Customer Reviews

Monte Zucker's Portrait Photography Handbook

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Among photographers, the late Monte Zucker was ackowledged as one of the world's greatest portrait artists in the world. Written not long before he died, Monte Zucker's Portrait Photography Handbook is a fitting legacy to his career as a photographer and as an instructor.

In the introduction, the author comments that so many photographers don't want to take the time to study or learn any predetermined technique. They want to discover their own style through their own sense of creativity.

He writes (pg 6) "Does that make any sense at all? Do you really believe that anyone can figure it all out by himself? To my thinking, it makes much more sense to get youself a "coach"....If you think about it, what doesn't make sense is someone wanitng to figure it all out by himself."

And with those words one of the great portrait photographers presents a step-by-step tutorial on what he does to create great portrait photos. We're not talking about esoterics like advanced color theory, controlling chromatic aberration in lenses, or philosophical debates on how one should relate to his subject. Monte's philosophical section in the book, called "setting goals", is about half a page long. He says, in part, "If you are emotionallly connected with my subjects when you see their portraits, I feel that I have done my job."

That sets the tone for this book. Monte isn't interested in intimidating you with the brilliance of his photographic knowledge. He wants to show you that if you apply the lessons he's learned from a lifetime of experience, you'll start taking some fantastic photos. You'll learn what works and why, what doesn't work and why. The goal for his readers is for them to practice with good technique until those technical aspects of a shoot become instinctive, second nature, to them.

This is an introductory level meat-and-potatoes instruction guide on understanding what makes a good portrait photo. It deals with the basics from start to finish.

And by "start" Monte isn't talking about setting up the camera. The first chapter is devoted to "Consultation". It is necessary to discuss with your photo subject ahead of time such topics as what clothing is appropriate for a shoot, including necklines, sleeves, colors and patterns in the cloth. How to coordinate clothing for group shots. And what part hairstyle and makeup play.

If your idea of the start of a portrait shoot is waiting for your subject to show up, you're already behind the curve.

Then comes the chapter on background selection for outdoor or studio settings, and some interesting choices one can make, for example, in painted or projected backgrounds.

Next chapter is "The Subject". Monte explains the importance of doing a preliminary facial analysis of your subject if you're going to make your subject look his/her best. He discusses different facial angles, including the classic full face, two-thirds view, and profile. He talks about looking for strengths and defects in hair, eyes and nose and how to utilize, or minimize, their effects.

The chapter on "Posing Fundamentals" shows there is more to posing a subject than telling the model to sit down and look at the camera. There are full instructions on seating the model, positioning the body and the shoulders, and attaining the proper posture. Monte then discusses the two classic poses: the basic (sometimes call masculine) pose and the feminine pose and how to achieve them. (He notes in passing that, given the number of photographers who've told him they understand this concept, it's amazing to him how many never actually utilize this concept in their work.) The chapter concludes with a discussion of back poses, eye position and facial expression, as well as Monte's recommendation for the use of posing stools and tables.

Following a chapter on how to extend these ideas to group portaits, Monte then discusses lighting equipment (including a discription of his studio set up) in chapter 6, followed by "Lighting Techniques" in chapter 7. This discusses in detail how to set up your lights with respect to your subject, how to light the basic pose, the feminine pose, the full face, two-thirds view and profile poses. It also contains Monte's most important "secret" to good portraiture. He goes so far to say that if you can get only one thing right from this book, this is it: working with the "nose loop". Set up this nose shadow correctly with your lights and you're just about guaranteed a good-looking portrait. It's that simple (he says!).

Following chapters deal with window lighting, outdoor portraits, camera and lens considerations (including proper camera position in relation to your subject), photo composition, and exposure control. There's a small section on what, for this book, I'd call "advanced" creative choices like soft focus, black and white conversion, and shooting with a digital infrared camera!

The book ends with Monte's summary checklist of how to set up a shoot along with things to avoid. Counting out "One! Two! Three!" before hitting the shutter? Useless - don't do it!

Oh? Oops? ME? I never do that. (Well, NOT ANYMORE!)

The book is 123 pages in an 8.5" x 11" softcover binding. Inside you'll find about 150 absolutely gorgeous photos Monte uses to exemplify the discussions at hand. Very often the large portrait will be accompanied by a "thumb nail" of an expanded version of the same shot, this one showing the location of lights, reflectors and photographer with camera, so you can see how it all came together.

Again, this book is mostly aimed at the photographer (professional or amateur) who wants to get into portrait photography, but there are gems here that can be gleaned by other long-time portrait photographers as well. When Monte Zucker has something to say, it pays to listen.

One recent review I saw said that this was basically a rehash of the articles Monte wrote for Shutterbug. I don't have those articles so I can't comment on that. If you happen to own that series, then you might need to think a bit about purchasing this book.

For the rest of us aspiring portrait photographers, this is a must have. It's become my studio bible.

I have only gone through this book once and even that was very brief, but I found it very helpful and the tips he made are short and to the point. I was impressed at how the posing of the subject is explained right down to where the eyes should be positioned. I always thought that the eyes should be looking at the camera lens when taking a straight on shot. Monte covers even the clothes and their relation to the background. How he would check with the subject a day or so before the shoot to suggest what would work and what would not. My only problem with the book is that he didn't go into lighting as much as I would have liked, although there are plenty of books out there on that and perhaps that was not what was needed in this book. He also used a digital camera so one of the benefits of them is that you can check the lighting with the camera and if it isn't to your liking, just move the lights and take a few more test shots. It is hard to beat his photos for jumping off the page and making you feel that the subjects are right there. I highly recommend this book and feel there is enough info for you to take great portrait shots if you follow his advice. This was his last work before his death and it is a great contribution to those of us that wish to do portrait photography for business or just fun.

Monte Zucker is quite possibly the greatest portrait and wedding photographer to ever use a camera and this book highlights some of his best wedding and portrait imaging. The consomate teacher, Monte shares his over fifty years of experience with the reader.

In this book, Monte explains the science of creating a great portrait. Through facial analysis and careful posing, he shows how to bring out the best in anyone who sits in front of your camera.

Monte's explanation of all types of lighting situations will be of benefit to both the beginner and seasoned professional with chapters on window light, outdoor lighting and studio lighting. I found the overview images of the lights and reflectors utilized especially helpful.

On a personal note, I had the privledge of knowing Monte for nearly twenty years. We judged and lectured together at WPPI Conventions and I learned so much from him. Although Monte has left us, we now have this book and his amazing images to remember him by. Monte Zucker truly was a Master's master.

I hold Monte Zucker is high regard and had high hopes for this book. I'm glad to have it, I would buy it again, but it's really just a re-hash of his "Shutterbug" magazine articles. If you have those saved up you don't really need this book.

On the other hand, if you don't have the articles, sure buy it.

Mr. Zucker tells you things about taking portraits that no one else has taken the time to put in writing. I couldn't be happier with a portrait handbook and I've read a few. Very easy to understand and well written. This book not only walks you through the portrait process but also gives you some very helpful tips on running your own portrait business along with some of the best portrait examples. Some great insights and wonderful portraits. I recommend to anyone (beginner and experienced) in the portrait profession to get your hands on this book and read it cover to cover. I know I'll be keeping my copy to re-read and refer back to.

Because it was written by Monte, I really wanted to love this book, but in the end it is just a so-so introduction to portrait photography.

There are a few useful tips, and many excellent example photos, all reproduced in Amherst Media's characteristically excellent quality, but there really isn't a lot of information here.

The book is 128 pages, but because of the space the example photos take up and because it is sparsely typeset in relatively large print, the actual content is about what would typically fit in a 40 page book. This would be a real rip-off at the list price, but not quite so bad at Amazon's discount price.

The photo captions are simply a rehash of a line or two from the main text (which sometimes appear to be randomly selected). There is no exposure or other EXIF data included in the photo captions, which would have aided in understanding his use of lenses and aperture. There are no formal lighting diagrams, only a few "behind the scenes"-type shots showing a wider view of how he took the corresponding shot, but these are often missing lights and other key elements of the shot which detracts from their value.

On the positive side, he does boil-down posing to two basic poses with a few minor variations, but even these explanations would have greatly benefited from a few clear diagrams and better correlation with the example photos.

I just finished Monte Zucker's Portrait Photography Handbook. It's a nice super-casual read full of very large photos, and quite short on text, but what text there is I found to be very useful. He covers in detail what facial features to look for in your subject and how to use that to your advantage, some very basic posing which he uses for most of his portraits, and some lighting fundamentals. Even the areas which I was much more familiar with I found tidbits of useful information, and it's an excellent reference book to have around. I've said for a while now that posing people is a weak-point of my portraiture, and I'm looking forward to try out his various techniques when I get a chance.

There were some parts of the book I found wanting. First and foremost, what this book REALLY needs is some illustrations. He's describing poses and he shows you final photos of what he's talking about, but it's not as clear as it should be. I really think more setup or pulled-back shots or just plain illustrations would do a MUCH better job of communicating the concepts he's talking about.

Also, Mr. Zucker's style seems very dated. Most of the portraits in this book look like they came from 1992, so his lighting style and poses seem very dated. Having said that, there's definitely a certain amount of a "classic" look that I love to them too, so I wouldn't take that negatively across-the-board.

Lastly, the thing that drives me crazy is that several of the photos in the book seem, frankly amateur. A number of photos the focus is off (the sharpest part is the hair or, in the most grievous case, the wall BEHIND the subject). I've always been told that the focus-point on traditional portraits should be the eye closest to the camera, and I cannot believe that Mr. Zucker meant to focus on the hair the wall, and it boggles my mind that he'd choose those photos for his book.

All in all I'd rate it a B-. Very useful, but not a clear as it should be.

Outstanding how-to-do-it book detailing methods applied that Monte used to create outstanding results. The cover alone is stunning - elegant simplicity. Explanations are clear-cut and admirably brief. Very unlike many books of this sort that too-often fall into the self-adulation authorship.
Practical. Informative. To-the-point. Superb examples. Readable. What else needs to be said?

Monte Zucker was an award-winning photographer, and you will learn some things from this book if you're just starting out. Unfortunately, it's just not detailed enough for me. He covers so many subjects that he really can't take the time to truly explain any of them. This book needed to be about three times as long to be helpful. Each chapter feels like it was hacked by an editor to get the book down to size, leaving out some key information. For example, this book seems aimed at beginners, but he often uses terminology that no beginner would know, and doesn't bother to explain what those words mean. I know what a "gobo" is, but I doubt a true beginner would.

I really hate to criticize a book by someone who has won such prestigious awards as Mr. Zucker, but I really didn't get much out of it. I was hoping for some truly inspirational knowledge, but instead I got just some basic info and a few nice portraits.

I bought this book for a college course reference book. Only negative thing is Monte is a very "set in his ways" guy. I have seen alot of his work and alot of work by other well known photographers that relate back to Monte Zuker's work. I would say that if you are thinking about doing portait and wedding work buy the book. There are a few other books for Wedding photography that are better but thi is a great place to start.