Seriously don't judge a book by its cover, or its title for that matter

Ok so the title of this book is Creating Erotic Photography- find models, choose locations, design great lighting, and sell your images by Richard Young. Now I put off reviewing this for a bit thinking that the title meant it would be somewhat in the porn realm and out of my comfort zone. However once I sat down and gave it a shot I learned it was less about the subject matter (nude women of course) and more about being a smart photographer and protecting your own behind. He mentioned paperwork that I had never heard of that appears to be fairly essential not just for a nude photographer but almost any type of photographer. He discussed being comfortable with your model and the mutual trust necessary for a project to be a success. Also a good portion of what he has to talk about can easily be applied to boudoir photography, which as you can see from my previous posts is something I'm beginning to delve into. There are some very beautiful photos that are most definitely fine art also. I'm happy I finally made the time to read this one.

Book Review Time

Its time for another book review. This one is Master Lighting Guide for Portrait Photographers. I have read several other Chris Grey books and I really enjoy the way he writes. It's like he's right there talking to you. The first part of this book is a review of the basics of lighting equipment and the core setups most often used. Everyone needs a review of these every now and then. The second part, portrait lighting lessons, goes over specifics - certain equipment, types of portraits such as a business portrait and getting a certain look like a vintage portrait. There are of course a ton of pictures which is always good, especially for us visual people. It's also an all around good book to get ideas from. I plan on trying out the double key lighting in my next session. I'll be keeping this one around for reference for years to come.

Amy's Boudoir Session

I had to wait until today to do a blog post for this session even though it was shot a few months ago because she was giving her husband to be an album as a wedding present and it needed to be a total surprise. They are getting married today and she gave him the album last night so now I can finally share all of her amazing beauty. Congratulations to my cousin Amy and her man Jeremy!

Back to the book reviews- Storytelling Techniques for Digital Filmmakers by Ross Hockrow

I got this book awhile ago and just recently got around to reading it. I always used to think that filming a movie would be only slightly different than still photography and thought I would someday try my hand at it. I had my eyes opened by reading this book though. There is SO much that goes into a movie. Besides the things that relate to still photography like camera settings and similar equipment there are the types of scenes, transitions, story plot, and audio to think about. Audio is a huge one. Every sound has to be tracked separately, down to the sound of a can of pop being opened to make it all sound real and flow properly. This book is really just the beginning though. Enough to either whet the appetite or scare you off completely from becoming a filmmaker.

Boudoir Photography

I have been thinking about dipping my toes in these waters for a fair while now and finally went for it a few weeks ago with my friend Janel. She was awesome! We had a good time along with my friend Robi who did the hair and makeup, which quite frankly makes my job super easy. So many thanks go to Robi for her awesome work on this as well. I am doing another session tomorrow and have been seriously considering making this the focus of my business. Thoughts? Also if you'd like to come in to play around and do something similar shoot me a message and I can give you the full details.

Another Super Book- Professional HDR Photography by Mark Chen

If you have ever thought about trying HDR get this book. Seriously. I hadn't explored HDR photography before reading this book but after reading it I am so excited to do some shooting with HDR in mind. Mark Chen covers the start to finish process of creating an HDR image and he does so in multiple ways for the best results in different scenarios. I learned how important it is to start with a good set of images in order to achieve the best final HDR image possible. Another bonus to this book are the downloadable practice files which allow you to follow along with his steps and see for yourself how the image changes. This makes it one of the best instructional books I have read thus far.

Photographing Families Book Review

When I read books in search of photographic knowledge I really like it when there are plenty of pictures to go with the text. This book definitely has that. Photographing Families By Tammy Warnock & Lou Jacobs Jr is a great little tip book particularly for the beginning photographer. Over 50 scenarios of family photography are gone over in this book giving you a full spread of knowledge for making better family images. Each scenario is two pages with plenty of photos to guide you in utilizing that particular bit of info. There are tips on lighting, posing, location, and many other other areas of family photography. There's something for everyone to learn in this handy book.