25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Better than I expected, but a little heavy on the product brand references, February 7, 2010
This review is from: Sculpting with Light: Techniques for Portrait Photographers (Paperback)
When you pick up a book like this, what is your real intention? Is your goal to work for your local portrait studio? Is your goal to build your own studio and take portraits there? If you answered YES to either of these questions, then I think this is a great book for you to consider reading. If your goal is to take better pictures of your family members using your flash gun, or reach the elite level of fashion photography, then your search for the right book isn't over yet.
Allison Earnest takes you on a journey into her world of what I would call common private studio photography. This is actually the type of professional photographer that most of interact with at some point in our lives, be it our first family portrait, Senior portraits, or our wedding studio shoot. There's people like Allison in every city of the country, some of whom work independently and other who work for a large studio which sees hundreds of families daily. The techniques described in this book will teach you how to work in that industry to get results that you once paid what you thought was a lot of money for (your perception changes when you're the photographer :).
When I first skimmed through this book my first thought was "these pictures aren't that great," so I admit I went in with a negative attitude when I read this book. I quickly got annoyed with the author seemingly trying to sell me on Hensel lights throughout the book (note to editor - skip brand names if there is a next edition). However, as I read on I appreciated the authors middle chapters that offered some really good advice and tips that aren't always easy to find. Had I been the editor, I would have cut chapters 1 and 8 from the book and enhanced chapters 2 & 6. That leaves chapters 3, 4, 5, & 7 as being the real useful content in this book. For many that will be enough, especially if you don't have exposure to those concepts. I appreciated what was there, and suspect you will as well.
Skill Level: Any
Value: At retail, too much - but the going rate on Amazon is fair
Recommendation: If you are new to studio lighting and want to improve your portraiture then chapters 3 through 5 will be useful to you and probably worth the price of the book. If that isn't your goal then you shouldn't bother with this one. In the end, I say pick it up on sale and skip to the good stuff.
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
To Improve Your Photography, Control Your Light. Interested? Read This., October 30, 2008
This review is from: Sculpting with Light: Techniques for Portrait Photographers (Paperback)
Photography literally means "writing with light" and here you have it - how you do exactly that - in words you can understand and concepts you can immediately put into practice, no matter what your proficiency with a camera. If you don't invest the time to understand light and how it affects your images - learning how to control the light to achieve the image you see in your head - you are doomed to be a snapshot shooter forever. Cameras don't take pictures; people do. Here is a conversational approach to light control - with wonderful images to illustrate her direction - that tells the story in words and pictures. Allison has a easy to read writing style and the production values - the reproduction of colour images - are very impressive. Someone watched over this project with a careful eye. Nice job. Good book. Great execution.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent resource for any photographer, November 4, 2008
This review is from: Sculpting with Light: Techniques for Portrait Photographers (Paperback)
There are many books out there dealing with lighting for portrait photography. This one stands out among the rest because of the accessible way Ms. Earnest presents the information. It's as if you are having a one-on-one workshop with her. She uses both photographs and diagrams to explain various lighting situations. She discusses the camera settings that produced the various photos. She provides some background about the models, which lends a human touch to the technical information. I especially like the "before and after" photos - very helpful in understanding what the light really is doing. The "info arrows" in the photos of the lighting setups are an excellent teaching device!!
Bottom line - I'm very glad I purchased this book. I know it will help me grow as a photographer, even though I, as a fine art photographer, photograph "things" more than "people." Having a better understanding of how to use light doing people portraits transfers readily to doing portraits of things: still lifes, trees, flowers, trains, etc.!!! I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in expanding his/her understanding of light in photography.
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