Regardless of the brand of digital SLR camera in your possession, flash photography remains one of the most challenging aspects of photography. Nikon is well-known for their CLS (Creative Lighting System) which makes the control of, and obtaining the correct exposure from multiple flashes a cinch, but all the automatic calculations of the camera system cannot replace a strong grasp of the practical and theoretical aspects of flash photography.
In this post, I’ll link up to related tutorials, tips and other resources.
For starters, read through these four forum threads on flash photography 101 started by Curtis N on Photography-on-the.net. Be sure to understand the points on how shutter speeds and apertures allow you to control the balance between illumination from ambient light vs from the flash.
Chuck Gardner tackles the subject from a different approach — flash exposure manually using the Canon 580EX speedlite — this series is recommended in order for you to get an intimate knowledge of what correct flash exposure is all about in the first place, a sort of “back-to-basics” tutorial.
The absolute best reference for photography with the Canon flash system is documented at Photonotes.org — a must read.
And finally, go the distance with your new found knowledge by participating in flash photography assignments and projects at http://strobist.blogspot.com/ — there’s even a dedicated Strobist group at Flickr.com. Take for example, this article on how to photograph Christmas lights — you can judge for yourself how thorough their approach to flash photography is; in fact, they even got a mention in National Geographic Explorer. This site should help increase the practical aspects of your flash photography knowledge.
For those who prefer a DVD approach to flash photography training, the Blue Crane series on Canon Speedlites is highly recommended. You can perform a quick scan for the latest prices on the Blue Crane Canon Speedlite DVD.