Professional Secrets of Nude & Beauty Photography: Techniques and Images in Black & White [Paperback]

Bill Lemon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2000

Packed with practical tips and real-world examples of the skills needed to shoot outstanding black and white nude and beauty photographs, this is a comprehensive manual for photographers of all levels. Technical analyses of over 60 portraits are provided, enabling photographers to learn, duplicate, and adapt each of the techniques. Special emphasis is placed on evaluating and adjusting for perfect lighting, choosing settings, and selecting props and poses that convey a particular mood. Also stressed is the importance of building and maintaining a positive, productive relationship between photographer and model.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bill Lemon is a professional model and fashion photographer and the author of Black & White Model Photography. He lives in Novato, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Amherst Media, Inc. (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584280441
• ISBN-13: 978-1584280446
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #241,423 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Balancing The Art & Science of Nude Photography, December 8, 2001

By 

Life Gourmet (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Professional Secrets of Nude & Beauty Photography: Techniques and Images in Black & White (Paperback)

My shipment of books arrived to great anticipation because after 15 years of shooting professional travel photography I wanted some reference books to help provide inspiration for photographing nudes. Of the five I ordered, unfortunately, this book left me wanting more. While going into detail about lighting, posing and technique, once you've seen a few pages you've got the entire book. First, know that it's entirely in B&W--not bad for nude photography, except Mr Lemon notes that many of the images were originally shot in color. Also if you eventually want to sell your images you need to shoot color. If you're new to using flash or don't understand basic lighting concepts this book could help, but advanced amateurs and pros will bore quickly.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like the sky and the sun, January 7, 2002

By 

Brian Ratty (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Professional Secrets of Nude & Beauty Photography: Techniques and Images in Black & White (Paperback)

Light and beauty go together like the sky and the sun. When a professional photographer is in harmony with beautiful models and their environment they will create images that reflects this light and beauty. That's what you will find in Bill Lemons new book "Professional Secrets Of Nude & Beauty Photography". This book is full of exceptional images illustrating outstanding lighting techniques and beautiful models posed in flattering ways.

This book is more then just beautiful people and well-lit sets. There is substance here as well. "Nude & Beauty Photography" is full of instruction, inspiration and creative tips. Each setup is outlined in a narrative, with lighting graphics and equipment/film details. The reader can learn tips on posing, camera angles, composition, lighting, selecting models and much more.

Bill Lemon knows his craft and illustrates it with provocative and creative images. Further, he knows how to explain his techniques in ways that are understandable to average photographer. He gives you just the right balance between instruction and enjoyment. If you?re just a 'looker' or want to be a 'learner' I can highly recommend "Nude & Beauty Photography".

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great detail book on technique he uses, August 19, 2001

By 

Harold McFarland (Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Professional Secrets of Nude & Beauty Photography: Techniques and Images in Black & White (Paperback)

This book is one of the best ones on this subject that I have read. Bill Lemon takes you through a series of several photographs and for each one he details what he did and how he did it. The details are complete with not only the camera and film information, but also the details of the lighting, angles, custom development, model selection and posing information. This is an excellent book to read through and study in order to expand your understanding of model photography. By including all of the details and what the photographer was thinking and what he would do different after studying the results it provides a great deal of good information from a talented photographer. It is great study in how to apply the techniques of lighting, camera settings and posing to get the results that you want. If you want some detail knowledge or have studied lighting and posing and similar areas but are having trouble putting it all together into a comprehensive whole then this book is for you. My only complaint is that it is too short and I would have loved even more examples of his work.