Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)When you pick up a book like this, what is your real intention? Is your goal to work for your local portrait studio? Is your goal to build your own studio and take portraits there? If you answered YES to either of these questions, then I think this is a great book for you to consider reading. If your goal is to take better pictures of your family members using your flash gun, or reach the elite level of fashion photography, then your search for the right book isn't over yet.
Allison Earnest takes you on a journey into her world of what I would call common private studio photography. This is actually the type of professional photographer that most of interact with at some point in our lives, be it our first family portrait, Senior portraits, or our wedding studio shoot. There's people like Allison in every city of the country, some of whom work independently and other who work for a large studio which sees hundreds of families daily. The techniques described in this book will teach you how to work in that industry to get results that you once paid what you thought was a lot of money for (your perception changes when you're the photographer :).
When I first skimmed through this book my first thought was "these pictures aren't that great," so I admit I went in with a negative attitude when I read this book. I quickly got annoyed with the author seemingly trying to sell me on Hensel lights throughout the book (note to editor - skip brand names if there is a next edition). However, as I read on I appreciated the authors middle chapters that offered some really good advice and tips that aren't always easy to find. Had I been the editor, I would have cut chapters 1 and 8 from the book and enhanced chapters 2 & 6. That leaves chapters 3, 4, 5, & 7 as being the real useful content in this book. For many that will be enough, especially if you don't have exposure to those concepts. I appreciated what was there, and suspect you will as well.
Skill Level: Any
Value: At retail, too much - but the going rate on Amazon is fair
Recommendation: If you are new to studio lighting and want to improve your portraiture then chapters 3 through 5 will be useful to you and probably worth the price of the book. If that isn't your goal then you shouldn't bother with this one. In the end, I say pick it up on sale and skip to the good stuff.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Sculpting with Light: Techniques for Portrait Photographers
Techniques for creating flawless lighting show photographers of all levels how to take full control of their photographic atmosphere in this indispensable guide. Illustrating the physics that govern light; the visual difference between the eye and camera; the qualities of incident and reflected light; and the effects of the size, intensity, direction, contrast, and ratio of light, this manual offers tools for sculpting the face for remarkable portraits. The three desirable positions for the main light are described in detail, as well as how to use those arrangements to accentuate all types of faces-oval, long, angular, heart-shaped, and square-to create portraits with a variety of different effects, from romantic to edgy to high fashion.
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