The Hot Shoe Diaries [Book Review]

Damien Franco | May 31, 2009 | Comments Comments

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In thinking about how I was going to review this photography book I knew it would require a different format from past reviews. That’s because it’s a different sort of book.

The Hot Shoe Diaries

Overview

The Hot Shoe Diaries: Big Light from Small Flashes (Voices That Matter) by Joe McNally takes an entirely different approach to teaching photography. The specialty or niche of this book is centered around hot shoe flashes, speedlights, or strobes if you will. It’s not all off-camera lighting and it runs the gamut from deceptively simple applications of light and exposure to very complex setups involving multiple flashes, reflectors, flash accessories, and man power. Forget about complex lighting diagrams and mathematical exposure formulas, this book is like talking to an old pro and learning vicariously through his experiences. You see an image, Joe talks about how it was crafted, any complications that came up, solutions that were used, and sometimes possible alternatives to get the same job done. It really is like asking a photographer to tell you how an image came to be.

The Good

Joe McNally is a consummate professional and an extremely talented photographer. His years in the industry allow him to use an array of examples from various lighting situations and subjects. The book is easy to read. Joe writes in a conversational style because that’s what this book is; it’s a conversation about the photographs Joe has made throughout his career.

There is much to learn throughout. How certain problems were solved, and how various flash modifiers were used to create beautiful images. Joe shares some of his “not so best” shots as well, talking about the difficulties and what he learned from them. It’s the sort of insight you really won’t get from any other photography book I’ve read to date. I agreed with most of his ideas towards artificially lighting the scene. You’re end goal is best when the viewer doesn’t really know that flash was used at all. Make it look as natural as you can while accentuating the positive and reducing the negative aspects of a scene.

If you’re a Nikon system shooter then you’ll most likely get a better grasp at some of the more advanced functionalities of the Nikon iTTL system. In fact, if you shoot Nikon and have at least one flash, then I believe it is in your best interest to purchase this book…right now…seriously.

The Bad

There were times in the book where I really did feel that this book was written by a Nikon PR guy and it kinda got old. I feel like Joe does a disservice to many photographers by not mentioning when other methods may need to be employed by other manufacturers tools. Look, I know that Joe is sponsored by Nikon and all, but sheesh. I’ve read many photography books and most photographers are tied to one system, but almost everyone does a diligent job in teaching in a generic tone.

I really do think that this book should have had Nikon in the title somewhere. Really.

As a Canon shooter who is very familiar with his equipment I’m able to adapt almost everything in this book to my specific shooting system, but I fear that most “learning” photographers may become a little frustrated with this.

Conclusion

One of the most entertaining and informative books on photography I’ve read in a very long time. Filled with wonderful real world examples I think almost every photographer would get real value out of this book.

Everyone who owns a Nikon camera and flash should buy this book. Everyone.

If you’re not in the Nikon family and you do have a good foundation of your flash system I still think you would get much out of this book. It’s about the creative side of lighting and how real world obstacles can be overcome using gels, modifiers, and reflectors. Most of the information can be used with any system as long as you have a good enough understanding of how the TTL works for your manufacturer.

I can see myself re-reading this book several times. You can, and should, get your copy of The Hot Shoe Diaries: Big Light from Small Flashes (Voices That Matter) at Amazon today…like right now…seriously.

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