Customer Reviews

Portrait Photography: Secrets of Posing & Lighting (A Lark Photography Book)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I spent many hours hunting for a book dedicated to studio portraiture (with a focus on strobes), but this was the only one I found. All other books used hot lights and were examples from the 70's. Yuk. This book is awesome! Mark begins by covering the different equipment used in the studio and on location including different types of strobes, flashes and attachments for focusing or diffusing light. He writes about posing people and gives tips for every part of the body from head to toe with photo examples. He offers flattering poses and light set-ups to camoflauge undesireable body flaws. He covers different types of lighting setups and describes how to acheive them. I would have liked more detail in this area, and possibly some diagrams of the setups used. He covers posing children, adults and families. He explains how to use existing lighting indoors and out on location. The majority of the book is for indoor studios with strobe lighting. It was exactly what I was looking for and I am very pleased.

As a professional photographer I am always looking at the numerous books that are published on photographic lighting, particularly portrait lighting. This book is the best book that I have found on this subject. It won't tell you anything more than you would get from reading a vast collection of books and figuring it out for yourself after going to numerous seminars and convenstions but this is the only book that I have found where someone has put what really is a collection of simple material all together for you.

This book is excellent.

Firstly, unlike many books on portrait photography, he doesn't assume that you the reader knows what he's talking about when he throws around terms (e.g. power pack, monopods, snoots, parabolic reflectors, softlights etc.) -- he actually shows you clear photos of the equipment used.

Secondly, in a very systematic way demonstrates all the various effects of using the many pieces of equipment. Furthermore, he inspires by showing in a catagorical why the interesting/beautiful examples in addition to the usual "textbook" poses and lighting effects. His style is traditional but still has a fresh modern look.

My only quibble is that he doesn't discuss (and very few books on portrait photography does) about the relative placement of backdrops, camera, lights -- or how much light output is required when shooting with medium format vs SLR etc.

There is very little discussion on digital post production which is okay by me since there are a more than enough books out there that cover Photoshop.

Mark Cleghorn's portrait photography book is one of the few that is both comprehensive and up to date. Too many books either focus on the dated "rose sniffer" picture, or stick to the lighting diagrams and studio work. This covers interior and exterior shots, posing and all with a contemporary feel.

It does have a strong European/UK slant. We tend not to bother too much with defining the differences between broad and short lighting, or whether loop, Paramount, Rembrandt or split lighting fits the bill, and often go for the simple softbox key, evenly lit white background approach. Cleghorn covers this stalwart of European commercial portraiture, but also covers more advanced and complex lighting arrangements, but perhaps doesn't cover what American portrait photographers would consider 'the basics' as thoroughly. This is more a problem of the language of portrait photography not being as universal as we might imagine, rather than any lack on Cleghorn's part. Usefully though, he uses real people, not models, so the final images are perhaps not as polished as some, but more attainable.

If there is a criticism, it's that the book starts with a strong four/five light portrait setting. This is for entirely good reasons (it acts as a benchmark for later lighting, and allows explanation of what the key, fill, rim and background lights actually do). However, it might prove daunting to those who are at the 'My First Softbox' level of studio lighting. I also think some aspects regarding the business end would be an advantage in a guide like this, although that would also make it even less appealing to those living outside of the UK, perhaps.

I have been looking for a book that would help me to understand equipment and the usage before going and buying any. This book was very instrumental in deciding what I need to get without wasting a lot of money. I recommend this book for someone that is beginning and has a lot of questions without a mentor to help them. Worth buying if you want to start a studio.

I own many books on posing and lighting, and this book is by far my favorite. It spends time on both posing and lighting. It starts with the basics of light and modifiers, and then builds up to setups, looks, poses, etc. Lots of nice full color pictures that do an excellent job of demonstrating what they are trying to teach. This book was a major help to me as I tried to improve my portrait photography. If you feel lost in the world of lighting and portraits, this book is a must have.

It is by far the best in its class.

If you have the desire to shoot portrait photography, then you want to own this book. Its not the end all of every book on photography, but when you want to know how to do short lighting, or your a professional wanting to brush up on the basics, this book will be your go to book.

Well written, lots of samples, and practical, useable advice. It is an excellent book on setting up and using strobes to create portraits that will wow your subjects.

After leafing through this book in a photo store I bought it. It seemed to offer a pretty comprehensive introduction to lighting and posing for portraits... exactly what I wanted.

Having now read much of it, I'm still fairly satisfied with its coverage but I'm very disappointed with how poorly it is written and edited. The book is difficult to understand at times, offering little stumbles with spelling and grammatical errors, as well as major trip-ups with contradictory or unclear or - in at least one case - incorrect advice. Re-reading is frequently required to divine the author's intent, a task sometimes made more difficult by the bad design of the book which plops text all over the pages like a magazine more devoted to advertising than information.

I'm new to serious study of portrait photography, and so learned a lot from this book. However I would hesitate before buying another Lark publication... they apparently don't have editors or spell-checkers.

The photographer seems to know his stuff, very well, and I'd like to learn from him. But this book isn't the way to do it. It's just poorly organized, hard to follow in places, typos, casually refers to terminology & concepts that aren't described until later in the book, and some other things that I simply couldn't figure out (and I have a very good track record with academics). 1/2-way through the book I couldn't take anymore, and gave up.

Great book for begining portrait photographers or pro that need more ideas. I also have Monte Zuckers portrait book and I think this book is even better.

He starts out explaining the basic equipment you need for portraits. Cameras, lens, lights, and light modifiers. Then explains basic posing from the how to place the feet for good support to the tilt of the head. From the best clothes to trouble shooting problems like what to do with eyeglasses, double chins, overweight and a bald head. The book has many pages on lighting, 45 degree lighting with 4 lights, narrow and broad lighting, to split lighting and butterfly lighting.

I also recommend "Master Posing Guide for Portrait Photography" by J.D. Wacker. With these two books you have a good understanding of posing and lighting. Neither book is a complete study in portraiture but you have a great start.