This book does NOT explain basic photography concepts like shutter speed, aperture size, ISO, Aperture priority, Manual Mode, or how to use all the buttons and dials on your camera.
What it does do is make you think !!
I have a wedding venue and have taken a lot of photos and processed them with lightroom.
I know the basics of photography, and I have read a lot of beginner to intermediate photography books.
Most of those books repeat a lot of what I learned from the other books.
I use a flash for most of the indoor shots and a lot of the close-up outdoor shots. I use a softbox or umbrella when I have time to set them up. If the available light allows I will go without a flash. If time allows I will use manual mode instead of Aperture Priority.
I've had photographers come to my venue with no flash and a couple of primes(natural light fanatics). In a lot of their photos the background is washed out and the bride and groom have too much noise from high ISOs, or the depth of field is way too shallow from opening the aperture too far to get more light in. Some fill flash would have helped with this situation.
After taking and processing thousands of photos, I am plagued by some questions that mostly concern exposure and lighting.
I've only read the first 100 pages of this book and some of those questions are being dealt with. Often times there are no black and white ways to deal with different lighting conditions. Joe goes into this and tries to help you "Think about what you are doing". Many books will show you a photo and tell you where they places flashes and what settings they used and what wall they bounced light off of. If you don't have a wall to bounce off then what ???
I have been waiting for a book like this to come along and I hope more of my questions will be answered.
I will finish this review after I have finished Joe's book.
UPDATE:
I've now read the first 200 pages.
One of the reviewer said that he read half the book, didn't get anything out of it, so gave it up. He said " I cannot figure out for the life of me what it is he's trying to teach you but it isn't lighting." Maybe he is much more advanced than I am or maybe he wants clear-cut exact answers to different lighting situations, or maybe he wants to do controlled studio lighting ? No two situations are alike so you can't just duplicate the f-stop, shutter speed, ISO, flash placement, diffuser, umbrella, etc and come out with a perfect photo.
I've read "Captured by the Light", most of "Picture Perfect Lighting", "On Camera Flash" and various other books dealing with lighting so I do know something. Even after reading these books I felt that something was missing ! What was missing was using my own brain to figure out how to light a photo shoot and produce the 'feeling' that I want when looking at the finished photo. Do I want soft red light, hard blue light, directional light, no shadows, soft shadows, hard shadows, lots of ambient light, no ambient light, should I use a diffuser or an umbrella, 1 speedlight or 2 or 3 ??? This book has helped me deal with these questions.
I'm doing some family photos in a couple of days(inside and out) and I feel that I can choose a location, look at the existing light and make some informed decisions about how to use existing light and most likely diffused off-camera flash. I certainly don't have all the answers but I feel more confident now. The outside of our venue is in a cleared forest with very tall mature oaks. During the day the light can filter thru the trees and produce harsh lighting conditions. It's a beautiful location with challenging lighting.(large diffusion panels help)
Off the back of the barn is a deck enclosed with transparent vinyl panels. We get pretty good diffused light coming in thru the panels but often times the subjects face is shaded due to the direction of the sun. Without using a flash, the faces are dark with a properly exposed forest or the face is exposed correctly and the outside is blown out. Mr McNally spends a fair amount of time dealing with issues like this.
Joe McNally tells stories throughout the book, this disturbs some readers, but to me he is trying to make a point and for me these stories make sense. They may not have when I was first starting out in photography. Sometimes his language is a bit off-color but that doesn't bother me. I think he is a very experienced photographer and I pay attention to what he says.
Read these books -
Read this first - "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson
Read this second - "Captured by the Light" by David Ziser.
Then read - "The Hot Shoe Diaries" by Joe McNally
What I think - Read this book, take a few hundred or thousand photos, read the book again and repeat.
Thanks,
Monty
ISBN-13:
978-0321580146
ISBN-10:
9780321580146
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Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2018
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Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2019
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Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2009
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Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2009
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Top reviews from other countries
Moo
Solid information and a (fairly) enjoyable (Nikon-centric) read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 20, 2019Verified Purchase
Bluwarrior
I like particularly the examples with one flash and reflectors
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 12, 2017Verified Purchase
Tescodirect
Inspiring, but could be written better
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 19, 2014Verified Purchase
D. Gallimore
It's a drag - by a wise guy with an armoury of LOTS AND LOTS of small flashes.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 4, 2019Verified Purchase
Steven Janes
Excellent book.... but mainly for Nikon users
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 10, 2009Verified Purchase
