Mastering Nikon Speedlights: A Complete Guide to Small Flash Photography and the Creative Lighting System

Introduction

For years, I would just tell people I was an available-light photographer, and I would leave my Speedlight in the bag or, more often, at home. I would then end up making excuses about the quality light and my inability to change it.

That all changed one morning back in 2003 when I witnessed Joe McNally demonstrating the Nikon SB-800 Speedlight and the new Nikon Creative Lighting System. I watched in amazement as Joe photographed a dancer leaping across the stage using a couple of small flashes that were triggered right from the camera while audience members held the remote flashes. The resulting images were properly exposed, were well lit, and looked as if they were shot with a full studio worth of gear instead of just a couple of ...