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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
For the longest time I've complained that there was really no comprehensive book on night and low-light photography. Frost's prior effort in this field had failed to deal with digital photography. The new updated version of the earlier book meets these complaints and, while not as comprehensive as one might wish, comes close to meeting that goal.
The first two sections deal with equipment and fundamentals like the nature of light and metering. They make clear that the change from film to digital photography has reduced the gap between normal photography and the specialty genre of night and low-light photography. In fact, until one reads the section on subjects and techniques, one might almost wonder if it was necessary to read a separate book about this genre. Once one begins to explore the specifics of shooting under such circumstances as towns and cities and low light portraiture the author provides many useful hints. There are even sections on techniques like panoramas and HDR. (These sections are introductory only, and make no reference to any particular techniques that might be more applicable to low-light or night photography.) Many of these hints will not be new to experienced photographers, like avoiding bright lights if they are causing flare, but even old hands may not recall the suggestion that flare can be mitigated using the recovery slider in Adobe Camera Raw, or even the clone stamp.
The discussions of other post-processing techniques are rather limited, consisting mostly of general reference to tools available in Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop. There are many tricks available in post-processing that could certainly have been mentioned. For example, I have found that the intense reds created by incandescent lighting that follow HDR captures at night can be reduced to an acceptable level by desaturating reds in the image.
One of the areas the author scanted was true night photography where pictures are taken in the darkest conditions. It is here that the camera's ability to keep gathering light over times of up to several hours exceeds that of the human eye. Unfortunately, other then to mention this capability, there is little explanation of how to calculate exposure, or even suggest what might make good subjects for this type of photography. Another relatively unexplored area is composition, although one may be able to infer some guidelines from examining the author's photographs.
There are many books that go into greater detail about specific aspects of low-light and night photography, including books on the use of flash, what I call true night photography, and post-processing. However, for a general introduction to the subject, this is the best book that I've found to date.
The first two sections deal with equipment and fundamentals like the nature of light and metering. They make clear that the change from film to digital photography has reduced the gap between normal photography and the specialty genre of night and low-light photography. In fact, until one reads the section on subjects and techniques, one might almost wonder if it was necessary to read a separate book about this genre. Once one begins to explore the specifics of shooting under such circumstances as towns and cities and low light portraiture the author provides many useful hints. There are even sections on techniques like panoramas and HDR. (These sections are introductory only, and make no reference to any particular techniques that might be more applicable to low-light or night photography.) Many of these hints will not be new to experienced photographers, like avoiding bright lights if they are causing flare, but even old hands may not recall the suggestion that flare can be mitigated using the recovery slider in Adobe Camera Raw, or even the clone stamp.
The discussions of other post-processing techniques are rather limited, consisting mostly of general reference to tools available in Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop. There are many tricks available in post-processing that could certainly have been mentioned. For example, I have found that the intense reds created by incandescent lighting that follow HDR captures at night can be reduced to an acceptable level by desaturating reds in the image.
One of the areas the author scanted was true night photography where pictures are taken in the darkest conditions. It is here that the camera's ability to keep gathering light over times of up to several hours exceeds that of the human eye. Unfortunately, other then to mention this capability, there is little explanation of how to calculate exposure, or even suggest what might make good subjects for this type of photography. Another relatively unexplored area is composition, although one may be able to infer some guidelines from examining the author's photographs.
There are many books that go into greater detail about specific aspects of low-light and night photography, including books on the use of flash, what I call true night photography, and post-processing. However, for a general introduction to the subject, this is the best book that I've found to date.
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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