I decided recently that I wanted to learn more about light, in terms of how to use it to get the photo I want and how to best illuminate subjects. The book that all serious photographers seem to lean toward is “Light: Science and Magic”, so I bought it. Open it up and it will leave you searching for a pop-quiz in the end of the chapters. There isn’t one, but that doesn’t remove the textbook feel of it. I don’t mean that in a bad way though, it is a very interesting and useful book, but it is highly detailed into the technical aspects of things. The second book I saw at B&N and had to have. “the Hot Shoe Diaries” is a hilarious look at flash photography. It is useful as well, but it is less technical and more directly to the point of how and why of things.

I guess I will be using these books to guide me into using more light in my photographs. I presently rely too much on natural light because “it’s the only light that looks right” in most of my shots, but artificial light can be appealing, if it is used properly. As Scott Kelby says “use your pop-up flash as a weapon”. Most artificial sources, except the ones built into cameras are good light sources that can create appealing effects in images.

They are pretty thick books, but I will do my best to make it through them and come out alive.