Light Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting [Print] [Paperback]

Fil Hunter (Author), Steven Biver (Author), Paul Fuqua (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 8, 2011 | ISBN-10: 0240812255 | ISBN-13: 978-0240812250 | Edition: 4

THE book to own if you want to understand lighting! 

Light Science and Magic more than just provides set examples for photographers to follow. This international bestseller provides photographers with a comprehensive theory of the nature and principles of light to allow individual photographers to use lighting to express their own creativity. It will show you how to light the most difficult subjects such as surfaces, metal, glass, liquids, extremes (black-on-black and white-on-white), and people.

With more information specific for digital photographers, a brand new chapter on equipment, much more information on location lighting, and more on photographing people, this brand new fourth edition will make it clear why this is one of the only recommended books by Strobist.com.

* THE lighting book for serious photographers
* The only book that covers theory and physics of light
* Full of brand new info, specific to digital photography
* Loaded with new and inspiring full color photographs

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Exclusive: A Letter from Fil Hunter, Paul Fuqua, and Steven Biver, authors of Light--Science & Magic, on Lighting

Fil Hunter

Paul Fuqua

Steven Biver

We photographers now live in a gadget-based world. If you don’t believe me, just look at the Web or any photography magazine. What do you see but item after item extolling the virtue of this or that gizmo?

The lighting side of picture making is no exception. In fact it has become so intense that a huge proportion of questions I’m asked are of the “How can I work without a . . . ?” or “Will I ever be able to make good portraits without a . . . ?”

Fortunately two sentences written for the first edition of Light--Science & Magic some 25 years ago by our co-author, Fil Hunter are just as relevant today as they were then, a quarter of a century ago:

“No photographer has enough lighting equipment to do every assignment as well as possible." and “Most photographers have enough equipment to do almost every assignment well.”

To put those two pithy lines another way, it’s what you do with what you’ve got that counts.

Sure, there most certainly are those times when the newest and niftiest piece of gear would make life a lot easier. But if you can’t afford it, don’t go out and shoot yourself. Instead, start trying to figure out a different way of getting the job done.

You’ll be amazed at how many times you can.

--Fil Hunter, Paul Fuqua, and Steven Biver

---

Amazon Exclusive: An Example from Paul Fuqua, One of the Authors of Light--Science & Magic, on Lighting

For the most part, my co-author, Steven, and I specialize in very different kinds of photography. Steven usually works using lights. I almost always work with only the ambient light I find where I’m shooting.

But as different as these two ways of working are, the approaches we use to lighting our subjects are almost identical. That’s because no matter where you find it or what its sources may be, light always behaves in certain predictable ways.

Take this portrait of my friend Howard. To make it I moved him into the “open” shade of a nearby barn. This flooded him with the kind of softly diffused light I had pre-visualized for the picture.

I then positioned Howard close to the edge of the barn’s shadow. This allowed a small number of the sun’s brighter rays to fall on the camera right side of his face.

The result of this slightly uneven lighting was twofold. First, Howard’s facial features were nicely modeled and second, the diffused light prevented any unattractive hard-edged shadows on it.

What’s important about the above is that I was able to use the ambient light I found on a location to make this portrait using exactly the same basic approach that Steven could use to produce identical looking lighting using studio strobes. Simply put, light is light, and it always follows the same laws of nature wherever it is and whatever produces it.

And that’s exactly what Light--Science & Magic is all about.

-- Paul Fuqua

---

Featured Photographs from the Authors of Light--Science & Magic

This glass of water was photographed with two lights--one on the background and the other in the foreground. (For more on photographing glass see Chapter 7).

This dramatic studio portrait was created using three lights--a Fresnel for the hair light, a grid spot and, a strip light for the face. (For more on portrait lighting see Chapter 8).

Exterior lamp on building wall shot with available light. The hard-edged shadow is a result of the bright specular light, the sun.

Still life was lit with one large soft box. This type of light modifier enables you to create as soft and often pleasing “window light” look.

Location portrait photographed with dappled ambient light.

---

Featured Excerpts from Light--Science & Magic

Read a few sample pages on how the cover was made. [PDF]

Read a few sample pages on how to photograph glass. [PDF]

Review

"If you are a photographer of any type, especially on who does studio work, this is a must have reference." - BC Books (May 2007) "The first book on photographic lighting that is worth using as a text. Light - Science and Magic is about principles, not cheap tricks or the authors' portfolio." -Pete Christman, Savannah College of Art and Design.

"I've found Light Science and Magic to be an invaluable tool." -Pointsinfocus.com

"This is the indispensable guide to photographic lighting for photographers at all stages of their craft." -Professional Photographer Magazine "I believe Light: Science & Magic should be a part of every serious photographer's library, and I feel strongly about it." -Photofidelity.com 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 326 pages
• Publisher: Focal Press; 4 edition (September 8, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0240812255
• ISBN-13: 978-0240812250
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 0.9 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,143 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Equipment, Techniques & Reference > Lighting
  • #71 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Digital Photography
  • #86 in Books > Computers & Technology > Digital Media Management

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A book you will actually use March 15, 2012

By Andy in Washington TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I consider myself a professional photographer. I don't make my living at it, but I do earn enough from it to pay for all the equipment I own. I am a lover of flash photography, and regularly use about a dozen different strobes, lights, flashes, and controllers.

I also own well over 100 books on photography. They are divided into two groups. The first is a small shelf in my office that holds maybe 15 books, the other is a large shelf in the attic that holds the remainder. This book has earned a place on the small shelf-it is that useful.

The Good Points

* The title is somewhat misleading. When I bought the book I was expecting a collection of lighting tricks designed to produce nifty special effects. That is not what the book is at all. Rather it is a review of many standard lighting techniques useful in everyday situations. There are tips on portraits, still life, product photography, and even some basic theory of light.

* Everything is kept simple. The authors don't go out of their way to impress you with how brilliant they are, they avoid the use of jargon, arcane terms and other vocabulary designed to show off rather than inform.

* The book shows real examples, and shows the lighting setup used and the results obtained. The lighting drawings are somewhat inexact, but certainly detailed enough to understand and duplicate the setup. They also do not go out of their way to specify exact exposure details, and instead direct the reader to "experiment". I have watched several photographers who I could consider first-tier professionals use the same technique-set up the light, take a shot, fix the lights....repeat until you get what you want.

* The examples they use are generic enough to be useful on a wide variety of subjects. As an example, some of the specific lighting challenges which the book covers include a glass of beer, glass vases and decanters, chessboard, a black prop on a black background, and metallic and shiny surfaces. While the book is certainly not a cookbook for every possible shot, if you master these techniques you are halfway home for just about any lighting assignment.

* While not a scientific work by any means, the authors do provide some basic theory of light (such as polarization) which should be detailed enough to help out any level of photographer understand what is going on.

* None of the material is in any way specific to any particular brand or style of equipment.

The Not So Good Points

* This is not an introductory book. There is almost no information on setting up camera exposures, flash modes. Knowledge of histograms is assumed, as are some very basic photoshop techniques for analyzing/correcting photos.

* The book ended too soon. I love the format of showing the same photo, lit with multiple techniques along with a lighting diagram for each photo. I would love to see a book of just photos and diagrams in the same format as the authors used. Some of my most challenging photo assignments (such as jewelry) were not discussed, and I could use the help.

* The lighting diagrams are not very detailed. No dimensions are given, nor is actual exposure information disclosed. Even with the diagrams and the book in front of you, a successful photo is still going to require some additional knowledge of lighting as well as a bit of experimentation.

Overall

* I found the book useful, and I already thought I knew quite a bit about flash lighting. A true photo beginner would probably struggle with the book unless they already have knowledge of how to set up flash exposures. I would have liked to see another 200 pages of specific examples, but there was a good range of material shown, and it is in a format that I can easily find and use.

* I recently had a client who wanted a picture of a decanter of red wine, with several glasses, shot on a glass tabletop. I wish I had this book before that photo session...countless hours of profanity might have been prevented.

* I would not recommend the book unless you own an SLR, at least one strobe or flash unit (preferably at least two), maybe a reflector or two, and a couple tripods. All of the tips in this book involve placing light sources in specific places-tough to do without some minimal amount of equipment. If you just have a small on-camera flash, there isn't much in this book that is going to help you.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Third or Fourth edition October 22, 2012

By zphage VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I have both the third and fourth editions.

I don't think there is enough new stuff to bother buying this edition if you already the third edition.
They update stuff to meet the modern digital age and go a little more into lighting when outside and extreme white, black, and mirrored backgrounds.

If you don't have this book than get this newest edition, if you have the third
you are fine.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential introductory guide to photographic lighting May 23, 2012

By Alan Shi

Format:Paperback

There's a good reason this book is on the strobist 'bookshelf' list of recommended books: it's excellent.

I was initially sceptical of this book when I flipped through it and saw that the first chapter looked more like a high school physics text on the properties of light than a photography book. Quickly, however, I was thrilled to learn how well this initially dry material was subsequently built upon to show real applications to lighting technique used in photography. In fact, by a large margin, the best parts of this book are the first 7 chapters that deal with technical aspects of lighting, particularly with respect to how they apply to photographing different kinds of materials, and how to control the different kinds of reflections to obtain the best results.

After a basic primer on the properties of light and reflections, this book goes into details about how to use light to reveal surface details and contours, and deal with tricky subjects like photographic metal and glass. The coverage of these topics is top-notch. There's great detail, with easy-to-understand explanations and examples. If there's one thing that might be improved, it's probably the lighting diagrams that accompany the examples. These diagrams are all drawn in two dimensions even though it can be clear that the height of the lights matter to the descriptions in the text. In some cases, obviously 3D concepts are not well communicated in a 2D diagram at all. Nevertheless, the content is still very clear, and the writing is excellent.

The book gets a bit more random towards the end. There's a chapter essentially on portrait lighting, and it does a decent job covering some basic lighting arrangements and key problems/considerations, it didn't nearly have the same impact for me as the earlier part of the book. I'd say this chapter served as an ok introduction, but the information is really compressed, so you'll definitely do better with a dedicated book on the topic.

Chapter 9 deals with 'extremes', and the book starts to delve into technical camera / post-processing topics rather than purely be about lighting. The chapter starts off with a discussion of the 'characteristic curve' (think curves in Photoshop) but this was probably presented in a more confusing way than necessary. I also thought some of the claims about compression of highlights in the top part of the histogram for digital might be inaccurate (or at least not relevant enough to merit suggesting *underexposure* of highlights--not just to avoid clipping, but in general--to get better contrast). Almost every other technical source I have read advocates exposing-to-the-right for digital because of the *greater* tonal information captured (as opposed to what this book claims, which is that it falls off quickly at the top end even before clipping). The jury's still out on that for me. Chapter 9 also deals with photographing white-on-white and black-on-black subjects, with interesting tips for both situations (both from an exposure standpoint and a lighting standpoint).

The last chapter was a bit of a grab bag of short topics mostly for the novice photographer, covering topics like colour balance, and gels. This felt more like a few random blog entries thrown together than earlier chapters, but still decent if you've never read about these topics before.

Overall, despite its (relatively minor) flaws, this is an excellent book on photographic lighting that is both inspiring and educational. It is also a great book that will surely encourage further study. Often after reading about a given topic, I felt inspired to go out and try the techniques described (whereas after reading most other books, I felt content to just understand the ideas intellectually). I'm sure most other readers will feel the same way as well. Highly recommended.