Up until this point I've ONLY done natural light photos. It was my "thing" if ever I were to have a "thing". Today, my girlfriend was working at the dance studio and over heard the dance mom's talking about how they wish someone could take dance photos of their girls. Mimi's coworker (mimi is my girlfriend) said "well if you're MIMI you just have her boyfriend take your picture and it turns out amazing!" So now I have a cliental base doing in a field I know very little about.

The weather is getting a bit too cold to do outdoor photography, and for studio work I'd need to rent a bunch of equipment and learn how to use it on my 5D. Anyone know of any good books on studio lighting or how to light a dancer? I'm not sure I'm going to take it as a job but if it's an opportunity to grow I should make an effort.

Thanks

Maybe shoot a PM to friscoron or Steve Wylie?

www.strobist.com

Read through Lighting 101 and Lighting 102. Do the exercises.

Slyl Arena is a Canon shooter and advocate for flash use. He has a book out that is great for learning off camera flash techniques, especially since you shoot Canon.

http://www.amazon.com/Speedliters-Handbook-Learning-Craft-Speedlites/dp/032171105X

You can probably google his name and find a wealth of on-line resources too.

alohadave wrote:
www.strobist.com

Read through Lighting 101 and Lighting 102. Do the exercises.

thanks for this link! great read.

Johnny B Goode wrote: ...for studio work I'd need to rent a bunch of equipment and learn how to use it on my 5D. Anyone know of any good books on studio lighting or how to light a dancer?

You can do a lot with just one Speedlite on the camera once you learn how to bounce it; adding another Speedlite or two ups the game, but isn't usually required. The Strobist link is a good start, as is The Speedliter's Handbook.

Another book I highly recommend is "On-camera Flash" by Neil van Niekerk . Although not devoted to Canon flashes, the information is mostly applicable to any flash.

http://www.amazon.com/Camera-Techniques-Digital-Portrait-Photography/dp/1584282584

sic0048 wrote:
Slyl Arena is a Canon shooter and advocate for flash use. He has a book out that is great for learning off camera flash techniques, especially since you shoot Canon.

http://www.amazon.com/Speedliters-Handbook-Learning-Craft-Speedlites/dp/032171105X

You can probably google his name and find a wealth of on-line resources too.


+1 for Slyl Arena's book. I have his both books. Very very informative.

One of Joe McNally's personal favorite subjects is dancers. http://www.joemcnally.com/blog/ There were some descriptions in his "Sketching Light" book, which also has a ton of other speedlight examples. And he has a new class at http://kelbytraining.com/author/joemcnally/ on dancers. You could always sign up for a month and try it out. They usually have a great Cyber Monday deal, too.

As above; Syl Arena's book is just great.
I am new to photography and it was an excellent resource.

Thank you for the links. As luck would have it the weather took a turn for the better this weekend and I was able to shoot outside. I do need to learn how to use lighting techniques and plan on using the information provided.

I'd second Joe McNally's classes on Kelby Training, you really don't need much gear to do it either. I believe you can do a 24 hour test drive of Kelby Training too.

+1. Joe McNally' s book.