First Book Review of the Year

My latest book is 'Commercial Photographer's Master Lighting Guide' by Robert Morrissey. This book is literally filled with the most thorough diagrams of lighting setups I have ever seen in a photography book. Not just a description of where lights were placed but the actual bird's eye view diagram. There are hundreds of sample pictures each with a diagram and explanation of how the shot was done. The first section of images show a series of small changes in lighting position and equipment with each step explained in detail. The second section of images covers the lighting setups of actual commercial shoots done by Morrissey. These also include an info box with all of the specifications used to create that image. This is basically a recipe book for commercial shoots. I'll be hanging onto this book as a reference when I want to try something new or just practice some of my skills.

Book Review Time-Direction and Quality of Light by Neil Van Niekerk

I just finished this book up and it was superb. I absolutely love all the sample images. I learn way more from seeing something in practice than only reading about it. The samples I liked most were series where slight changes were made that took the image from blah to wow. This showed just how easily you can work with all sorts of lighting situations. This was also the first time I was able to understand exactly how guide numbers work. I've always struggled with this a bit so I am really happy to understand it now and try it out more in my shooting.

A College Lighting Class in 160 Pages

As my title suggests I am talking about a book, Location Lighting Handbook for Portrait Photographers By Stephanie Zetti. I recently read this book and was impressed with how much quality information it had in it. But before I really review this book I'm going to give you a little background on me. Specifically my college days. I went to a pretty good technical school for a two year program in Photography. However as good as this school was/is the lighting class I was required to take fell short. Quite short. I was very close to requesting a refund and then retaking the course. I didn't but in hindsight I probably should have. It took me years to learn on my own through trial and error what I should have learned in a semester. But back to the present and my review. This book has in it the information I should have learned back then. It covers different lighting types and how to recognize them and use them. It also talks about how to modify those situations to suite your needs and then how to create lighting set ups from scratch to get what you want. It is seriously well worth reading. Especially if you are in or took a college lighting class that didn't stack up.

Book Review, Yes Another One. I just can't help it.

Looking for another book review? Even if you're not here's the nitty gritty on Photographing the Child by Jennifer George. This book is serious learning to be had. It is chock full of photos, at least one per page, and covers just about anything you ever wanted to know about children's portraiture. Jennifer starts with the very beginning by covering the basic functions of a camera. Each age level is then broken down and discussed individually. This is particularly good because each stage of a child's development poses different challenges. Then there are several chapters covering everything else that goes into the making a great image. As a bonus there are also several one page sidebars written from other photographers.

Latest Book Review

I just got my copy of Chris Nelson's Creating Stylish & Sexy Photography a guide to glamour portraiture. I read it in about an hour yesterday because next Sunday I will be taking my first models for building my own glamour portfolio! I got some great ideas from this book. It had talking with the client about what they were looking for in the session, how to pose and light, locations ideas, editing suggestions, and final products to offer. I am super excited to start trying what I learned next week.

Here I go again.

My second book done and ready for review. Posing, Composition, and Cropping by Christopher Grey. A quick read with good examples. If you're a visual learner, as most photographers are, this is a great book for learning the different aspects of good posing. It covers individual troublesome areas such as hands and arms. Christopher Grey includes samples of each of these, along with others, and variations of each so you can see what a slight difference can make. He also includes a few samples of what not to do and why which I find quite helpful especially for someone just starting out with portrait photography. As for the subject of composition and cropping he does just a well at giving straightforward sample images to use as a guide for creating your own excellent portraits. He also covers how these elements work together to make the final pleasing image that your client is looking for. A great reference book for the advanced and an excellent place to start for the beginner.

So what's new with me?

Whooo it has been quite the long time since I posted on my blog. But anyhow here I am again. Lately I have gotten into doing several book reviews for photography books. My reviews can be found on amazon, barnes & noble, on goodreads (though you may need to be signed up to view them) my twitter and facebook as well as here. Here is what I had to say about the book Vintage Lighting by Christopher Grey. I had the opportunity to get a copy of Christopher Grey's Vintage Lighting in exchange for writing a review. So here goes. If you have ever wanted instruction on vintage lighting set ups this is the book to get. I know my lighting class didn't delve into this type of photography much so I am happy to now have it at my disposal since it is my favorite lighting style. It covers lighting from turn of the century into the 1960's using modern tools. I am really looking forward to practicing these set ups especially from the 20's though the 50's. Excellent years for lighting. Next up...Posing, Composition, and Cropping by Christopher Grey. See ya next time!