Book Review Special

I was again given the opportunity to read a preview copy of a book. This one is Lighting Design for Commercial Portrait Photography by Jennifer Emery. This book was very easy to read and I found it quite interesting. She of course covers different lighting set ups but she also talks about the prep work involved in doing a commercial shoot. This involves booking models and makeup artists as well as playing more than just the role of photographer, which is often times the case. This is all important information to know as well. As far as the actual lighting and sample images she does a wonderful job of describing, diagraming and photographing pull backs of the lighting she uses. I love when there are diagrams and pull backs because it makes it far more simple to understand the lighting used. We photographers are visual learners after all. It's clear that her lighting is very effective for whatever is being promoted or sold. Several of her techniques can even be tweaked for the regular portrait photographer too. It's not out in stores quite yet but when it is you can find it here:
Amherst Media
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

A New Day A New Book

Today I am reviewing Alternative Portraiture by Benny Migs. I quite liked this book. The cover image is very eye catching mostly because of the lighting done with a ring light which you can see by telltale circular catchlight in the eyes. I learned later on in the book that the ring light used was not what I expected but a DIY ring light from the hardware store. So in other words I need to hit up the hardware store and work on one for myself. Benny really rocks the environmental portrait as well. I loved the hat maker photo and his photo of the farrier or the guy that puts on the horse shoes for those of us not familiar with equestrian terms. They are both just stellar images. So if you feel like learning how to create portraits that really capture the viewer and how to DIY a ring light get this book. Find it here:
Amherst Media
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Review of Classic Family Portraits by Ed Pedi

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a fairly quick read because of the layout- one full page image with a full page description and set up diagram for the image. This also makes it easy to flip through and pick and choose what you want to read based on the image. I also liked that he includes a few images that are 10 or 15 years old as they wonderfully illustrate the title of the book. They are classic for a reason. While they might be old they do not look dated even the clothes and decor don't really give it away. He also has a few images from family reunions and offers spot on advice for making everyone in a large group look good. There are several families who appear more than once showing that if people are happy with your work they will come back again and again. He even has his own family portrait in the book which is something you don't often see. All in all an excellent book and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking at photographing families professionally.
Find it here:
Amherst Media
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Time Travel

What can time travel have to do with a photography book? Well it's like this. I seriously wish this book- Portrait Pro by Jeff Smith, had been available when I was still in college as a photography student. I think it would have been instrumental in shaping my future. Roughly half of this book is about creating a salable portrait. The other half is creating a solid business at which you sell these portraits. There is a bit more than that but that's the basic concept of this book. Maybe a simple concept but executed with a wealth of excellent information delivered in the honest straight talk I have come to expect from Jeff Smith, since I have now read a number of his books. So there it is. Time Travel. I would love to bring this book back in time and give it to my younger self. If you're interested in purchasing it is available here:
Amherst Media
Amazon
Barnes & Noble