Comments on: Are strobists missing the point?

By: JOhan

JOhan — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 11:47:57 +0000

Well I tested the strobist and like it, but also tries to learn the ambient light meted with reflectors. I also tested HDR-method take picture of the subject, and remove subject and take a photo with different exposure and merge in Photoshop. For me It’s just different tool and it’s fun to learn new things. Like all the analog photographs, we take “pure” picture, sure all the filters and darkroom way to fix a picture. Just different ways to get what you want o achieve with your picture.

By: Mr J

Mr J — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:34:17 +0000

Maybe photographers who are into the Strobist thing find it a lot easier because of digital files rather than film. Less expensive and fast communication with web groups etc. I think good luck to them, I find there is some good information on strobist.com. However, you take what you like and leave what you don’t……simple.

By: Mr. T

Mr. T — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 13:06:54 +0000

Why worry about someone going hog crazy over people who are into flash photography doing flash photography?

The whole rant is confused. The Strobist is about flash photography and gear for flash photography. It is not exactly a surprise that this is what people do in that forum.

By: Jason

Jason — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:52:01 +0000

Oliver,

I think any time there’s some generalization about a facet of photography, it gains interest. HDR, as we all know, is not new – but it’s become incredibly popular these days. Like many techniques that rise in popularity quickly, and gain a tag or nickname, it’s frowned upon by people who have been studying the technique for ages. I can understand that, and I empathize.

I don’t think the strobist movement is a bad thing, however, when it helps educate people about lighting… but I do have to agree that, like many things, it can be taken to extremes.

By: Tibor

Tibor — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 18:46:58 +0000

Hi Oliver,

Your post here and comment on my blog was really eye opening for me. I started to think about what my purpose is with photography and what my vision is. I enrolled into a portrait photography class held by an old school photographer who tried to teach us how to make artistic pictures with the simplest possible lighting.
I still have a lot to learn but now I am on the way now.

Best regards,
Tibor

By: Oliver Nielsen

Oliver Nielsen — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:30:16 +0000

I only found this post now, so I gotta answer even though it’s more than 6 months old;-)

I had a period where everywhere I looked in the photo media, there was talk about Strobists, and it made me a bit sick, here’s why…

Photographers calling themselves “Strobists” just because the use off-camera flash. That’s lame. I and many other shooters have shot with off camera flash for years.

Often I come across images where “photographers” have totally overlit a subject with flash, and such an image gets rave reviews on Strobis.com, even though the rest of the image is bad. The model is ugly, the framing is boring, the shot is boring, it has no story or meaning. Just a person lit with a flash that is off camera. There’s more to it than that.

I gotta admit I’ve since then relaxed a bit on the subject. It helped that I unsubscribed to the Strobist feed;-)

Thanks for mentioning me, and have fun;-)

By: Jeremey

Jeremey — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 05:49:50 +0000

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?

By: KeithAlanK

KeithAlanK — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 22:48:20 +0000

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.

By: Tibor

Tibor — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 08:35:16 +0000

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