Looking for honest reviews of the Flashbus Tour

From the flashbus tour....

Harley... GREAT photo of Joe - excellent capture. Seriously.

CiM_Photography wrote in post #12213749
Harley... GREAT photo of Joe - excellent capture. Seriously.

+1! Really nicely done!

I'd never say I was an avid rabid fan of either - I shoot Canon and quite like ETTL, thank you very much - I learned WAY more spending 2 days with Syl Arena than I have from the Strobist blog.

I went along anway, and it was definitely worth the trip, and $100 was cheap for what I did come away with.

This isn't a technical seminar - and if you're a total n00b for manual or TTL flash techniques, then you'll likely get left behind, although they are extremely good at Q&A - way better than I expected - just don't get hung up on specifics. I was suprised how well McNally handled the multiple questions about TTL / IR triggering, despite them all being pretty much the same question - it didn't seem to sink in for some.

You'll come away with a good idea of how each speaker handles their own photoshoots, and you'll likely pick up some great techniques and tips for your own approach. You'll come away inspired to shoot more (I was happy I had a shoot lined up for a couple of days later, and used some of their techniques during it). I didn't buy the DVDs, I just don't have time to watch them through.

Think of this as a speaking engagement, not an educational seminar.

Thanks...was pretty happy with it....

I've always felt that I get one really usable idea out of any wirkshop and it's anmidea that I
start using right away, then it's worth the cost, and I've paid a heck of amlot more than $100.

Nice photos of the guys....but I'm wondering if there's any need for us to bring a camera or flash to the seminar? I'm going soon.

If you have a good strobist knowledge, it might not be for you. I feel pretty good in my ability to shoot on location. I felt I still got some good knowledge from the event. $100 is worth it to me if I pick up one thing that can make my photos better at all. I enjoyed watching both of them take their approaches to each situation. Watching them construct a photo was a great process for me. Seeing them build each layer of light and try different things until they go what they wanted, etc.

I feel I know a lot but feel there is always more I can learn. I was appreciative of the opportunity to see 2 bigger names allow us to watch how they "do it". If you feel you have nothing to learn, you probably won't learn anything at the event. If you go open minded and ask questions, I think you will learn something. Is it worth $100? That's your decision. Like I said, anything I pick up to make my work easier or look better would easily be worth that to me.

There were certainly people there that were totally lost and had no idea about remote flash. They just came for the name. I felt bad for them as some of their questions really screemed " I have no ide what I am doing here". However, I think the tour probably got many of them rolling in the right direction and will help them begin to learn more about remote lighting.

BTW. I attended in Raleigh, NC.

MinnGreenGT wrote in post #12085369
I've read all of Hobby's "Strobist 101" info as well as being a casual blog reader of McNally. While it was very informative reading all the Strobist 101 info ~ it wasn't until watching the OneLight (Zack Arais) DVD and getting the v-book from boys at LightenUpandShoot.com that I really started to see how it all came together.

I am signed up for the Minneapolis stop ~ as $100 for any kind of photog seminar (instructional or just entertainment) I think is rather reasonable. I'll be back with a review after the Mpls stop!

I agree with this. I read Strobist for 2 months or so when I was starting out with lighting. I learned a bit but I didn't think reading was providing me the right information. I then snagged Arias' One Light DVD on Black Friday and Ka POW! Watching Arias work instantly made every Hobby said click.


I wanted to go to the FBT to watch how these guys worked first hand. Hobby didn't do much hands on, but he talked his way through slides, describing what he was doing and showing the outcome. It was nice seeing how he layered everything together for the final image.

McNally didn't show anything I haven't read in either of his books, but he's one of my favorite photographers so I had to meet him.

Hobby favored the [facing the stage] right side of the room for us. I would suggest sitting there if you can.

I thought it was worth the $100. I was extremely happy that they did not spent time trying to sell us products. They used some gear that was being sold, but they really weren't preaching about it.

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Here's my quick little review from the Philly stop...

It was a very cool experience and for $100 it was worth it, the morning session with Hobby was AMAZING and I learned a bunch of things that hadn't fully sunk in from his blog. If I'm completely honest I didn't learn much from McNally in the afternoon since he talked about ETTL the entire time and I've not once been able to get it to work for me reliably but it was cool seeing him use all the different light modifiers although after you've looked through enough pictures you already know what modifiers do what.

A quick shot from my S95 of 120 Nikon strobes going off at once...

I didn't realize that Minneapolis was the 3rd to last stop for the tour! (Chicago today, then St.Louis Monday is the last).

Anyway, yesterday was just as others had described... and I had a blast. No clue how many people were there, but it was a reasonably full large conference room. While I was thoroughly entertained by Hobby, I would love to have seen him do a bit more live work (like McNally). It was cool to meet both in person, shake hands and see how totally down to earth they are (not that I expected otherwise). I was also happy to see they did a great job plugging sponsors along the way without feeling like they were necessarily pushing sales.

A great time, and I would probably do it again if given the opportunity!

MinnGreenGT wrote in post #12238607
I didn't realize that Minneapolis was the 3rd to last stop for the tour! (Chicago today, then St.Louis Monday is the last).

Anyway, yesterday was just as others had described... and I had a blast. No clue how many people were there, but it was a reasonably full large conference room. While I was thoroughly entertained by Hobby, I would love to have seen him do a bit more live work (like McNally). It was cool to meet both in person, shake hands and see how totally down to earth they are (not that I expected otherwise). I was also happy to see they did a great job plugging sponsors along the way without feeling like they were necessarily pushing sales.

A great time, and I would probably do it again if given the opportunity!

I felt about the same of the Indy show. Worth the $100, more inspirational than anything. I got more out of understanding how they work and their technique/personalitie​s than I did true technical nature of the shots. Hobby did a great job with his presentation showing photos and providing a detailed overview of the shoot including lighting and even the little details about how to work with the subjects. McNally was very entertaining and he gave a good feel for how he works with ETTL and makes adjustments on the fly. I'd go see either of them talk again in a heartbeat.

I went into it expecting to get some detail on some setups and intermediate how tos. I came out of it with inspiration, confidence and a lot of ideas. I don't want to downplay the technical information they provide, there was a lot and it's very fast paced and a lot crammed into a day , you just can't write it all down and walk away with a notebook full of step by step instructions and detailed lighting diagrams.

It's worth the $100 for me, easy.

If you want a "seminar" with step by step setups and instructions then go see Kelby's "Light it, Shoot it, Retouch it" tour. The first hour of that was worth the $100, though he does push his sponsors a bit harder.

I was at the minnesota stop yesterday too. It's too late for a review to be any good now though since we were almost the last stop.

I thought it was great, more than worth it. I understand that I few people were a little ticked off to see how large the seminar sizes were, but $100 is nothing for a class like this. Anything where there's a small enough class size to be hands on about it is gonna cost a heck of a lot more.

I wish I dragged myself out of bed earlier so I could have sat up front. There was a lot to see. I have hobby's first dvd set and I've read the strobist occasionally but he kind of caught me off guard with some of the setups, his thinking has changed a bit since this strobist thing all got started. And I don't know if it was influenced by the sponsors or not but he used a lot more brand-name and higher end stuff, less of the DIY. Nothing wrong with that IMO, just something I noticed. If you're a pro at the top of your game, then might as well use the good stuff even if you could get by with something cheaper.

They were both entertaining speakers too. I would have like to see Hobby set up some shots live as well but I understand the time limitations and his slides were informative enough anyway.

On a side note, I was absolutely amazed how much gear some people dragged along for a seminar where we weren't shooting. I mean, I brought camera gear just like everyone else, but not a ton of it. I saw a few people with tripods, fully loaded roller bags, multiple bodies etc. No reason not to I guess but I just found it to be curious...

I signed up for NYC but had to cancel. I sent them an email Sunday night and they refunded my money in less than five minutes. I was sorry to miss it. I've seen Joe 3 times at adorama and he is very funny and entertaining, very humble.

elogical wrote in post #12239354
On a side note, I was absolutely amazed how much gear some people dragged along for a seminar where we weren't shooting. I mean, I brought camera gear just like everyone else, but not a ton of it. I saw a few people with tripods, fully loaded roller bags, multiple bodies etc. No reason not to I guess but I just found it to be curious...

LOL ~ I thought the same thing (especially about the fully stuffed roller bags)! I left everything in the car or at home but my 50D, 10-20mm, thrifty fifty (in my pocket) and Black Rapid strap. In the end I only snapped about 3-5 pics anyway.