Portrait and Candid Photography: Photo Workshop [Paperback]

Erin Manning (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0470147857 | ISBN-13: 978-0470147856 | Publication Date: October 8, 2007 | Edition: 1

The secret to taking great “people pictures” is to observe your subjects, connect with them, and use your camera to its best advantage. Here’s how to work with lighting, location, angle, composition, physical characteristics, environment, and countless other variables, including the unique challenges of photographing babies, group activities, and action. Learn to capture facial expressions, tell a story with a series of candids, add interest to large-group shots, and more. Apply these techniques and watch your subjects come to life.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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From the Author: Top Five Portrait Tips

1. Observe and Connect with People
Take the time to notice someone's special qualities, observe how they react, and make an effort to authentically connect. People want to feel respected and appreciated. If you show an interest and help them feel more comfortable, they will respond to you and your camera.

2. Find the Light
One way to create flattering portraits is to shoot during the golden hours, generally the first hour and last hour of sun during the day. At these times, your subject can face the sun without squinting, because the light is diffuse and soft and it’s easy to capture a sparkle in the eye.

Avoid harsh overhead light by placing your subject in the soft light of open shade. Open shade can be found beneath a tree, under the porch of a house, in a doorway, under an umbrella, or in the shade of a building.

3. Control the Light
Get rid of shadows and liven up the catch light in your subject's eyes by bouncing light back onto them with a reflector. Whether it's a professional reflector, white board, or tin foil on a cookie sheet, reflecting light gives you more control over the light in your photo.

Soften the harsh light of mid-day sun by placing sheer white fabric, translucent paper, or a professional diffuser between your subject and the harsh light source.

4. Compose the Shot
Use a framing element to give your image context, depth, and lead the viewer's eye towards your subject. A tree branch, doorways, archways, windows – any open shape that surrounds your subject in the foreground of your scene will work.

5. Provide Feedback
When you’re having your picture taken, you can't see how you look, which makes some people very self-conscious. People need feedback from their photographer. Encouraging comments and direction really help your subjects loosen up in front of the lens.

From the Author: Sample Photos

Taken at ISO 200, f/4.0, 1/125 sec. With a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS lens. (Click on photo to zoom)

Taken at ISO 200, f/6.3, 1/250 sec. With a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS lens (Click on photo to zoom)

Taken at ISO 400, f/2.0, 1/320 sec. With a Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 lens. (Click on photo to zoom)

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--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

LEARN TO CAPTURE PERSONALITIES WITH YOUR LENS

Taking great "people pictures" isn't a matter of luck. The secret is in observing your subjects and connecting with them, and then using your camera to its best advantage. Here's how to work with lighting, location, angle, composition, physical characteristics, environment, and a host of other variables, including the unique challenges of photographing babies, group activities, and action. Apply these techniques and watch your subjects come to life; then test your newfound skills by completing the assignments at the end of each chapter and collecting feedback on your work at pwsbooks.com.

• Study your subjects in their natural habitat—observe how they react and interact

• Discover simple techniques for improving photos of babies and children

• Learn to capture facial expressions

• Tell a story with a series of candid photos

• Add interest to large-group shots

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (October 8, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470147857
• ISBN-13: 978-0470147856
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.7 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #513,581 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Erin Manning is a professional photographer, author, educator, and media personality. Her clear, friendly teaching style helps people understand and enjoy photography and technology. Television viewers know Erin best as the digital photography expert and host of DIY Network's Telly Award-winning TV series The Whole Picture. She is also author of Portrait and Candid Photography, and Make Money With Your Digital Photography published by John Wiley & Sons.

Erin spent several years working as a commercial, portrait and stock photographer, as well as completing a degree in Studio Art/Graphic Design from Loyola Marymount University. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Digital Imaging Marketing Association and is a member of American Photographic Artists, Women in Photography International, and the Los Angeles Digital Imaging Group, whose purpose is dedicated to advancing the art and science of digital imaging.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

82 of 99 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars How Much is Enough?, November 6, 2007

By 

Conrad J. Obregon (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Portrait and Candid Photography: Photo Workshop (Paperback)

This book is part of a new "Photo Workshop" series aimed at beginning photographers. The book is easy reading and accessible. It starts out with some general observations about portrait photography, including equipment, the nature of light and composition. It then goes on to cover particular types of portraits including groups, kids, babies and action shots. A final chapter discusses what to do with your pictures, including basic image adjustment and sharing your pictures.

One of the issues that always arises about instructional manuals is how much information is provided to the reader. That in turn depends on the audience. For the beginner there should be no information overload, and that certainly is not a problem here. Most of the chapters concentrate on questions like where to position yourself and what to look for in the subjects. On the other hand I think that any book that introduces more complex subjects should deal with fundamentals related to the subject. For example, the author mentions using not only point and shoot cameras, but also digital single lens reflex cameras, and talks about lens selection for such cameras. If one is going to suggest the book is aimed at such camera owners, one must discuss not just the effect of different focal length lenses, but also, for example, the elements of exposure. Unfortunately there is no discussion of exposure here.

There is also a section of the book devoted to the use of Photoshop Elements, which is software for processing digital images. The discussion here is quite abridged, and while applicable to portraits, no one should think that this is comprehensive instruction.

So at whom is this book aimed? The owner of a point and shoot camera who wants to take better portraits will find this book useful. The owners of digital single lens reflex cameras who want to improve their portrait taking will probably want something more than this book.

The workshop portion of the book is provided by a website to which a photographer may post pictures and where others may comment on such pictures. When I examined the web site I found the place to upload portraits was not yet in service. However, based upon my examination of photos that had been posted relating to other books in this same series, I found not many pictures had been posted and even fewer critiques offered. I would not rely on this site to provide me with much help in my photography.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent primer for the beginning portrait shooter., March 8, 2008

By 

S. Nigl "Chugach124" (Anchorage, AK USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Portrait and Candid Photography: Photo Workshop (Paperback)

This is the second book of Wiley Publishing's Photo Workshop series that I've read. My first was on Composition, and I loved it! Their installment on portrait and candid photography was a close second. I've learned that these workshop books truly do stand on their own. Much like the 'Dummies' series, each book is individually authored, and as such each has a unique feel. Again like 'Dummies' books, the Photo Workshop series adheres to standards for layout and tips.

The author, Erin Manning, is a full-time pro photographer in L.A. who teaches and stars in a photo how-to television series. Erin covers all the nuts and bolts of portrait shooting. What equipment is needed, and how to get by with what you have. But the best information I came away with was how to 'read' light in everyday situations. To understand how light is falling on your subject and the effect it will have. Erin says that If you get your lighting worked out early-on in a session, you're free to pay attention to your subject. I like Erin's philosophy of identifying the key attributes of a person and bringing those qualities out in their photos.

Portrait and Candid Photography is another great 'course-in-a-book from Wiley. It might be a bit basic for the intermediate to advanced user. I give it four out of five.

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Professional answer to an Amateur problem, February 19, 2008

By 

G. Wyatt "PseudoGenius©" (www.pseudogenius.com) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Portrait and Candid Photography: Photo Workshop (Paperback)

I had a problem: I was hired by a top ad agency to be their in-house A/V specialist, and while the job included things I'm good at like editing and videography, it also called for me to use a digital SLR and I never mastered the disposable point-n-shoot. I knew I could take pictures of landscapes, sunsets, and bowls of fruit because those things are patient and don't mind if you take hundreds of shots trying to get the exposure correct. I had an urgent need to learn how to fake a portrait and snap a fast candid shot, so I got this book. It is amazing! It's well written, covers everything from soup to nuts, and has some great real-world examples. It doesn't insult its readers by talking down to us, but it isn't full of jargon like most of my video manuals are.

I realize I'm probably the exception to the rule - I know how to use a digital SLR now and I do it professionally everyday, yet I still need a book like this to give me some pointers to improve my shots. I know that the primary audience for this book is the aspiring amateur, but I'm very pleased that it's written in a way that is approachable for photographers of all levels. I'm going to be keeping this book in my collection.

As an aside, soon after I bought this book I started dating a very nice woman who's father is a huge bird photography nut. This book gave me some great gift ideas for him! I tell you, this book is a gold mine!

Update:
Well, I married that girl, gave my now father-in-law this book and he loved it. He's expanded his repertoire to include local sports and has gotten his photographs into the local newspapers. I'm not crediting his successful career-after-retirement to this book, but I do think there's a correlation. For my own part, I can honestly say the techniques I've learned from reading Portrait and Candid Photography Photo Workshop have helped me not only keep my job, but expand my responsibilities.

And I notice that there's a revised second edition out now. Well, I'm getting my parents a new point and shoot this Christmas, might as well get them a copy of this book, too! I'm not giving them mine - I need it.