Customer Reviews

Digital Portrait Photography: Art, Business & Style (A Lark Photography Book)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you want to catch the soul of a subject, this may not be the book for you. But if you want to take a portrait that will show the subject to his or her best advantage, this is a great place to start. (By the way, only a few really great photographers have come close to catching the soul of a subject, and I'm willing to bet that when they started out, they were happy just to produce images that showed a subject to the best advantage.)

This book discusses the fundamentals of formal portrait photography, and not photojournalistic portraiture. Sint starts his book emphasizing the importance of dealing with the subject in a manner that will allow photographer and subject to cooperate in producing a great picture. He next talks about framing the subject, lighting and posing. Unlike other portrait books I've read, the author then touches on makeup. Only after going through these subjects does he discuss equipment, and then he finishes up by examining the business side of portraiture.

Through all of this, one gets the feeling of a practical book. For example, in Sint's discussion of framing, he notes that vertical framing usually works best for groups up to four, and horizontal framing works best for groups of six or more. For groups of five, the format depends on how wide the subjects are! When he discusses cameras, he is quick to say he doesn't favor the top of the line cameras because they are too heavy and too expensive. When he talks about makeup, he tells the reader how to fold a powder puff. The discussion of posing tells you how to deal with the double chin, the big nose and different size eyes. The business discussion shows how to calculate expenses and income if one want to make a living from photography, and, if they take it seriously, may discourage a lot of daydreamers thinking about turning pro. The business discussion isn't the only information one would need, but it aims the reader in the right direction.

The book isn't perfect. I would have liked to have seen a little more discussion of lighting equipment, like flash units and booms, but there was certainly enough information that only a little more research would be required by the aspiring portrait photographer.

The book concentrates on taking portraits rather than post processing. For that aspect of portrait photography I would recommend adding "Skin: The Complete Guide to Digitally Lighting, Photographing, and Retouching Faces and Bodies" by Lee Varis to your list. But for everything up until you take the card out of the camera, this book will provide you with the practical information you need for portraits with which your subjects will be happy (and that might even make you a few bucks!)

Steve Sint is a a well known master photographer here in New York. His articles for Popular Photography among other publications have taught countless aspiring photographers and sharpened the skills of many Pros. Steve Sint has shot more than 60 magazine covers, including Life magazine. In addition to teaching he is still a working photographer.

This Digital Portrait Photography book will surely become a classic; just as his book on Wedding Photography is considered a bible for its myriad of tips and tricks. What sets Sints' books apart from others is that he presents his knowledge in a very logical and accessible style. Unlike many other books on photography he does not withhold information or try to win you over to his style of shooting. He presents what he has learned from shooting a couple million pictures in his lifetime and tells you what works and why it works.

The book itself is broken down into chapters:

Portrait Psychology
-- How to get your subjects comfortable and control the set. Probably the single most amazing this ever written on the subject. This chapter alone is reason enough for getting this book.

Framing
-- How to frame faces, bodies, multiple people

Lighting Basics
-- Types of light, temperature, etc.

Advanced Lighting
-- Everything from exposure to filters

Using Lights
-- How to light, ratios, lighting techniques, etc.

Posing the Face
-- How to hide blemishes, double chins, shrink noses and even straighten crooked noses. This chapter is full of really useful information that is not available anywhere else.

Posing the Body
-- bust, full length, groups, etc

Minimalist Makeup
-- How to save hours in Photoshop with a minimal makeup kit.

Equipment
-- Cameras, lenses, tripods, etc

The Business Side
-- How to run a small business, paperwork, portfolio, presentation

There is a lot information in this book to digest. It's much better written that many others I have read on the subject, but I think what makes this a must have is the practical tips Sint drops in every paragraph. This is a very through college level course on People Photography. I also like how Sint throws in some anecdotal situations from his professional life into the mix. It makes the book very readable and fun. I also like that the book is full of illustrations of light setups and the final shots from these types of setups. As you might have surmised by now this book is highly recommended for anyone interested in photographing people, from the amateur to the know it all master. Everyone will come away with some great information. I personally can't wait to apply the knowledge here is my repertoire.

I met the author, Steve Sint, a few years ago while attending a photography course he teaches at Maine Media Workshops in Rockport, Maine. There, I found Steve to be jammed-packed with top-notch experience from years in the field, and these are experiences he was more than willing to share. A real-life walking photography "encyclopdeia", if you will. The kind of person that walks in a room and instantly seems the light, the color temperature, and the exposure needed for perfect images. Steve's new book, Digital Portrait Photography, is amazing in that it continues in the same vein as the way Steve teaches in person; Steve's love to teach what could be very technical matters in a step-by-step, easy-to-digest manner. This book is incredibly packed with infinite detail and tips, and will become my 'bible' at my portrait studio. I especially like how the book does not just 'show' results, it explains HOW they were achieved, and gives newcomers and even advanced photographers a really good start toward become a professional some day like Steve Sint is for us now. When read with care and interest from cover to cover this text will potentially yield the reader the equivalent of an in-depth college course on the subject. The only thing better, I imagine, would be to have Steve teach you personally. The book is highly recommended.

I'm amazed how helpful this book is. As a photographer embarking on starting my own event and portrait business, there are endless tools in here that make me a better photographer. Steve Sint he describes in clear narrative the technical practices that can/should become good habits; using the guidance in this book, I have already gained confidence when shooting people and am better at producing consistent work. Among it's many strengths, I love that the book begins with a prominent section on the psychology of shooting people - above all else, it's at the heart of shooting people well.

After plodding through throngs of photography books, it's thrilling to find one that ranks among the best.

Of late, I have been skeptical of new books, because many of them are rehashes of prior books. Not so for this one!

In the Intro, the author points out that many of the books out there are VERY specialized. This book is just the opposite; in fact, it could be used as the textbook for one or two semesters in college work.

The opening chapter, PORTRAIT PSYCHOLOGY, is simply incredible. Then the meat comes along, chapter by chapter, including framing, lighting (basic & advanced), using lights, posing the face and body, makeup (!), equipment and the business side of portraiture. This literally is a course in portraiture...and an incredible one.

The book, while it does mention specific brands, is quick to point out that there are many manufacturers, and to check out everything. He also provides very clear diagrams for lighting, esquisite example of posing, and some incredible portrait photography to boot. There are also lots of cool tips that everyone should read!

As the title says, if you get a book on portraits... GET THIS ONE! You will NOT regret it! I may get a second copy to keep in my roll-around case...it is that good! Kudos to the author for a job well done!

©2008 Tom McElvy

I agree with what most of the previous reviewers have written about Steve and this book and apologize for repeating some of the same ideas that they have already conveyed. I was at a one-evening presentation / demo / workshop that he did at Adorama (a photography shop in NYC) and received this book for free (after paying the fee for the workshop).

Steve is a very very experienced professional who has shot many many portraits over many years. He has figured out what works, why it works and what doesn't work and he is a very practical (and value-oriented) practitioner of his craft. Steve explains his points in easy-to-understand prose. He covers a wealth of subjects related to portraiture including the choice and use of equipment (from cameras to lighting equipment to backgrounds to posing supports), the posing of people and their faces, makeup, and the business side of being a professional being tasked to take a portrait. He covers a huge breadth of material with reasonable depth in each area and with generally good illustrations and images to illustrate his points. If you only buy one book on portraiture then this would be a great choice. On the other hand, if you are only interested in exploring in depth one area related to portraiture (i.e. cameras, lighting, posing, makeup, business etc) then a book only covering the one area might be a better choice with this book as a very good general introduction to any of these areas. I am very comfortable in highly recommending this book and Steve as a teacher.

I read nearly every book our library had on digital photography when I first got into taking pictures. This is the first book I loved enough that I had to have my own copy. It covers everything from lighting to posing to equipment, etc. Everything is laid out with simple, easy to understand descriptions and has lots of accompanying pictures. I'm sure it's way to simple for the professional, but any beginner through amateur will find something in here for them.

I am a avid hobbyist and wanted to learn more about portrait photography. After looking through numerous book at local bookstores, this one stood out from the rest! Very easy to read and digest. I'm not a pro, but Steve obviously is, so I'd imagine just about any level of photographer could get something from this book. I'd highly recommend it for any skill level. But since no two people are alike, I'd recommend flipping through it a your local bookstore to make sure it's for you.

I have numerous portrait photography books and I think this is the best of the bunch. I wanted to learn how to properly use my monolights and my light meter. This author teaches you how to do it all. I have dozens of photography books and I was surprised that a book of this quality was so inexpensive. As the title says, this is exactly the book I was looking for and I finally found it. Highly recommended.

This book is one I purchased with Monte Zucker's book. I like them both. I find this one has a lot more information in it, but some aspects of the book are not done well. For value, this book beats Monte's book because it has so much information. For quality of presentation, editing and imagery, Monte's book makes this one turn red.

The cover photo, as someone else said, is rather obviously back focused... he focused on her ear, apparently, and the highlights are blown out. On top of that, it's not a portrait so much as it's a model portfolio pic. What's the difference? A portrait is showing you the person, and giving you some idea pf who they are. The portfolio pic is giving you an idea of how pretty they can be made up, but not showing you WHO they are. The difference is emotion versus looks, and this image is not a portrait by this (my) definition. It doesn't speak well of a book, in my opinion, when the cover image isn't properly focused, exposed or defined.

But it doesn't end there. Oddly enough, I can't find very many images at all in the book that were done by the author except for illustrative purposes... for instance, showing you what a highlight looks like when you're photographing a reflective surface using diffuser A, B or C. Huh? Why are the images from everyone else?

The text of the book is good. Meaty and informative. The book is definitely worth having for that, but several things about the book leave you wondering if it wasn't just rushed out the door without really paying much attention and doing it right.

So I have given this book 4 stars, because the information is good and well worthwhile, but the book as a whole isn't quite up to the level of polish and professionalism I would expect.