Corrective Lighting and Posing Techniques for Portrait Photographers [Paperback]

Jeff Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2000

Focusing on real people, not models, this book provides practical solutions to masking common flaws, such as concealing a double chin, creating a thinner waistline, or masking complexion problems and wrinkles. Covering both studio and location photography and everything from head shots to full-length portraits, this is an essential guide for making every client look his or her best.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jeff Smith is a professional photographer and the author of Outdoor and Location Portrait Photography. He lives in Fresno, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Amherst Media; 1 edition (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584280344
• ISBN-13: 978-1584280347
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,177,902 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and Down to Earth, April 7, 2002

By 

Maxfilm (MA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Corrective Lighting and Posing Techniques for Portrait Photographers (Paperback)

This is a very refreshing guide to portrait photography for its focus on the imperfections of people, and how to manage them in the studio. Many other books and articles on portraiture may address these issues partially, but still tend to have images of very thin models with perfect skin, hair and eyes. Many of the models in this book are attractive, but there's a reasonable diversity of subjects compared to other sources (with some caveats noted later in this review).

The author has a very conversational style, and this short 120 page book is probably best appreciated as a really strong lecture or set of short seminars on topics (lighting, posing, making the client feel comfortable) with lots of useful tidbits and examples. This is not a rigorous reference with lighting diagrams, explanations of the functions of various equipment and accessories, and a glossary of terms and index...this book doesn't have any of these for the novice.

That sounds like a criticism, but the author's breezy, non-academic style really works well to get certain key basics across, and it's very useful for both inexperienced and experienced photographers as a result. I found the book an excellent read, particularly the section on corrective posing, and specifically the focus on getting the most out of the eyes in a portrait. The lighting discussion is good as well, though the author jumps all around with various techniques and accessories he favors, and some areas don't have a lot of detail. But again, this book is strongest for posing and basic lighting in the service of making an imperfect subject look their best, rather than extensive details around equipment and technical explanations of lighting. His discussion of backgrounds, props, and the general benefit of foreground elements is valuable as well.

The author is also very entertaining when he talks about how to engage the client in a comfortable and professional manner, and avoiding all the cliches and rude manners of other photographers.

As another reviewer pointed out, the focus does seem to be on younger women who are heavier and who in general have hang-ups about different aspects of their appearance. It appears this is the case because the author feels these subjects are much more sensitive about their appearance, relative to men. It would have been nice to see a few more people of both genders across age groups, simply because the author is so good with his existing subjects, and more detail and a greater variety of subjects would have been even better.

A final small note: this is not the book to go to for any discussion of black and white portraiture. Black and white is relegated to a small sidebar, and the author sticks to C-41 film because of the expense of processing and printing other B&W films.

With all this said, I recommend this book very highly. I'm about to read it for a second time cover to cover, to review the numerous useful concepts he discusses for the wider range of portraits I'm going to be taking this summer. Few authors communicate in as straightforward, educational and as entertaining a manner as Jeff Smith does.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good glimpse into a contemporary portrait studio, March 26, 2002

By 

Steven W. Roark (APO, AE USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Corrective Lighting and Posing Techniques for Portrait Photographers (Paperback)

There are a number of "tricks" professional portrait photographers use minimize the visual imperfections of a client. While many of these tricks have been around for years, the author does a good job of presenting them with real-world examples.

To be blunt, the book deals mostly with women with weight issues, most of whom are posing for their senior portraits. Using subtractive lighting, posing and sometimes props, the author shows you ways to shave a few pounds off a photograph. However, don't expect to be able to completely undo years of cheese-fries. The results are subtle, not earth-shattering.

Overall, its a very useful guide for anyone wishing to make their subjects look a little better. Unfortunately, the other problem areas don't get nearly as much coverage as weight did, some only get a few paragraphs without photographic examples. Also, the author was politely vague when discussing individual photographs. Perhaps hiring some models specifically for this book would have allowed the author go into more detail without fear of offending his clients.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Senior Portrait Specialist, July 28, 2003

By 

ErwinSutjipto (Surabaya, East Java Indonesia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Corrective Lighting and Posing Techniques for Portrait Photographers (Paperback)

This book contains a lot of Photos example. The Author, Jeff Smith clearly explains about lighting and posing techniques. All the photo and the explanation are refers to senior portrait photo. If you want to learn more about photo in a group you must find another book