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52 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Such a Missed Opportunity, December 1, 2005
This review is from: Basic Studio Lighting: The Photographer's Complete Guide to Professional Techniques (Paperback)
There is no question that Tony Corbell takes wonderful photographs. Go to his website at [...] to see for yourself. But, as we've often seen, raw photographic talent more often than not does not translate into teachable talent or competent writing skills.
In `Basic Studio Lighting' Corbell tackles a needed subject, writes in an agreeable fashion and delivers with beautiful examples. Yet one finishes this book, while thankful for the nuggets of valuable information, ultimately disappointed.
Disappointed at the missed opportunity. Corbell might very well have delivered a photographic knockout punch. He could have written the definitive textbook on studio lighting. Instead his book falls into the "out of 144 pages, I picked up three new ideas" category that too often describes photographic instruction books.
How do you possibly write a book on basic studio lighting without a single lighting diagram connected to an individual photograph? Tony Corbell did.
He even knows the importance of conveying that information. Consider, on page 128, Corbell writes "Placement of the separation light is of key importance..." yet no diagrams. As in none.
Didn't early on somebody, anybody (maybe an editor who should have known better) say, `Uh Tony? You might want to diagram those lighting setups, just in case someone might actually want to use your information"? This omission alone takes this book from the keeper category and lands it into the `read once and discard' category.
This book reads like Tony's lectures might sound if they were written down with a slideshow of images behind him, not like a book written from scratch.
Such a missed opportunity.
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44 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Do you want to follow recipes by rote, or learn to cook?, April 26, 2003
This review is from: Basic Studio Lighting: The Photographer's Complete Guide to Professional Techniques (Paperback)
This is one of the most inspiring photography books I've read. There are a hundred books about studio lighting that are little more than collections of photos followed by diagrams of the lighting setups. If you're looking for simple ways to duplicate somebody else's photos, this book is not for you. Instead, the author's intent is to make you understand the underlying principles of controlling light. He takes pains not to dictate rules or give formulas, but tries to help you make your own decisions based on your personal taste and the demands of a particular photo. This book, although it appears superficially simple, puts demands on the reader that many other lighting books do not. Some people would prefer to follow diagrams by rote; I'd much rather develop the mental tools to design my own lighting setups for my own needs, rather than look at the exact placement of lights that somebody else used. Corbell's explanation of the Chromazone system (for controlling the effects of gelled light on backgrounds) was more than worth the price of the book.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
It's not the book the title implies, November 16, 2006
This review is from: Basic Studio Lighting: The Photographer's Complete Guide to Professional Techniques (Paperback)
This book should been titled "Studio Lighting Theory". While I appreciate the theory and concepts described in the book, I was looking for BASIC STUDIO LIGHTING instruction, and this book does not deliver. There are many, many nicely lighted portraits and product shots in this book but they are like teasers..."Try and figure out how I lighted this one!" In another review of the book, the reviewer considers the lack of diagrams a plus, but I surely can't see how holding back information can be beneficial.
I suspect, this was just a money grab by the author. A collection of his photographs--most of which he may not even remember the lighting setup used. The book is a bit dated, too, with nothing but film references and no fluorescents even mentioned in the continuous lighting section.
If you are looking for an introduction to studio lighting, this book will disappoint. I suggest looking elsewhere. That's what I'm doing now.
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