It’s easy to rely on your flash. But often, the results are less than stellar. That’s why a little bit of extra lighting is always a nice way to add a more professional touch to your photography.

One simple way to ad light to your photos is to go out and pick up a few cheap cone lights at the hardware store and throw them up aimed at your subject. Then, you can take down your ISO and close that built-in flash. Experiment with different bulb types and angles for different color and shadow effects.

Another good place to learn more about lighting is over at the Strobist blog. They have a great set of posts on strobe lighting and how to use the technique to get way better results. As they say:

This website is about one thing: Learning how to use off-camera flash with your dSLR to take your photos to the next level. Or the next ten levels.

Here, you’ll find everything you need to know about how to more effectively use your small speedlights. There are more than 1,000 articles about lighting. Over two million photographers from around the world have learned small-flash lighting techniques from this site. We’re thinking you can, too.

So, if you have a nice set of strobes but no idea how to get the results you want, check out Strobist.

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