so as you know i picked up my first DSLR on black friday. learning all the ins and outs, and today i picked up a flash, the canon 430 EX II. all i have to say is, WOW, i cannot believe the difference. i also picked up the T3i for dummies, Busch's guide for the T3i, and another T3i book, snapshots or something (the book is in one of the bags from our shopping excursion today), so i have some great reading to do.

some before and after shots of the flash, showcasing another buy today

Great!  When you get comfortable with using it, or maybe even before, pick up a copy of The Hot Shoe Diaries or something similar.  

There are a lot of great things you can do with an external flash, even if it's still attached to the camera, but where you'll get your real value is when it's taken off.  Still, like I said, there's a lot you can do just by swiveling the head and bouncing it off something white.

Check out Zack Arias' One Light lecture. It's a good one.

With single light, definitely start learning how to use reflectors. You can feather light, even with small flash, and use reflectors to help fill.

www.strobist.com

Read as much of this blog as you can possibly stand.  Start with lighting 101.

There are some nifty miniature softboxes you can buy (or make if you're handy) to help even more, too.

A little off-topic... get the Magic Lantern firmware add-on. It enables some real cool shit on your camera!