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Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait: The Art of Celebrity and Editorial Photography
 
 
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Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait: The Art of Celebrity and Editorial Photography (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Every camera format has its advantages and disadvantages and each can be used like a carpenter's chisel-the right camera format for the appropriate job..." (more)
Key Phrases: strobe pack, small softbox, grid spot, Entertainment Weekly, Los Angeles, Keno Flo (more...)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)

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Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait: The Art of Celebrity and Editorial Photography + The Hot Shoe Diaries: Big Light from Small Flashes + The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world's top shooters
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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Priceless--yet practical--ideas and insights from the master of portrait photography
* Ready-to-use insider tips for photographers at every level
* Author teaches across the country and is renowned for sharing his secrets

Michael Grecco is one of the best-known celebrity photographers in the world. His beautiful, insightful work is all around us--on movie posters, in advertising, on magazine covers, everywhere. "I delight in inspiring people," he writes. "I want them to stop, think, and feel." Now Grecco shares the secrets of great portraits with photographers at every level, in Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait. Sections on cameras, illumination, film and digital, creativity and conceptualization, connecting with the subject, and having a point of view, plus intriguing case studies that show "how I got that picture," make this book a resource photographers will use again and again through the years. Whether the subject is a star or a soccer mom, Grecco shows how to add artistry, drama, wit, humor, and personality to their portrait.



About the Author

Michael Grecco’s clients include ABC, HBO, IBM, BBDO, GE, GQ, ESPN, and dozens of other top companies in entertainment, business, and advertising. His first book, The Art of Portrait Photography, is out of print, and used copies regularly sell for more than $100. The winner of awards from Communication Arts, Photo Design, AR 100, the New York and Los Angeles Art Director Clubs, and many others, Grecco teaches many photography seminars across the country each year. He lives in Santa Monica, California.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 244 pages
  • Publisher: Amphoto Books; 1st edition (September 29, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0817442278
  • ISBN-13: 978-0817442279
  • Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 9.5 x 0.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #171,474 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category: (What's this?)

    #61 in  Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Lighting

More About the Author

Michael Grecco
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Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait: The Art of Celebrity and Editorial Photography
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Customer Reviews

32 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (32 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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81 of 86 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Edgy, December 21, 2006
By Conrad J. Obregon (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
Make no mistake about it. Michael Grecco is a brilliant portrait photographer and the pictures presented in this book are top-notch and edgy. Yet, as I read this book, I at first felt that this was another example of how-to-itis. That's the case where a publisher feels that a book will sell better if it's an instructional manual than if it's a portfolio.

I felt this even more strongly as I read the first few pages, where I encountered pictures that documented the use of equipment and techniques that I knew nothing about. Then as I read further, I found that the discussions of general principles followed the pictures rather than preceding them. I found this a strange editorial technique that left me mystified as I looked at pictures and then had me flipping back to them after the discussion. I was also glad I knew a little bit about portrait photography so that I could understand the skeletal descriptions of the technical aspects of what Grecco was doing

Grecco has sections on cameras, illumination, the medium, creativity and conceptualization, the subject/ photographer connection and case studies. In this last section he presents pictures grouped by subject matter and then explains how he came to pose the pictures and light them. Throughout, he used this show and then tell approach. Once I got used to it, I didn't find it so off-putting.

You may wonder who the audience for this book is. For example, when he describes the army of assistants involved in a shoot, including make-up artists, prop builders, location scouts and so forth, the average photographer will feel out of his league. One of the lights that Grecco uses may cost more than all of the equipment some serious photographers may own. The author does not teach fundamental lighting techniques, and in fact says that one of his guiding principles is to always break the rules of lighting. At first it might appear that Grecco is speaking just to the other members of the clique of celebrity photographers.

Most of us will never be able to get actor Jet Li to leap four or five feet into the air in an alley filled with smoke from a fog machine in front of a setup of five strong strobe lights. On the other hand, I thought that rather then photographing that young ballerina in a graceful plie, I could have gotten a more exciting picture if I had asked her to do jetes. And I was inspired to research the rental of a fog machine which turned out to be quite inexpensive. And even though I might never be able to get Martin Landau to pose in back of an iron weave railing in Café La Boheme, I could pose Uncle George behind the wrought-iron railing in Aunt Jane's place.

So, for the portrait photographer who feels that he or she has to push out of the box of conventional lighting and posing techniques, this book may be a source of ideas. For other photographers, it may be fascinating to find out how one big-time portrait photographer does it, and admire his work, even if we never apply any of his techniques.
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39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars I was hoping for a bit more of 'how', March 15, 2007
This book is another artsy treatment of lighting that talks more about the art of lighting. He assumes you know how to do most of the technical lighting stuff.
While he does show a 'wire drawing' of some setups it does not go very deep into the technical at all. I was hoping for a bit more 'hands on' or 'how to set up' information. If you want to be inspired, maybe this is your book. If you are looking for instruction, look elsewhere. My copy will be up in the used book section.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly informative, candid, entertaining, and visually arresting!, October 21, 2006
By Gregory Heisler (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
Don't read it cover-to-cover. Just flip though this book and stop at the first picture that grabs you. Grecco is that rare photographer who can actually put into words the creative process behind his images. He is smart, honest, funny, and frank about what it takes to make the beautiful, unique, and skillfully executed portraits that lavishly illustrate this book. There is a wealth of detailed, specific information about how the photographs were created (lighting diagrams, actual cameras, lenses, and lights used, etc.), however, most valuable is his emphasis on WHY he made his various creative and technical decisions. This volume would be worthwhile for the pictures alone, or for the diagrams, the behind-the-scenes anecdotes, or just for the insights into the technical, practical, strategic, interpersonal, and financial components that contribute to the successful outcome of what is typically thought of as a simply artistic endeavor. Rather than regarding it as a book of recipes to be rigorously replicated, he suggests using it as a jumping-off point; as an opportunity to facilitate and fine-tune your own creative process.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Not As Detailed As Previous Editions
Grecco is a very fine shooter and does have a pretty casual way about him. This particular book will not get into as much detail as some may want as far as... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Jeremy L. Dubrul

5.0 out of 5 stars Photographer Michael Grecco's images are used to supplement a photography course in book form
Photographer Michael Grecco's images are used to supplement a photography course in book form, discussing celebrity and editorial photography with an eye to revealing everything... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Midwest Book Review

5.0 out of 5 stars Marvelous
Michael Grecco is a true master of lighting. His book offers great insights into his work. Very useful for everyone who is interested in the art of flash-photography.
Published 8 months ago by Sven van den Heuvel

5.0 out of 5 stars get your creative juices flowing
The book does what it's supposed to do, inspire you to take better portraits.
Well written and filled with nice pictures and ideas to get your creative juices flowing. Read more
Published 8 months ago by T. Pettersson

3.0 out of 5 stars Good bio on Grecco Little Info on Potraits
A nice glossy book by one of the great photographers of our time, however the book more inspiration than actual instruction.
Published 8 months ago by Major History

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait
Fantastic book. Many times photographic technique books are written by second rate photographers who write books because they can't cut it as professional photographers and the... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Myles Formby

3.0 out of 5 stars Very general | More biographical than technical
General overview book. Not a great tutorial.

With great anticipation to embark the world of studio and lighting photography Grecco does underline the basics of studio... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Franck Blaess

4.0 out of 5 stars Do-it-yourself learning
The author provides some incredible pictures, offers less than you need to understand how they were taken, and ends up making you think, hard, about the creative process. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Conan F. Thomas

2.0 out of 5 stars Heavy on the name dropping, light on the details
Obviously, Michael Grecco is an accomplished photographer, his body of work speaks for itself. On the dust jacket and in the introduction, Grecco says, "... Read more
Published 23 months ago by D. Williams

3.0 out of 5 stars The pictures are pretty
There are a lot of pretty pictures, and a few lighting diagrams, but most of this book is Mr. Grecco recounting his favorite photo shoots with stories that don't lend much to... Read more
Published 24 months ago by Greg M. Jones

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