Carl Hutzler’s Blog

I have been learning/practicing the art of photography for 30+ years now. But there is one area of photography which I have always wanted to learn more about. The area is portraiture, and more specifically, how to use lighting properly and creatively.

Over the last 6 months, I have been considering buying some studio strobes to get started with learning lighting. I never got the nerve to make the purchase and get started learning as the equipment is in the $3,000 and up range and I was unsure whether or not it was worth the investment.

But then I came across this amazing little site called Strobist created by David Hobby of the Baltimore Sun newspaper.

David decided to share a ton of information about lighting which he has learned over the years as a photojournalist. First off, he shares that you don’t need $3,000 worth of strobe equipment! All you need is some small, used (cheap), strobes….the kind you would normally put directly on top of a camera. But David uses these “off camera” on light stands with umbrellas/snoots. The only disadvantage to a small strobes is that the small strobes do not put out as much light as their bigger brothers. But unless you are lighting a large group of people, a small flash is really all you need.

But David went further as he started to gain some readership with his site (and as he started to have some fun with it). He initiated an online course called the Strobist Boot Camp. The idea was to try and get his readers to actually start practicing what he was preaching. Boot Camp is ongoing in the 3rd assignment (of six) right now and it is very well done. I am learning a lot.

I can say that I have learned more about photography from David and the Strobist “membership” than at any time in the last 15 years (since school).

A personal “Thank You” to David and his generosity.