Jeff Smith's Posing Techniques for Location Portrait Photography [Paperback]

Jeff Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2007

This comprehensive guide to location portraits teaches the basics of good head-to-toe posing, indoors and out, and shows the classical approaches used throughout photographic history to create a pleasing rendition of the human form. Additional introductory chapters detail the four main posing styles and reveal how to determine which will work best with a subject, their clothing, the location, and the purpose of the portrait. Chapters for advanced photographers highlight the creation of a wide variety of individual and group poses—including ground, seated, head-and-shoulders, and standing—to be utilized in tandem with stairs, rocks, and other architectural and natural elements. A chapter devoted to the essential business skills needed to professionally schedule appointments, work through consultations, manage sessions, and present and deliver final prints is also included.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Simple tricks of the trade will enable you to bring out the best in every subject. This comprehensive book will quickly prove its worth." —Shutterbug

“The solid content and remarkable images . . . make this book a must for any photographer considering the portrait profession.”  —Photo-Seminars.com

"Goes into immense detail with respect to techniques."  —Better Photography

About the Author

Jeff Smith is a professional photographer and the owner of two successful photography studios in central California. He has written numerous articles for Professional Photographer, Rangefinder, and Studio Photography & Design magazines. He is the author of seven books on photography, including Corrective Lighting, Posing, and Retouching for Digital Portrait Photographers; Outdoor and Location Portrait Photography; and Posing for Portrait Photography. He lives in Fresno, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Amherst Media, Inc. (December 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584282258
• ISBN-13: 978-1584282259
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #579,089 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not exactly worth it, May 16, 2008

By 

S. Rodionov (United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Jeff Smith's Posing Techniques for Location Portrait Photography (Paperback)

While text in this book is useful at times, but you can get pretty much same stuff from most of "Posing techniques" (including brilliant books by Gomez on glamour photography) books out there (including few very good ones). There is VERY little specifics about on location posing, which book supposed to be about. Couple of chapters on how to sell your work - dont even understand why they were added, apart from making up for volume. Most of images in book are pretty mediocre, and like 70% of them reminds you of what person who just learned how to apply gaussian blur in Photoshop to smooth skin and make Orton's effect would be keep doing out of sheer excitement (and i kid you not. Image on the cover is one of very few good ones).

On the whole - very few good tips and loads of repetition of other books. And very few good shots , which actually looks professional (sorry for repeating this, but its kind of strikes me. I never saw such a horrible stuff before in a book that pretends to teach people)

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, well written, February 10, 2008

By 

Dawn Johns "DAWN" (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Jeff Smith's Posing Techniques for Location Portrait Photography (Paperback)

Jeff Smith does a nice job of conveying the strategy behind photography outside of the studio. Not only informative but also teaches the reader to sharpen his/her skill. Posing techniques for both individuals and groups as well as maximizing environmental surroundings to work for your photographs are discussed in detail. An invaluable book for any photographer's library.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Done, March 22, 2008

By 

Patrick Rice (North Olmsted, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Jeff Smith's Posing Techniques for Location Portrait Photography (Paperback)

Jeff Smith is certainly one of my favorite authors in the field of photography. This book, like his many other texts, is well written and illustrated. Jeff breaks down posing into the simplest of terms so that anyone can follow his step by step instruction. His examples of group portraits are especially helpful and beautifully executed.