Buttons-and-dials coverage of every current Canon Speedlite from the 600EX-RT down to the 90EX along with tips on using older Canon Speedlites and models from other manufacturersWe’ve made five laps around the sun since I wrote the original Speedliter’s Handbook . In those five years, much has changed about the way I use Speedlites. Of course, Canon’s introduction of the 600EX-RT system—with its built-in, two-way communication—was reason enough to update the book. Yet, this new edition is so much more. Virtually every word, photo, and diagram in the first edition has been evaluated and either polished or cut.
The biggest change between the first and second editions is my shift away from automated camera and flash modes. Much of the first edition was based on using Aperture-priority (Av) on my camera and E-TTL on my Speedlite, which required acrobatic moves of exposure compensation and flash exposure compensation. By teaching hundreds of students face-to-face over these five years, I’ve come to again believe that Manual mode, on both the camera and flash, is the best way to learn. I now share very clear guidelines on when to shoot in E-TTL and when to shoot in Manual mode.
Other additions/expansions in the second edition include:
Buttons-and-dials coverage of every current Canon Speedlite from the 600EX-RT down to the 90EX along with tips on using older Canon Speedlites and models from other manufacturers
A new chapter on maximizing the benefits of on-camera flash
Expanded portfolios of portraits made with a single Speedlite and multiple Speedlites
Complete updates to the chapters on light modifiers and gels
Greater emphasis on step-by-step workflows
Expanded discussions of how to use Canon’s camera-based LCD menu system for Speedlite control
And, of course, complete coverage of how to use the radio-enabled 600EX-RT system by itself and with earlier generations of Canon Speedlites.
Thanks are owed to so many. This book would not be going to press without the support of the following and so many others:
Amy and our three lads: Tom, Vin and Tony
—Thank you for serving as my models, assistants, and cheerleaders (even when you wanted to be somewhere else).
Rudy Winston
—My technical guru at Canon USA. Your detailed answers to my multi-year stream of questions make me look much smarter than I am.
Ted Waitt
—My long-suffering editor. Your admonition to “tell the reader what you do, not everything you know” still resonates every time I step up as a teacher.
Gabe Biderman
and my extended family at B&H Photo—By sharing the word about my events and online videos, you have brought Speedliting to literally hundreds of thousands of shooters around the globe.
Joe McNally
—You are still my sensei. I remain your humble and grateful student.
Bobbi Lane
—For sharing your joie de vie and letting me fib that you are my sister
Zack Arias
—For your evangelism that more-expensive gear does not necessarily make one a better photographer
Peter Read Miller
—For your friendship, calm inspiration, and encouragement
JP Caponigro
—For continuing to inspire the artist within
Frederick Van Johnson
—For making me laugh whenever we talk
M.D. Welch
—For introducing me to high-speed sync so many years ago
Maine Media Workshops, Santa Fe Photographic Workshops, Gulf Photo Plus, and Rocky Mountain School of Photography
—For providing the opportunities to teach in so many amazing places.
My light shines bright because of you!
San Luis Obispo, California
August, 2015