I’ve mentioned David Hobby’s Strobist blog on more than a few occasions. Hobby is spearheading a movement online that emphasizes the use of strobes (flashes) for lighting, rather than relying on larger, more cumbersome studio lighting. It’s a brilliant blog, and though the art of using flashes didn’t begin with Strobist, David has certainly inspired a lot of folks who may have otherwise felt like their strobes were unable to handle the task.
I ran across this article on Photonovice that was in response to a post from Oliver Neilsen, who asserts that strobists are loosing out on the point of their photography by concentrating on the lighting.
You are killing your photography with this technofetish you all have for your speedlights. I have also recently bought a couple speedlights, to supplement my real strobe setup, but in the past I’ve shot many images without any flashes or modifiers at all. You can do a lot of stuff by working with the surrounding walls, available light etc.
While I have to agree that Strobists generally have a real fascination and, dare I say it, obsession with their lights and lighting methods, I don’t think this needs to have any kind of impact on how we view our photography. Lighting is another tool, a way to control and enhance the mood, the emotion, and the design of a shot. Strobes (of all sorts) allow you just the same sort of control and flexibility (in many cases, more) than bulky studio lights. It’s not that we are letting our enthusiasm for lighting overpower our vision, but to compliment it.
The pro does not worship his equipment.
I think this statement underlines a misunderstanding about strobists. Like I said before, strobists are enthusiastic about their equipment and their capabilities, but not to a fault. Photography is all about finding the easiest way to get to an end vision. If that vision is interesting and unique, and you can come to terms with realizing it - you’ll end up being successful. Having more tools in the toolbox, and understanding how each will work in the context of the situation, that’s the art. That’s what this is about. Not worship - but education.
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January 23rd, 2008 at 3:35 am
Thanks for linking back to my article. I hope we can start an interesting discussion on the topic.
And congratulations for the neat design of your site. :-)
Best regards,
Tibor
January 28th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
I don’t accept that Strobists are gear-obsessed to the point of killing their photography.
On the Strobist Flickr Group it may seem like that, but we are all there to discuss off-camera flash so it only makes sense that most of the discussion is on-topic. Just like night photography groups talk about night photography among themselves.
And when learning a new skill like Strobisting it helps to immerse oneself in it until the tools and techniques are second nature.
If you bother to visit the member’s photostreams, you’ll find that the ratio of flash to available light photos is normal and healthy.
Sure, there are a few people that get a little obsessed, and that’s a fairly normal thing in any field of interest.
Any visit to DPReview’s camera forums will show that there are equipment-obsessed Canon users, Nikon fans, etc.
Whether or not any of them are killing their photography is another subject, if they even take any photos besides “test shots” to prove their high-iso and lens sharpness theories in support of their brand loyalty.
January 30th, 2008 at 12:49 am
I think Strobist is primarily about making great pictures and teaching others to make great pictures by understanding light. Photography is nothing without light… learning how light behaves is therefore a pretty good idea. Strobist is a community focused on learning about light, with particular attention to portable strobes, but they’re only a means to the end.
Surely some people get carried away, but so what?