Customer Reviews

Location Lighting Solutions: Expert Professional Techniques for Artistic and Commercial Success (PDN Pros)

5 star:		(4)
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2 star:		(4)
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I have been a professional commercial photographer for the last 13 years, and have well over 1000 jobs under my belt. So even though I did not get much out of this book, you might. That being said here are my thoughts. It is one thing to show me the final worked up photograph that looks great, I want to see the process. If the author is going to describe a rig he made out of a swingset or a counter weighted boom that would hold a model suspended in the air over a stairway, I want to see it in a picture, I want to see a diagram of how he made it. There were many instances of this problem for me in the book. I also thought that the lighting diagrams were weak. It was very difficult, even for me to get a feel for how the final image was accomplished. Well at any rate, it is not as if I am going make the effort to write a book on photography, and it is great that this one is out there, it just would have been nice to have a little more of the nuts and bolts of the process depicted. The one thing that I did get out of the book that was valuble to me is this. Take the time to more carefully scout the locations for your shoots. Although we often (if not always) scouted in the past, I am taking more time now to really nail down the shot with the AD or CD while we are scouting. I am also carrying around a notebook and recording locations I am interested in for future reference (primarily with regards to personal work).

I was disappointed , style over substance.Plenty of interesting pictures but if your looking for a step by step guide,look elsewhere

For me, a pretty mediocre book. The photographers were talking about things like 'the light behind the archway', and then next to the words, the picture they were MEANT to be talking about didn't have an archway - in fact it was a totally different picture. Once... I can forgive, but it happened a few times throughout.

There are better reads to be had, this is ok if you like collecting books, and well, it is cheap.

This is interesting but does NOT answer lighting questions - it shows off professional shots but NOT help to beginners. Would NOT recommend it for beginners or intermediate photographers. Get something that address the issues and suggests answers.

This book clearly is targeted at the audience PDN is serving - experienced professional and semi-professional photographers. You need to have shot on location with studio lighting equipment and other common professional gear to follow the content. If you are looking for basic how-to instructions, this book may be inspriational but not educational.

The book is a collection of commercial location shoots, each consisting of the job sheet, the hero shot, and a 1-3 page narrative of the photographer describing his creative and problem solving process, outlining how the shot was taken. The narrative is in typical professional short-hand which covers what is unique about how the shot was taken, what equipment was used. Mostly the aspects that complete a visual reverse engineering, and pointing out what was going through the photographers head as he was conducting the shoot (not shot). It doesn't cover all the unconscious and mechanical details.

If you want to see great work done in the field, and see how others solved interesting problems on location, this is a great read and both helpful and inspirational.

Want to know detailed technical notes on how high-budget location (still photo) shoots go? This is that book. Mind-blowing amounts of gear, assistants, art directors, location scouts, and the clients all team together to create the extremely high-end work displayed in this book.

There are so many great tidbits of knowledge in the case studies. For example, almost every architectural photographer in the book uses dozens and dozens of hotlights for their lighting. It's truly amazing how many resources are actually involved in these images which appear to be naturally lit.

Location shots are often filled with uncertainty, from obtaining the right permits to shoot on location to working with existing lighting and freelance staff. LOCATION LIGHTING SOLUTIONS addresses the most frequent of these issues, going behind the scenes to see exactly how a location is shot, how professional photographers use tricks for special effects and problem-solving alike, and how successful photo shoots are set up. Over fifty professional photo shoots range from interiors to fashion and landscape and are analyzed by a professional photographer with over twenty-five years experience in the field, making LOCATION LIGHTING SOLUTIONS a top pick for any photographer who wants to learn these basics - and for any library with a strong neo-pro photography 'how to' section.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This book was very helpfull with its' great behind the scenes descriptions of the lighting setups.