Help me Learn my new Canon 430 ex ii Speedlight!

[smackitsakic]

Perched at the top of my Christmas list this year was a new Canon Speedlight 430ex ii. I got one!

Why did I want one? I found myself excelling in outdoor photography, be it of landscapes or people, and was struggling immensely indoors. I could never get enough light to properly capture subjects indoors and, when I did, I was disappointed with the results.

So now, armed with my new speedlight, i'm looking for help in how to use it.

Question 1: what is a good book that helps you understand proper use of flash photography?

Question 2: what tips can you give me on using this new flash? I have played around with it a bit, bouncing off different walls/ceiling. I've also immediately noticed the difference of being able to use a 1/200 second shutter speed indoors! Though it takes a while for the flash to re-load after such a burst, this will be more than beneficial when capturing kids running around indoors!

What else should I know? What do you wish you knew when you first got your flash? What are some must do's and must donts?

 

[OrionsByte]

Things I wish I'd learned earlier about using a speedlight:

1. Bouncing the flash will cost you at least 1-2 stops' worth of light.
2. The duration of the flash burst is so small that the shutter speed of your camera will not make a difference (other than changing the exposure of the ambient light).

Those are probably the biggest, and at any rate they're the only bullet-point type of tips I can think of at the moment. You should check out strobist.blogspot.com and look in the margin for the Lighting 101 and Lighting 102 archives. The Lighting 102 stuff is especially helpful if you do the excercises.