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

The Mobile Photographer

The Mobile Photographer by Robert Fisher.
This is a great little guide to learn what options there are for adding mobility to your workflow. He discusses apps, hard drives, and gear giving recommendations on what has worked well for him. He discusses briefly what you need to know to at least get started with the basics on everything he recommends and a few tricks to make life a little easier. I was particularly interested in using a tablet as a remote while shooting tethered. I was happy to see he talked about wireless hard drives since I have been looking into them as well. Now I have something to go off of when I shop. If add mobility in your workflow is something you've been thinking about you should consider this book.
Find it here:
Amherst Media
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Fine Art

This morning while waiting for the little babe to wake up I read the book Fine Art Portrait Photography by Nylora Bruleigh. Her images are absolutely stunning. Some are styled after vintage photographs while others look like paintings and still there are more that look like a fantasy. It is art photography at its best. Creating something real while also making it look like what we photographers see in our mind's eye. She does heavily utilize photoshop, which isn't necessarily a bad thing by any means, but she does have quite a few where only minor adjustments were made. She has several images from her Fairytale series in the book. She does a wonderful job making Cinderella and Snow White come to life in these photographs. I could probably go on and on with my amazement at her images but you should really just see them for yourself so you can find Fine Art Portrait Photography by Nylora Bruleigh from these retailers:
Amherst Media
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Modern Weddings

In recent years there has been what some may call a trend in wedding photography of photojournalistic photographs in place of or in conjunction with traditional posed photographs. Personally I like this style. It's how I shoot. I also think it captures the feel of the day more accurately. My most recent book read was The Beautiful Wedding Photographing Authentic Moments by Tracy Dorr. This book discusses how to effectively shoot a wedding in a documentary manner. Capturing those once in a lifetime moments during a wedding is what photography is all about. Tracy gives solid tips on what type of shots to keep in mind, what cues to look for, and suggestions for editing images and final presentation. There is also a little bonus at the end where she briefly discusses applying the same techniques to children's photography. The Beautiful Wedding can be found here:
Amherst Media
Amazon
and
Barnes and Noble

Pricing Your Portraits By Jeff Smith

I received this book even before it hit the presses to get my opinion on it. Can I just say how awesome this was? I was able to implement his pricing strategies that much sooner. He doesn't offer quick fixes for pricing like I have seen advertised by some photographers out there. You know that super easy pricing formula to get you earning six figures in no time and of course you have to shell out some serious dough to gain exclusive access to this information. Not so here. What you have here is truth. Time is money being one of them. For example when you don't get something right in camera and have to fix it later in post that is cutting into your profits. Quite significantly when you apply numbers to it. He talks about how each facet of your business, no matter how small, will affect your bottom line. But this book is really about more than just making money. It's about having it all -studio, happy clients, and most importantly a home life. Because when you can run your business well that is what you get.
Look for it soon here:
Amherst Media
here:
Amazon
and here:
Barnes and Noble