The morning kicked off with David "The Strobist" Hobby, discussing some shots he'd taken previously. A little light on technique, and not much new material. If you want to get a good feel what was covered, I'd suggest reading Mr. Hobby's blog: The Strobist. Lighting 101 goes quickly, and provides a great broad overview of off-camera flash lighting. Lighting 102 really digs in to more advanced techniques.
David uses manual control for his flashes, which is great for shot-to-shot consistency. Where he shines, however, is how he handles his clients. The man has a wonderful lens-side manner, and drove home how important that was in the portrait process. His clients feel at ease with him, which enables him to get some fantastic shots.
After a lunch break, the afternoon session hit the ground running with Joe McNally (I'd suggest checking out his blog, because Joe is a pretty amazing individual. He's shot for National Geographic for decades, had lit up subjects using 57 individual small flashes, and is the genius (and, to my way of thinking, hero) behind the "Faces of Ground Zero" project. Check it out here.
Joe's just a damn engaging guy - his whole segment was live shooting. He shot tethered, and the images ended up on the big screens for everyone to see. We saw the lighting evolve into his finished images, and the rationale behind his technique. He does shoot TTL, which I find expensive and inconsistent, but seeing how quickly he pulled shots together definitely illustrated one of the main advantages to TTL.
Another quick break, and the two guys took to the stage to answer questions, share a few stories, and give stuff away. The segment could have lasted another two hours, and I still would have wanted more - it was great.
I'd be remiss if I didn't include a picture:
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