Customer Reviews

Still Life and Special Effects Photography: A Guide to Professional Lighting Techniques

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I spend allot of time in bookstores searching for useful, yes that's useful books on photography. Once you have long since gone beyond the ranks of amateur, newbie or intermediate and reached the shores of expert and semi pro, wanting to perhaps start making a living from this craft, you find that there is very little at all out there in the way of USEFUL works on the subject at this higher level.

I own great books in the area's where I usually shoot film - (Outdoor, Landscape, Night)- , which I have reviewed elsewhere for those who wonder, but the area of still life and special effects photography is something up until now I have left alone, having always been curious about. Still Life and Special Effects Photography by the above mentioned authors is a superb choice for those looking for an entry point into the professional or fun end of this type of photography.

This is not so much of an in depth step by step guide that teaches you how to shoot Still Life and Special Effects images, but rather it is a primer, explaining in brief tutorial the HOW of individual works of photography.

This work is broken up into various sections which focus on various styles of Still and Special effects images. What you get is a large facing page with the image as final product and on the opposite page a detailed drawing and explanation of HOW everything was set up in black and white sketch style. You get to see exactly what lighting was used, how it was placed, what props were involved and the camera's movements.

Sidebar discussions give technical details of each image, the photographers comments, the art director if there was one and various side bar discussions which give a brief but detailed enough version of HOW this kind of work is achieved. Largely this work is superb not as a 'guide to copy', but it is mean't to serve as a tool for inspiring YOU, the photographer, to create your own works having grasped whats possible and what can be achieved.

I own other excellent works by Hicks and Shultz and this book is just fantastic for whetting the appetite and getting some creative juices flowing. I went down to the art store and bought all kinds of materials after reading this book and am looking forward to expanding my photographic horizons into this fascinating area of image making. Used as a tool for inspiration and you can't go wrong.

I think I got used to books saying "professional" just to get the attention of the public browsing books. This one, however, really means it. If you just want an introduction or some simple ideas you could do with limited resources this is not the book you're looking for.

I am by no means a professional photographer, I'm trying to learn different aspects of photography and that's why I got this book, because I seem to have developed an interest for shooting still life, but all the examples in the book require to use a LOT of lighting equipment that you most likely won't have available if you're not a pro.

To be fair, what I could understand with my limited knowledge the book seems to be pretty good, the material of the pages is also excellent and it's very well built , although I agree with another reviewer that said some of the photos seem to be quite outdated and it's a bit odd given how "modern" the books look on the outside.

In short, not for beginners at all but I'm sure it's of some use for real pros; I decided to return it given I'm not.

I found this book to be a great resource for inspirational ideas. It's a beautiful, hard-copy volume with excellent color reproductions. Each image is accompanied by a 2-D plan view of the lighting and studio setup, a 3-D illustration of the studio setup, exposure information, and two or three short paragraphs describing the set and shooting process. This books is USEFUL, even for advanced photographers, and that alone makes it a rare find.

All of the photography represented is done in-camera without digital manipulation. It's unfortunate that this method is almost destined to become a lost artform; however, at the same time my largest disappointment with the book is that it's void of digital capture examples. Some of Jody Dole's digital work would have been an excellent addition. Many of the book's images are obviously dated and produced in the early 80s. Even still, they serve as excellent learning examples.

This book is my first purchase on still life photography and has since become a treasure in my collection. This is one book that I will never part with and wish would last for a lifetime.
Not only is it a collection of stunning photographs by various published photographers, it is also an easy to follow guidebook for studio setups that emphasize on professional looking shots with simple and easily available equipment/materials. Complicated setups are also available for the more advanced photographers. There is also a section that states the basics of lighting equipments etc. which is very useful for beginners in referencing what types of equipment one might upgrade/purchase in the future.
It is highly inspiring and is sure to tempt any reader to try his/her hands at duplicating shots using the setups illustrated. Whether or not you would actually get the results depends on the equipments you own, but being an amateur working with just window lighting, two flood lights and a reflector board, I found that the setups easily attemptable with minor adjustments. I often return to the book for ideas on practice shoots.
Only downside to the book is that since some pages are printed with black backgrounds, fingerprints can be easily spotted so be prepared to wipe them off should you treasure the book as much as I do.
Highly inspirational. Even non-photographers would view the photos in awe.

I bought this book as resource tool. In my product photography class we didn't have a book so I needed something that would help explain how the lights works, different ways to set them up, and shot ideas. This book has provided that. The author has brought in work from different photographers who also sent in their diagrams of how the shot was set up. So you see the final product, the setup and 3/4 of the time, the photographers comments. If your new to the game, get it, its valuable.

I got this book as a christmas present. I did find it quite informative and helpful as it shows you a floor plan layout of how the shot was set up and lit.

The only thing i didnt like is some of the photography was quite dated and old fashioned. The front cover looks great and modern, but inside its a bit disappointing, but the lighting techniques could be applied to your own ideas.

Published in 2002, but full of images that would appear to be from the 1980s, this is horribly out of date. Thus, no mention of digital and the dramatic changes it has bought to studio photography and images that have dated terribly. Even as a 'technique' book this has limited value as many of the compositions are so bizarre and unusual that you are hardly ever likely to need the kind of lighting that is presented. If you are looking for a book with general advice for product and still life (which I was), this is not the one.

This book reads like it was written before digital photography and Photoshop were viable options for the professional photographer. Many of the elaborately staged shots are laughable and seem quaint compared to today's techniques. Don't let the cover images fool you either, most of the shots inside have a very 1980s feel to them. Even so, a handful of the shots have useful lighting information, so this will stay on my studio's bookshelf.

This is an oldfashioned book with elementary sketches showing lighting setups and not much else. I would recommend instead:Light: Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting This book explores an approach to lighting that excites the imaginiation.

BOOK: Still Life and Special Effects Photography: A Guide to Professional Lighting Techniques, Second Edition ~ Roger Hicks

RATING: 5 stars

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: One weekend, I was hungry for a new photography book. So i trekked to Borders in search for a new photography lighting book. During my search, I came across many books but only one stood out at this particular Borders location. The book was about Still Life photography. Like many RotoVision published books, I was hooked due to the lighting diagrams and easy to read explanations. Before quickly browsing this book at the bookstore, I thought i knew how to shoot products. Boy was i wrong. I was quickly amazed on the product shots showcased in this book and instructions on how to achieve these images. My favorite images of the book are on page 18-19 (Gas Grip and Wrench) page 28-29 (Poison) page 30-31 (The Elegance of Music) page 38-39 (Fuller) page 63-65 (Mysterious Ball) page 128-129 (Photocopier) page 148-149 (Lost Property) page 164-165 (Nostalgia) page 210-212 (RAF Radar Operator) page 264=265 (Dog on the wall)

PROS:
- Clearly written lighting instructions
Easy to read lighting diagrams
Good range of images to learn from easy to complex lighting diagrams.

CONS: None!


CONCLUSION: As i've stated earlier, I thought my present knowledge of product photography before reading this book was sufficient. I was wrong. After reading this book and plans to use Still Life and Special Effects Photography as a reference book for my product photography shoots, I am sure my stock image sales of products will skyrocket. I will also apply the techniques i've learned in this book for my commercial photography with models interacting with products.