The Portrait: Professional Techniques and Practices in Portrait Photography [Paperback]

KODAK (Author)

Book Description

Series: Kodak Publication | Publication Date: June 30, 1998

Covers the key aspects of the art and practice of professional portrait photography. Offers expert guidance with chapters by top professional portrait photographers on topics such as selecting equipment, refining lighting and exposure techniques, and establishing and operating a successful portrait business. Also covers specialty portraits, fashion and glamour photography, plus tips on presenting portraits to increase sales. 120 pages (over 150 illustrations), 8-1/2 x 11.

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Sterling; Revised edition (June 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879855134
• ISBN-13: 978-0879855130
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,236,978 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful portraits, but not a book for the beginner., September 27, 1998

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Portrait: Professional Techniques and Practices in Portrait Photography (Paperback)

As an amateur, I was looking for a book that would mold me into one of the world's leading portrait photographers. This was not the book. Some of the material went over my head (Why do I want to determine the gamma--never defined in the book--on a new film? Is that not the job of the film manufacturer?). Still, most of the book was quite understandable and full of beautiful portraits. My biggest complaint was that the text and the portraits did not coincide. Various authors, each extremely talented in their own right, wrote the different chapters. But the photographs in the chapters were seldom the work of the chapter author, so the points discussed in the text were seldom well illustrated. Although there is much to like in this book, it is not a stand-alone text. There were many absolutely stunning portraits contained in the book, but at the end of the book, you still do not have a clue of how to duplicate them. I need a book with more hand-holding.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Overview of portrait business, lacking in technical detail, December 19, 2000

By 

John H. Henderson (Las Cruces, NM, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Portrait: Professional Techniques and Practices in Portrait Photography (Paperback)

I asked the posters on a large format board for opinions on books on portrait photography, specifically detailed information on lighting techniques and posing, and several HIGHLY recommended this book.

Unfortunately, it was not what I looking for. However, it is a fine overview of the portrait business in general, and I recommend it for someone intending to enter the business. It contains discussions on selling, dealing with the customers, and the studio environment, and discusses different types of portraiture, such as glamour, wedding and corporate.

There was one chapter on lighting techniques, but wasn't as in depth as I would have liked. Moreover, methods were discussed and not demonstrated explicitly in the accompanying photos. Main light patterns such as closed loop, open loop, butterfly and broad are discussed without giving photos showing what they are. I still have little idea what they are.

Similarly, the chapter on equipment actually contained very few photographs portraying the equipment discussed.

The lack of "technical" photos demonstrating the equipment and technique is very uncharacteristic of Kodak's books. It seems that they included a collection of portrait photographs, sprinkled throughout the book, often having little connection with the subject discussed. However, this book also has much less of the "Kodak advertising" that their other books suffer from.

I felt that this book, overall, was rather good for what is was supposed to be. My criticisms are small and hopefully would be taken as suggestions to improve the next printing. Someone actually wanting to start a portrait business will require deeper technical knowledge than that provided here. I will be reading "The Lighting Cookbook" by Jenni Bidner to pursue this knowledge. I still haven't found anything that discusses posing, though.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A well rounded look at the field of portrait photography., June 19, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Portrait: Professional Techniques and Practices in Portrait Photography (Paperback)

I use this book in both our Portrait Photography courses, studio and environmental/location. Various photographers write about their techniques and views, photographs abound, and a diverse set of opinions and imagery is set forth. I would have liked to see more technique--both in diagrams and images. Lacking are detailed descriptions of lighting techniques (short, rembrandt, etc) and accompanying images. I would also have liked to see more on controlling light (use of umbrellas/softboxes/creating highlights) again with diagrams and referenced images. I have had to add supplements for students in these areas. Overall, the book is an excellent textbook for the beginning to intermediate portrait photographer and is well worth the investment.