Strobist Photography (flash photography for non nerds)

Flashguns, speedlights, strobes... all fancy words for a flash. A lot of papparazzi, wedding togs have the flash mounted on top of the camera as it is much easier and quicker, although if you want to get some interesting and beautiful shots without using ambient light, you need to learn about the direction, quality and quantity of light used in your photos.



other than the flashgun (which there are many types of), the following equipment is also used for the typcal strobist:



wireless triggers - transmitter and receiver pairing which allows your camera to talk to your lighting equipment (flashgun etc)



Lightstand - attache your flashgun to this to allow you to shoot light from wherever you want.



umbrella - can shoot through the umbrella, or reflect onto the inside of a reflective mirror to diffuse the light from your flashgun (makes the light softer, gives less harsh shadows)



Snoot - directs the light towards one specific point in a tube type format

For setting up a DIY studio for macros:

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html