Amplifying Photography

Strobe lights once were used primarily to illuminate night and party shots. Today’s flash, however, is a powerful mini-computer that, when combined with other flashes, can help create glossy, magazine-style photographs in any setting — daylight or evening.

The thirst for knowledge about using flash is so pronounced that photographer Joe McNally’s new book on working with flashes, The Hot Shoe Diaries, made its debut at No. 8 on Amazon’s overall bestseller list. Amazon sold out its first shipment of 5,500 copies in one week, from a total first print run of 25,000

McNally, a longtime photographer for National Geographic and other magazines, says many camera enthusiasts from the analog era rediscover their love of photography through digital SLR cameras

“They start to realize that if they’re really going to get serious about their photography, they have to learn how to use the flash,” he says. “Once they do, they really get it. I’ve never seen so many people jazzed.”

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