Episode 35: Flash Photography with Roberto Valenzuela

Photographing people is incredibly satisfying, and lighting them well is icing on the cake. Flash photography has a steep learning curve, but thanks to Roberto Valenzuela’s new book, Picture Perfect Flash, creating flattering portraits is attainable. In this episode we talk flash with Roberto.

Mason Marsh's avatar Mason Marsh on March 13, 2024

Roberto Valenzuela is an accomplished wedding, fashion and portrait photographer, author, and educator. His command of artificial light and dogged pursuit of meticulously-crafted portraits make him an authority on flash photography. In his new book, Picture Perfect Flash, he shares his secrets to success and in this episode we talk with Roberto about his work and how noobs like us can create captivating portraits.

Roberto has developed a handful of helpful memory aids and workflows that will help anyone who is working with artificial light get the results they seek. We explore some of these techniques and Roberto explains the process he used to dream them up. In addition to the tips on flash and people photography we dig into Roberto’s practice of identifying mistakes in his work and how he painstakingly analyzes them and works through solutions. His methods are incredibly simple and applicable to any photographer seeking better images.

 

Get Roberto’s Book from Rocky Nook

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Join Roberto at his Photo Creator’s Conference

Use the code “ROBERTO350” for a $350 discount. Click the image below for registration.

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Check Out Roberto’s Photo Work

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Some Things Are Better Left Unseen

… but if you would like to see a video version of this podcast episode, we upload a lightly-edited version to our YouTube channel. Watch the video by clicking the thumbnail below.

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Published by Mason Marsh

Mason Marsh is a Portland, Oregon-based photographer and educator who specializes in not specializing. He's been a newspaper photojournalist, aerospace museum educator, tall ship captain, tour guide and chimney sweep. When he's not busy taking care of his kids Cooper and Claire, he works in The Arcanum, writes, and leads photo workshops. He is never bored.

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