Customer Reviews

Portrait and Candid Photography: Photo Workshop

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I thought this was a great introduction to digital photography for the SLR user. She did a nice job of discussing aperture and how it affects depth of field. I liked the fact that she pointed out that short focal lengths (17-35mm) have a large depth of field, and long focal lengths have a shallow depth of field.

She points out that a UV filter protects your expensive lens from getting scratched, so a $20 filter may save your $800.

She recommends a few things to be carried always such as a spare battery, lens cloth to clean the lens and prevent hours of post-production work, and colorless powder for the common shiny face.

I liked her discussion of reflectors and diffusers. It actually spurred me to invest in a reflector so I can improve my outdoor photography. It just looks so much better with light from a reflector than from a flash.

She talks about and demonstrates with photos the big-nose affect caused by taking a close-up portrait with a wide angle lens. I've actually used this affect for humor, because it looks so funny.

She explains that a telephoto lens of 60-100mm is flattering because it creates a shallower depth of field, so your subject stands out more. It has the disadvantage of requiring that you stand a distance from your subject however.

She talks about composition, framing, and of course about the rule of thirds. I liked the way she described it though, she suggested you imagine a tic-tac-toe board, and place the subject of interest at one of the intersections. She suggests neutral backgrounds sometimes made with simple things such as blankets.

She had good suggestions about posing your models such as have their weight on their back leg if standing, and to shoot heavier people from the side.

A good rule of thumb if shooting outdoors and needing fill flash is to stand 6-9 feet away from your subject and use your zoom lens. Most on camera flashes emit light for up to 12 feet, then the light falls off.

She suggests using the night setting at parties because it has a slow sync where the flash goes off at the end of the exposure.

Focus on the eyes, because this is what people look at in a portrait. It's okay if the ear is out of focus, but not the eyes.

She has a brief introduction to Photoshop Elements that I thought was quite good, and had some good ideas such as saving a copy of the photo as a layer so you always have the original to go back to.

At the end of the book she has a reference section with website, periodicals and books that she recommends.

There were a few things I didn't like about the book:
* The cheesy exercises at the end of each chapter,
* Repeatedly referring the reader to their website with no introduction to it or explanation, and
* Not once did she give the focal length from which the photo was taken, she gave the focal range of the lens, but not where in that range the photo was shot.

That being said, I think this a good introduction to digital photography for the amateur wanting to improve the quality of his/her portraits and photos in general.

I found this book (And the entire Photo workshop series) to be very helpful especially to beginning and intermediate level photography hobbyists.

It assumes no previous knowledge of photography, and explains such things as f-stop and how things interact to affect exposure without being overly technical.

Each chapter ends with a "Lesson" or exercise to emphasize the subject of that chapter. And being able to combine the book with the website (Free membership) to upload your lessons for group critique (Sometimes including from the author) is a good way to improve you photo skills.

Note that though this is part of a series of books, there is no sequence in reading them. For that reason, there is a degree of overlap in each book.

That said, you really need to be using a SLR type camera to be able to have the control of the camera that many of the exercises require. A point-and-shoot may not allow it.

But for the serious hobbyist, I would say this book (and series) is worth the money and time.

Strengths: Nice layout. Reads like a well instruction oriented lessons. Good glossary and index. Good photos and screenshots. Good bold highlighting of the number of the chapters and the titles on the top left pages makes for easy access and shuffling through the pages you want to find or browse. Good basic information about software and editors.
Weaknesses: If your require more information about photographic software and editors Chapter 10 is a good start but you might want to use other books to sharpen those skills.

Novice/Intermediate/Advanced

Rating: 5/5

Shooting portraits and candid photography is an art in itself. It is not just luck and takes much preparation. But how do you learn how to make better photos for portraits and candid shots whether for commercial, your business or just of family? This book is a good place to start.

The author is Erin Manning, DIY Network host of The Whole Picture, who encourages photographers to take outstanding photos of people. This book represents the author's efforts to provide instruction in this area. She helps readers gain the skills and confidence to successfully use the digital camera as a tool to create and capture life's moments

The 10 chapters include in-depth instructions and information about cameras, accessories, working with light, composing your pictures. I particularly like how the author details the information by focusing more concerning the using of your camera and using to its best advantage. Of course the technology and the basics are introduced. But what is even nicer, the reader can better learn to develop their artistic eye, using techniques that will help prepare for actual photography. Action shots are also covered. The last chapter 10, also includes some information about enhancing and sharing your photos (even includes information about using Picasa (Google) and iPhoto (Apple), Windows software , Adobe's Photoshop Elements and more.

Working with lighting, location, angle, composition, physical characteristics, environment, and more , including the unique challenges of photographing babies, group activities, and action, are covered with insightful instructions. Every one of the ten chapter ends with an assignment that readers are encouraged to complete. Users can even upload their best image to [...] to


Conclusions

It is rare for a book to clearly show the photographer camera user how to study your subjects in their natural habitat. There are great ideas within this book which related to observing, reacting and interacting with your subjects and how make the photos come "alive". The techniques for improving photos of babies and children are very interesting and well done. Learning to capture facial expressions and learning how to tell a story with a series of candid photos is also included. There is a nice section concerning how to add interest to large-group shots.

If you are looking for a great instructional manual that focuses on techniques for portraits and candid shots, this is a great book. The fact that the instruction is teaching tips and information are performed in several ways other then reading the tests give you a better idea of how to take better photographs. I recommend this book highly.

This is my favorite photography book by far. While I feel I have an eye for design and color, photography has always seemed intimidating to me. The author of this book, Erin Manning, writes as though she is a friend and mentor guiding you through the realm of digital photography. While digital photography may be old hat to many - especially the techno savvy - not everybody is adept (and from what I have experienced, most are not in every capacity). Erin leads us through the basics, then goes on to explain things even the most "camera competent", will find utterly engaging. Erin pulls you in and brings out the innate artist in all of us, no matter what level.....and for those of you that actually do understand the art of photography, Erin will only enlighten you more. This is an "easy read" as it is written as though a friend is speaking to you, acknowledging your expertise while giving you a boost where you need it. A great book that I will definitely pass along (and that I will constantly refer to in the future). Good job, Erin. Best of luck.

One of the best books I have ever red. The author has a special talent in writing and explaining the most difficult terms with simple words and pictures related to every subject.
Theory is combined with practice. When you finish reading the book you feel you are already equiped with all the necessary tools to take good portrait and candit photos.
Don't miss this book even if you are not a new photographer.

I bought good equipment but I wasn't getting good results. This book answered the questions I had and gave me good tips that showed instant results. Many of the suggestions were so simple that I wondered why I hadn't thought of them. I guess that sometimes you just need a little professional guidance.

Ms. Manning's book is a "must have" book. It is a great overview of photography techniques and has fresh ideas on how to approach the subject. I especially liked the chapters on kids and babies. Erin Manning has a special gift that she shares with the reader. My photography has greatly improved since reading her book.