The Photographer's Studio Manual [Paperback]

Michael Freeman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1991

Controlled photography is the subject of this completly revised edition of the classic guide to studio work. The first half of the book considers the studio itself, with instructions for designing a temporary home studio as well as ideas for the professional setup. All levels of equipment and accessories are described, and special attention is paid to the lighting. The relationship of technique to final effect is explored in the second half of the book, from classic subjects to novel shots, providing inspiration to both the amateur attempting home studio photography and the professional about to enter a world of high technology.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Amphoto Books; Revised edition (August 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0817454640
• ISBN-13: 978-0817454647
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,647,644 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Freeman, professional photographer and author, with more than 100 book titles to his credit, was born in England in 1945, took a Masters in geography at Brasenose College, Oxford University, and then worked in advertising in London for six years. He made the break from there in 1971 to travel up the Amazon with two secondhand cameras, and when Time-Life used many of the pictures extensively in the Amazon volume of their World's Wild Places series, including the cover, they encouraged him to begin a full-time photographic career.

Since then, working for editorial clients that include all the world's major magazines, and notably the Smithsonian Magazine (with which he has had a 30-year association, shooting more than 40 stories), Freeman's reputation has resulted in more than 100 books published. Of these, he is author as well as photographer, and they include more than 40 books on the practice of photography - for this photographic educational work he was awarded the Prix Louis Philippe Clerc by the French Ministry of Culture. He is also responsible for the distance-learning courses on photography at the UK's Open College of the Arts.

Freeman's books on photography have been translated into fifteen languages, and are available on other Amazon international sites.

They are supported for readers by a regularly updated site, http://thefreemanview.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Photography Bible!!!, July 8, 1998

By 

N. Nielsen "nnielsen" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Photographer's Studio Manual (Paperback)

Detailed, precise and easy to understand information about: professional view-cameras, (medium and 35mm cameras are not the focus of attention of this book, but you'll find some information about them); pro equipment; films; lighting techniques; portraits (very good lighting guide - all kinds of lightings!!!); still-lifes; copy work; special effects... EVERYTHING... Doesn't have lots of information about developing and printing. Above all things it's a very creative book, from a very talented and creative photographer. It's a book for those who have some knowledge of photography and want to know more about studio and professional work.

3.0 out of 5 stars Very dated, but still interesting..., October 13, 2011

By 

Learning All The Time "It's Never Too Late to... (USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Photographer's Studio Manual, The (Hardcover)

I am a book junkie, and I really enjoy reading older photography books as I think there is considerable wisdom to be gleaned from them. I purchased this book specifically because it was by Michael Freeman, and I love some of his newer books, and because I thought perhaps it would cover studio management, which is my achilles heel at the moment.

However, it is a basic book about studio photography and not studio management. The first part of the book covers Setting up a Studio, Equipment, exposure, and film. The second part of the book focuses on making pictures -- people, portraits, food, animals, still lifes, and objects are covered.

I am only giving it 3 stars because it is very much a generalist book and quite dated, so it isn't as useful to a modern portrait photographer as other books. But it does contain some interesting tidbits, and some of the pictures are quite lovely, showing Freeman's incredible talent for cropping and composition...