exposure compensation & Lighter objuct more exposure compensation rule is applicable for FEC too?

    and on Page 39 on the Table # 4 Wheather the Subject is offcenter or centered in the frame… How does the TTL/BL flash effect the subject if its centered or offcentered?
    Thanks
    Anoop

          Comment by Anoop Nair — July 25, 2010 @ 3:52 am

40. 

    Anoop, the idea that you need to adjust your exposure down for a darker tone / scene,
    and adjust your exposure up for a brighter tone / scene,
    holds true whenever you are using reflective metering, such as with your camera’s meter.
    This is regardless of whether you are using an Automatic metering mode like Program or Aperture Priority, or even Manual metering mode.

    It also holds true for TTL flash since it is an automatic metering mode. Therefore you would adjust FEC in the same way.

    The only time you don’t adjust your exposure up and down like that, is when you are using an incident light meter like a hand-held meter.

    How the TTL flash metering is affected by the position of your subject, is something that depends on the metering pattern of your camera, and the algorithms written for the flash metering. There is no way to give absolute and specific advice about this.

    Neil vN

          Comment by Neil vN — July 31, 2010 @ 2:00 pm

41. 

    Hello Neil,
    Your blog rules and it has changed the way I use my flash! Thanks for being so totally cool and sharing this valuable info with the whole world.
    I bought your book on Amazon.co.uk and I posted a well meant positive review, I think that’s the least I could do :-)
    Kind regards,
    William

          Comment by William Krusche — August 1, 2010 @ 5:04 pm

42. 

    William, thanks! The positive reviews do help.

    Neil vN

          Comment by Neil vN — August 4, 2010 @ 4:04 am

43. 

    Neil
    Thanks …so the Bottom line is the FEC on Flash itself need to bump up 2-3 stops if the Subjuct is lighter in tone and – 2 to3 stops if the Subjuct is darker in tone. and of couse i know this is applicable for Exposure compensation on camera body also am i correct?
    Thanks
    Anoop

          Comment by Anoop Nair — August 4, 2010 @ 8:41 am

44. 

    You have a camera. At some point you need to play with it and see how it responds.

    Neil vN

          Comment by Neil vN — August 4, 2010 @ 11:27 am

45. 

    Hello,

    I am wondering if your book is for beginners? Manual flash versus TTL flash continues to mystify me.

    Thanks.

          Comment by Wendy — August 12, 2010 @ 9:49 pm

46. 

    Wendy, the book does assume an understanding of how aperture / shutter speed / ISO inter-relate. Beyond that, I truly believe this book is one of the best introductions to the topic of flash photography. The feedback on Amazon will bear this out.

    Besides, which other book (or DVD) has built-in customer support like this? : )

    Neil vN

          Comment by Neil vN — August 12, 2010 @ 10:04 pm

47. 

    I have a question about your settings when combining ambient light.

    In your shot on page 71. The wedding couple at the table in front of a large window.(photo plate 10.13) Your settings are 1/60 f4 iso 1250 and +2.3 on Flash. The ambient light appears to be f16 1/125 ISO 100.

    Because I am having trouble conceiving how bright ambient light wont blow out at such a setting I tried it. i am not having much luck in getting detail. Its blown out. Is there something I am missing? Does the increase in Flash Exp have something to do with it? I can’t seem to get past this?

    Thank you for putting together such a wonderful array of learning material for us to learn from. Its greatly appreciated.

          Comment by Barbara — August 20, 2010 @ 4:07 pm

48. 

    Hi there Barbara … the description of the photo actually says 1/160th .. not 1/60
    So the shutter speed is 1.3 stops faster than you might have thought.

    The day was overcast. It wasn’t bright sun outside. If the light was brighter, I would most definitely have gone to maximum flash sync speed.

    As it was, my settings of 1/160 @ f4 @ 1250 ISO was sufficient to allow some detail outside.

    I hope that clarifies it. : )

    Neil vN

          Comment by Neil vN — August 20, 2010 @ 4:11 pm

49. 

    Hi Neil,

    Actually I did know the shutter was 1/160. That was my typo.

    Explaining that it was overcast outside does help.

    Still having a little trouble with the high ISO but I will keep practicing.

    Your book is the best I have read. Thank you for your quick reply!

          Comment by Barbara — August 21, 2010 @ 1:20 am

50. 

    Hi Neil,so far you’ve got 59 out of 68 comments that give you 5 stars feedback at Amazon.Congratulations!.I do really look forward for your next book.

    P.S.: of course,one of these 5 starts is mine :)

          Comment by Gorka — August 27, 2010 @ 2:35 am

51. 

    I recently found your site and love it! Seeing that you had a book out I immediately decided to buy it! But not available as a digital book?
    That was the first thing I looked for as I am now converted to digital library. As many folks are nowadays…

          Comment by Will Dochertaigh — September 3, 2010 @ 8:10 pm

52. 

    Will … the book was available on Amazon for a while as a Kindle download, but the quality of the images were sub-par. The book has subsequently been withdrawn as an electronic book, and I have no idea what the status of that is.

    Neil vN

          Comment by Neil vN — September 4, 2010 @ 2:04 am

53. 

    Just read your book and it is a trememdous help to me. Thanks, and I’m looking forward to the off-camera flash book!

          Comment by John N — September 10, 2010 @ 10:12 am

54. 

    Hi Neil,

    I recently bought your book here in Bangkok where I am living since May 1997.

    The book interested me in the shop as I read that you are (obviously) from the RSA, graduated in engineering and worked in television broadcasting.

    Photography has been a hobby of mine since I received my first 35mm SLR as a gift back in 1984. I have been doing digital since 2000.

    While reading your book the penny finally dropped – the number of clicks on each wheel of my Sony A700 (and KMD7) and how they inter-relate now finally makes sense. And I do understand now (for the first time) why the shutter speed can be used to bring out the background without affecting the flash exposure.

    As an engineer I find this book brilliant. From your book I learned practical things which none of the previous 20 books on photography could get across.

    I have now moved my camera off A and onto M. I have pre-loaded initial settings for outdoor photography into M1, indoor settings into M2 and studio work into M3 and assigned the C-button on my A700 for flash compensation. (The KMD7 has a separate dial for flash compensation.)

    Thank you for a most useful practical book with quality photographs to support the text.

    Best regards

    Bo

          Comment by Botha — September 15, 2010 @ 6:57 pm

55. [...] flash photography book [...]

          Pingback by news: new book on off-camera flash photography « Neil vN – tangents — October 12, 2010 @ 7:36 pm

56. 

    Your book is part of my permanent photography library and I will be among the first to get your next book. The only negative is the title. You should have cut the title off after the word “Techniques”. I was hesitant at first to get the book because I thought that the portrait/wedding context was too specific for my needs. Of course after taking a chance and reading it I found it dealt with the basics which is exactly what I wanted.

          Comment by Mary Gierth — October 14, 2010 @ 9:26 am

57. 

    Mary .. that part of the title wasn’t my choice, but tagged on by the publisher. I’m glad though that the book found its way to you.

    I’ll have to make sure the next book’s title remain as I want it. We’ll see. : )

    Neil vN

          Comment by Neil vN — October 14, 2010 @ 9:07 pm

58. 

    A new review of the book.

    Neil vN

          Comment by Neil vN — October 14, 2010 @ 9:08 pm

59. 

    Hi Neil,

    Just ordered the book directly from you, figured you might get to keep a little more of the profit this way. Just a small way of sending a BIG thank you for all you share with us in this wonderful site.

    Respectfuly,

    Carlos A – becoming a better photographer in great part thanks to you!

          Comment by Carlos A — October 19, 2010 @ 1:08 pm

60. [...] flash photography book articles [...]

          Pingback by exposure metering – bride & the bride’s dress « Neil vN – tangents — October 21, 2010 @ 12:06 am

61. 

    Neil!

    Just ordered the book. I’ve been taking photos for friends and now “friends of friends” etc and really want to hone my flash skills. Discovered your site a few days ago and purchased the book from B-N today!!! Excellent tips & advice easily explained.

          Comment by Patrick — October 25, 2010 @ 8:51 am

62. 

    Neil,
    My congratulations on your Polish edition of your beatyfull book.

          Comment by Robert Gabriel — October 28, 2010 @ 3:56 am

63. 

    Robert … I didn’t even know! Do you have a link that I could see?

    thanks, Neil vN

          Comment by Neil vN — October 28, 2010 @ 3:58 am

64. 

    http://www.galaktyka.com.pl/product,,441.html#

          Comment by Robert Gabriel — October 28, 2010 @ 6:56 am

65. 

    Wow! thanks!

    Neil vN

          Comment by Neil vN — October 28, 2010 @ 9:46 pm

66. 

    Hi Neil,

    Thanks for the link back to our site – and congratulations on the book!

          Comment by Jon Eland — November 14, 2010 @ 8:54 pm

67. 

    Hi Neil. Read the book. This is a bft pic:

    http://dalesphotography.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/marleigh-neiter-5-days-105.jpg?w=700&h=465

    Thanks!

          Comment by Dale — November 19, 2010 @ 10:24 am

68. 

    Dale .. that’s a great photo!

    Neil vN

          Comment by Neil vN — November 19, 2010 @ 1:14 pm

69. 

    I just ordered your book on flash photography. I can’t wait to devour it!

    Best wishes,

    Dori Lawrence
    Iconic Captures Photography

          Comment by Dori Lawrence — December 16, 2010 @ 3:32 pm

70. 

    Having read On-Camera Flash several times and with a photography book collection of over 75 titles, I can honestly say this is one of the most instructive, comprehensive and well thought out books on flash photography available. Don’t hesitate for a second getting it. I can’t wait for the next one. Dave

          Comment by David Robillard — January 10, 2011 @ 8:52 am

71. 

    will this come out in PDF or some method for us iPad lovers?

          Comment by Mike B — January 14, 2011 @ 7:07 pm

72. 

    Mike .. not that I’m aware of. This is up to the publisher though.

    There is always the Kindle app for the iPad.

    Neil vN

          Comment by Neil vN — January 16, 2011 @ 12:55 pm

73. 

    In your book On-Camera Flash, that is excelent, chapter 12, page 90, the plate 12-1 is without flash?. How you can obtain this result?.

          Comment by Victor — February 22, 2011 @ 12:06 pm

74. 

    Neil

    One sugestion to your excelent book. I think is necesary add some technical back up, like for intance when the flash shoot, it take only 1/1000 seconds in close, but the shutter curtains is still open and ambient light is incoming for a time. This time is controled for the velocity of the camera.

    I am engineer and I need this type of explanation, because is more easy understand what you say.

    Regards

    Regards

          Comment by Victor — February 22, 2011 @ 12:18 pm

75. 

    Victor … The two images are comparison images. Without flash, I can only expose for the bride, and I have to accept the outside exposure. In the photo without flash, the outside areas are completely blown out.

    By using (bounce) flash, I can retain the quality of light inside.
    I can now also change my settings and still get correct exposure for the bride (via the flash exposure), and the outside areas are now brought closer to where I wanted it in terms of exposure.

    Neil vN

          Comment by Neil vN — February 24, 2011 @ 8:33 pm

76. 

    Hi Neil

    I just purchased your book and I’m very excited. I first saw you on the B&H video series “What’s the F Stop” I must have watched them 4 times over. I found your blog and I can’t seem to get off of it. I’m just a pure amateur taking family and trip photos with my T2i and NISSIN di866 flash gun. Here I thought bouncing off the ceiling was the only way. I’ve been trying your techniques, and I’m loving the results. I just have one question. What’s the best F stop for a wedding photo? (Just Kidding)

    Thanks for all your efforts.

          Comment by Steve Rudan — February 25, 2011 @ 11:04 am

77. 

    Thanks for the explanation Neil

          Comment by Victor — March 7, 2011 @ 6:34 pm

78. 

    Olá Neil,

    Tenho seguido o seu blog, do qual me tornei fã, é maravilhoso!
    Agora estou a ler o seu livro On-Camera Flash na versão Portuguesa e estou a adorar.
    Muitos parabéns por ambos e continue a fazer esse excelente trabalho.
    Obrigado!

          Comment by António Dias — April 13, 2011 @ 7:17 am

79. 

    Great stuff, Neil! Picked up your book in Kindle, lots of useful info, and loving the tutorial blogs… keep them coming please!

          Comment by Jose Guzman — June 2, 2011 @ 7:46 pm

80. 

    Neil, can you recommend a good book on the art of seeing, for weddings?
    I’m getting ready to get back into it and I feel a bit rusty and my “seeing” hasn’t been that great lately. or maybe you have some posts on here that talk about that?
    thanks
    Larry

          Comment by Larry Clark — June 24, 2011 @ 12:03 am

81. [...] so I asked for advice, and Crystal recommended the speedlite and Katie referred this book to me: On-Camera Flash by Neil van Niekerk. The book arrives on Thursday, and I can’t wait to read it! My weak point has always been [...]

          Pingback by carrie nelson: family life — July 12, 2011 @ 12:39 pm

82. [...] do not know Neil he is a great photographer in the New York/New Jersey area.  His book ‘On Camera Flash, Techniques for Digital Wedding and Portrait Photography‘ is one of the best books on the subject of small camera flash units.  It is really one [...]

          Pingback by Lens Focusing Issues in Photography — August 7, 2011 @ 12:29 pm

83. [...] his.  I have been following his tangents blog for over 3 years and own both of his two books (On Camera Flash and Off Camera Flash).  They have been profoundly positive influence on and resource for my [...]

          Pingback by Wedding Photographic Society 2011 Convention: Inspiration, Self evaluation and action » Steve Jackle Photography – Raleigh family lifestyle Portrait, Event, and birthday Photographer — August 10, 2011 @ 4:13 pm

84. 

    Just ordered your book:) Was editing pics yesterday and felt like such an amateur!! Shiny faces, some too bright, uneven lighting…… Can’t wait to get comfortable with my flash!!

          Comment by Kim Angelo — August 24, 2011 @ 8:25 am

85. 

    Off to shoot a wedding in a few days and once again having a quick flick through your book for guidance and inspiration.

          Comment by Tony Sale — October 14, 2011 @ 6:03 am

86. 

    Hey Neil,
    I just bought your book “On Camera Flash – Techniques for Digital Wedding and Portrait Photography” and love it. I bought it in the Kindle form and can’t tell you how many highlights I have made in it.
    I have read other books on flash photography and it’s really interesting to see how different photographers approach the same issue in different ways.
    One question I had was…what is the furthest distance from a wall or ceiling that you would attempt to bounce your flash from? Say using an SB-900.
    Cheers, Ken

          Comment by Ken Price — October 19, 2011 @ 6:52 pm

87. 

    Ken .. this is impossible to answer here, since it depends on the size of the room, but especially your choice of ISO and aperture.

    Neil vN

          Comment by Neil vN — October 19, 2011 @ 9:43 pm

88. 

    Well…there must be a point at which you looked at a ceiling and said that’s just too far to bounce my flash off of, right. At some point it just wouldn’t be affective. No?

          Comment by Ken Price — October 19, 2011 @ 10:12 pm

89. 

    Yup … and it comes with experience, and playing with your camera and flash in various scenarios.
    Still means I can’t give you numerical values or specific settings.

    Neil vN

          Comment by Neil vN — October 19, 2011 @ 10:48 pm

90. 

    Good enough, I guess I was just looking for a general idea from “your” experience. I just bought your other book and am looking forward to learning more from “your” experience.
    Cheers,
    Ken

          Comment by Ken Price — October 20, 2011 @ 6:34 pm

91. 

    Just ordered your books, Neil. I’m sure I’ll get a lot out of them, but just supporting your site alone makes them worth it. Very helpful!

          Comment by David Andrews — November 23, 2011 @ 8:42 pm

92. 

    Bonjour
    Je ne parle pas un mot d’Anglais.
    Exciste t il le livre en Français
    Merci
    Phil

          Comment by Philippe — December 1, 2011 @ 9:05 am

93. 

    Can I download your books as pdf files??
    I live on Curacao,and it is a headache to order and have it delivered here.Would be great if I could pay with paypall and just downloaded them.
    Cheerio from Curacao

          Comment by H.Dilrosun — December 14, 2011 @ 8:01 pm

94. 

    I am sure I could browse this amazing website and glean much of the info in the book….but I love books, and there is nothing like having all of this and more in a nice readable format.
    Just ordered the book, cannot wait to get it!
    Steph

          Comment by steph — December 14, 2011 @ 8:21 pm

95. 

    Just ordered my copy of both books from AMAZON after reading a few excellent articles in this blog. Cant wait to start learning more

          Comment by Stephen — March 4, 2012 @ 8:37 am

96. 

    availability of my flash photography books

    I’ve had several people tell me that my books aren’t available on Amazon’s Kindle anymore. So I double-checked with the publisher, Amherst Media, and received news that while my books aren’t available as a Kindle publication, they are available in a number of other electronic formats.

    We’re not on Kindle for now. We are on iPad, Nook, Kobo, Google Books and dozens of Android tablets and PCs through protected Pdf and ePub files.

    IPG, our distributor into bookstores and Amazon, is having a pricing issue with Amazon. Amazon is demanding that Kindle books sell for next to nothing, basically cutting out profits for authors and publishers. Amazon, as a threat, has pulled over four thousand books from Kindle including ours. IPG is working on it to establish fair terms and has the support of the publishing industry.

    Another issue is that the Kindle book quality is very poor. We encourage our readers to buy their eBooks from Apple or from Amherst Media direct. In fact, we are now having an eBook sale on our site. Our eBook quality is the best, books are in full color with page design features and page numbers.

    So that’s where we are at the moment.

    Also, if you’d like to order an autographed copy of my book directly from me … that’s an option too!

    book 1: on-camera flash

    book 2: off-camera flash

          Comment by Neil vN — March 8, 2012 @ 6:29 pm

97. 

    Hi Niel,

    I read both your flash books and they are a great resource; different than everything else I have read so far.

    I have a question regarding the use of the “black foaming thing” setup. How do you determine the flash head’s zoom setting When using the “black foaming thing?” do you let the camera tell the flash head to automatically zoom with the change in focal length or do you set the flash head manually at one setting?

    Thanks.

          Comment by Brent — April 10, 2012 @ 7:21 pm

98. 

    Brent, here are all the articles on the black foamie thing. I mostly zoom out to my maximum on my flash, to avoid losing so much light when the light hits the edges of the BFT.

    Neil vN

          Comment by Neil vN — April 11, 2012 @ 10:38 am

99. 

    Neil,
    I’d just like to say that your approach to flash has transformed my photography. I was mainly an available light photographer and always steered well clear of flash. Your clear explanations are great and when put into practice yield instantly better results than I’ve had before. Your wedding work is definately something that is a step up from the norm.
    I continue to re read the site but have just ordered your book as a reference to my picture taking, thank you john

          Comment by john — June 3, 2012 @ 5:26 pm

100. [...] books: on-camera flash / off-camera [...]

           Pingback by On a Tangent with Neil van Niekerk - Aputure Blog — July 4, 2012 @ 5:29 am

101. 

     Dear Neil,

     Just received and read your book about On Camera Flash and I like to thank you for creating this. Very well written and a lot for me to think about and most likely re-consider making pictures.

     I do have one question which is about the use of ADL (Nikon). I’m asking as I noticed in your book (on one of the histogram explanations) that ADL was switched on in the Normal setting. ADL , as you most likely be aware off, is created by Nikon to balans high light and low lights to take away shadows when not using flash. Do you know what impact ADL has on taken flash pictures using TTL and, even more, TTL-BL. To me it looks like that ADL and TTL-BL will try to do similar things: balancing. Isn’t this not too much captains on the bridge. Should we not just switch ADL > OFF?

     Regards,
     Hans

           Comment by Hans Smits — July 18, 2012 @ 2:31 pm

102. 

     Hi Niel,

     I am learning a lot from your articles and thank you for sharing it with us.
     Do have an idea if your book has already reached the Philippines?

     cheers!
     PJ

           Comment by PJ Sinohin — November 22, 2012 @ 9:05 pm

103. 

     Hi Neil,

     I am very new to flash photography, and would like to learn a lot from your book
     Do you sell the e-book version or is it just hard copy only??
     the problem is I’m not in the US so it’s kinda hard sending the hard copy version.

     Thanks!!
     Endy

           Comment by Endy — November 30, 2012 @ 4:32 am

104. 

     Endy … check on iTunes, and also check on Amazon to see if the Kindle edition is available for where you are.

     Neil vN

           Comment by Neil vN — November 30, 2012 @ 4:52 am

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