Product Description

This cookbook-style guide to portrait lighting contains all the ingredients necessary for a successful photo shoot. With 60 two-page spreads highlighting the techniques used to create stunning portraits alongside the portraits themselves, aspiring photographers will have a clear sense of both the "how" and the "why" of good lighting. Difficult questions such as How can I downplay a double chin and dark shadows under the eyes? and How can I produce a soft, romantic feel in a woman's portrait? Are addressed and resolved in this no-nonsense guide to good lighting.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10486 in Books
• Published on: 2008-12-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781584282426
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review

About the Author

Customer Reviews

Not what I thought
I received this book for Christmas 08, after asking for it. I wrongly assumed that in, "50 Lighting Setup for Portrait Photographers:",the book would review each of the many lighting set-up such as Rembrant, Butterfly, Paramount, Side lighting and so many more giving details about how, where and why to place each light in relation to the model along with lighting specs. However, what the author has done was take fifty of his own real life situations and useing a single page tell about each "Assignment". That is what the pourpose of the photo shoot was. Examples inclued, for a magazine, a publicity photo, for a play, for an annual report, billboard adverting, for a CD cover or for his first book. With many of these "assignments" being done outside of a studio. Next he shares his "Visual Objective" what he was trying to portray in the photograph. Then comes "Posing", this is of intrest, however many of the posing situations are specific to the "assignment" and or his "visual objectives". "The Sory" follows, which is his interaction with the client/ model and how it helped him to decide his plan of action. He follows up with "tips". Last, a small diagram was placed in the bottom corner

misleading ... at best
The title of this book is completely misleading. Yes, there are 50 lighting setups, but they are not discussed. Each setup includes the photograph and a discussion of who the sitter was, why the photo was taken, how the sitter was posed, etc. But nothing (nothing!) about the lighting is ever discussed. You get a little diagram of the lighting setup at the bottom of the page. That's it. A better title would be "50 Photographs of People and How I Came to Take Them." Money wasted.

Good for insights but not for beginners
First of all, I agree with many reviewers that the title is misleading. It is not 50 lighting setups that discussed here, but rather fifty case studies. To be fair, the author does address several basic lighting setups and lighting equipments in the first chapter of the book. It is around 15-20 pages long with photo to illustrate his points.

The rest of the book is laid out case per case basis. Every case (2 pages each) has a full page photo, equipments, camera setting, tips, lighting diagram and description of the assignment. The tips is not only about lighting, but also about interpersonal skills.

For beginners, this book might not practical to learn about lighting. Most of the equipments used are pro-caliber such as Hasselblad medium format cameras and lighting kits such as studio strobes, octagonal soft box, beauty disc, etc. Steven H. Begleiter, the author, does not explain step by step on setting up the lighting and why he use the particular lighting system as well.

For professional or aspiring photographer who is specializing in portrait and lighting, you might find this book helpful to get fresh new ideas and insights. Check out my blog radiantlite.com for more reviews