Customer Reviews

Location Portraiture: The Story Behind the Art

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This book takes you step by step in how a master photographer plans conceptual portraits. He discribes how he communicates with his subjects, poses and lights them and gets the expression from all types of people, men, women, children, couples and groups. Both outdoors, in the home or in their working enviorment. This is the most complete book on this style of portraiture I have ever read.

As my eyesight becomes less than it used to be, I've been enjoying adding medium format film capability to the DSLR gear and have been trying to get a clearer sense of the differences between MF lenses. A thread on photo()net mentioned this book as having examples across a cross section of lenses. There are over 100 portraits, taken outside or in people's home or where they work. All are taken with Mamiya RZ or RB system. Lenses used (with # of examples in parentheses) are: 37mm (2), 50mm (3), 65mm (50), 90mm (3), 110mm (18), 127mm (1), 140mm macro (4), 150mm (1), 150mm soft focus (13), 180mm (4) and 210mm (1). The 'standard' advice on discussion groups for MF lenses intended for portraits seems to be to think of 127mm and up, but McIntosh's predominant use of wider angle lenses throughout the book was interesting to study. An earlier reviewer was frustrated by the lack of overhead lighting diagrams and didn't like the style. The author explains why he doesn't favor diagrams, but provides detailed written summaries. As for style, I'm guessing that everyone was completely happy with his approach to their portrait, not to say that everyone on the planet should go for the same look. Of the 10 or so film types used, all but Fuji Reala 100 have left the scene since the 1996 publication date. The printing and paper are of very high quality. It was a good afternoon going back and forth to see what the different lenses let him do. Worth finding if you're looking into this kind of photography. DSLR or 35mm film users could find how to convert the MF focal lengths to close equivalents in their own systems if not already known; many MF lens sellers give 35mm equivalents somewhere in the listing.

Location Portraiture: The Story Behind the Art
Bill McIntosh is a living legend. One of the top photographic artist in the world today. He has elevated photography into the equivalent of the MASTER PAINTERS centuries ago. His images take photography to the highest level. He is truly an artist whether he used a word processor, a scalpel, a tennis court, a paintbrush, a courtroom-whatever vehicle he used he would be at the top. Anyone aspiring to become a portrait artist will benefit greatly by purchasing this book. If you ever get an opportunity to attend one of his workshops or to view one of his exhibits I would highly recommend it. He has contributed to our profession more than anyone alive today. This is truly PHOTOGRAPHIC ART. And he is truly a master!

Whiliam McIntoshs' book shows how to use semi- wide, wide, and even fisheye
lenses in portraiture so you can include enough background and surrounding to
show a subject in therir element-Story telling portraiture. It shows how to use
controled lens distortion by careful placement of subject in order to enhanse
image, not as a way to make a gag photo. This is most interesting. His lighting
is usually complicated (for background) and rather simple and unvarying for the
person/s being photographed. He uses a large negative for large prints and uses
very small aperatures for depth of field. I personally will use larger lens openings in order to separate subject from background by selective focus. He does
it by making subject one stop brighter than background. His work is very formal
and carefully controlled. Great photography is seldom an accident.

what i liked about this book was the timelessness of the portraits. some portraits were made a couple years ago, some were made 30 years ... the point being that a well made portrait is timeless art. i think after a year you could revisit this book and be recharged.

This book is one of lowest value books I have ever purchased. It is expensive, yet contains very little information. The photos are old-fashioned, very clearly and quite badly posed. They lack, in most cases, any sense of relationship or emotion between the subjects and the environment or the camera and the viewer. Some of the subjects seem as though they have been stuffed, including the glass-eye look.

On the technical side, the book lists the equipment used, but there are no lighting diagrams.

One last note, if there was a picture of the cover page, I would have never bought this book. It shows general Colin Powell, in uniform, in a command room of some sorts. No problem so far, except he looks as if someone punched him in the face, his gaze is empty and disconnected, so much so that you wonder what he is doing in that room and whether he just went there to get his picture taken.