Books by Syl Arena

Lighting for Digital Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots

My newest book, Lighting for Digital Photography, covers the world of light and lighting. It starts with a systematic way to look at and describe light: Direction, Intensity, Color, Contrast, and Hardness. Then it goes into how your camera settings affect your lighting decisions, how to shoot in natural light, how to shoot with flash, ways to make great portraits with one light, and ways to make great portraits with several lights. 

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Speedliter’s Handbook: Crafting Great Light with Canon Speedlites

If you are looking to understand how to great great light with your hotshoe flash, then my Speedliter’s Handbook will provide the info you seek. While branded for Canon Speedlites, 65% of the book is non-denominational—meaning that it applies to all brands of small flash and lighting in general. The remaining 35% is specific to the buttons and dials of how to operate Canon’s 580EX/EXII and 430EX/EXII Speedlites. I remain humbled that the Speedliter’s Handbook has been translated into six languages and remains a best-seller worldwide.

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LIDLIPS: Lessons I Didn’t Learn in Photo School

LIDLIPS is a simple book—the kind you keep on the bedside table or parked in the bathroom. It’s the collection of 100 micro-essays that I originally published on PixSylated. Click the link below and you can read all of them online. There are no photos, lighting diagrams…heck, I talk about almost everything by lighting and camera technique in LIDLIPS. If you’re looking for a little photo-centric book that you can read in small doses, then check out LIDLIPS.

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