Part III
Working with Light

Unless you’re extraordinarily lucky, or supremely observant, great lighting, like most things of artistic value, doesn’t happen by accident. It’s entirely possible that you’ll randomly encounter a scene or subject that’s bathed in marvelous lighting, illumination that perfectly sculpts an image in highlights and shadows. But how often can you count on such luck? Ansel Adams is often quoted as saying (although he probably didn’t) that “The harder I work, the luckier I get.”

The great photographer was known for his patience in seeking out the best lighting for a composition, and he did actually say, “A good photograph is knowing where to stand.” My own take on excellence in illumination is that you have to possess the ability to recognize effective lighting when it is already present, and have the skill to manipulate the light when it is not.

This part will launch you down the road to being able to put your D800 to work using the light that is present, manipulate it when necessary to achieve the effects you want, and to create good lighting from scratch using the electronic flash and other tools available. The next three chapters include:

Chapter 8: Making Light Work for You. Although most of the emphasis in this section of the book is on the use of electronic flash, this chapter, which helps you understand how continuous, “available” forms of illumination work with your D800, can actually help you use flash better. After all, in many ways, continuous illumination is just flash with a very, very long duration!

Chapter 9: Electronic Flash with the Nikon D800/D800E. This chapter shows you how your D800’s built-in flash works, and explains the basics of optional external flash units, like the Nikon SB-700 and SB-910 Speedlights.

Chapter 10: Wireless and Multiple Flash. An entire book could be devoted to more advanced external flash techniques, but I’m going to summarize the most important things you really need to know in this chapter.