Photographic portraits should not be the formal, corporate-style poses of yesteryear, which reveal nothing of the subject's emotion, personality or mood - so believe Sarah Plater and Paul Wilkindon. Theirs is a modern, fresh and vibrant approach that aims to capture a moment in the lifestyle of the person or persons in the picture. This authoritative guide contains clear, concise and jargon-busting text that discusses the essential technical aspects of photography from choosing a camera and equipment to an appreciation of exposure, aperture, metering, shutter speed, depth of field and white balance settings, in addition to how natural light, colour and movement affect a photograph. A guide to posing helps to ensure dynamic and arresting images
Portrait lighting is part art, part science. There are so many tools at the photographers’ disposal—and myriad settings and setups that can be used. So, how do you master the light for consistent, predictable results, indoors and out? In this guide, award-winning photographer Curley Marshall teaches you the nuts and bolts of portrait lighting. You’ll learn to work with natural light and studio lighting sources, both as they exist and in modified forms. You’ll discover posing and lighting combinations that will help you to ensure that your subject’s face—the focal point of every portrait—appears dimensional and, where need be, slimmer. You’ll learn how to give the eyes sparkle through proper catchlight placement and how to bring out the color of the eyes. You’ll also learn the basic lighting setups heralded by portrait artists throughout time—including loop lighting, Rembrandt lighting, butterfly lighting, and more.
Foreword by Skip Cohen Translating the chaos of the real world into a breathtakingly simple, beautiful photograph can often seem like an impossible task. With busy, cluttered backgrounds and subjects who don’t know how to pose, how can you take control and get a great shot no matter the situation? In Picture Perfect Practice, photographer Roberto Valenzuela breaks down the craft of photography into three key elements–locations, poses, and execution–that you can use to unlock the photographic opportunities lying beneath every challenging situation. Valenzuela stresses the need for photographers to actively practice their craft every day–just like you would practice a musical instrument–in order to master the art of making great images. With chapters that offer practice exercises to strengthen your photographic abilities, you’ll learn how to approach a scene, break it down, and see your way to a great photograph. The Location section features chapters that cover symmetry, balance, framing, color elements, textures, and much more. The Posing section includes the Five Key Posing Techniques that Valenzuela uses every time he’s shooting people, as well as a complete list of poses and how to achieve, customize, and perfect them. The Execution portion, with sections like “Lighting through Direction” and “Simplicity through Subtraction,” reveals Valenzuela’s overall approach to getting the shot. The book also includes an inspiring and helpful chapter on deliberate practice techniques, where Valenzuela describes his system for practicing and analyzing his work, which leads to constant improvement as a photographer. If you’ve been frustrated and overwhelmed by the challenges of real-world locations, posing your subjects, or executing a great image–or if you simply want to become a better shooter but don’t know where to start– Picture Perfect Practice gives you the tools and information you need to finally become the kind of photographer you’ve always wanted to be: the kind who can confidently walk into any location, under any lighting condition, with any subject, and know that you can create astonishing photographs that have a timeless impact.
Electronic flash not only brings light to a photograph, it can be an important artistic tool--if you’ve acquired the knowledge to use it creatively. To master those skills, digital photographers need only turn to this complete reference. Packed with inspirational photos, it takes the mystery out of flash, covering every type of equipment and explaining such essentials as guide numbers, sync speeds, white balance, and more. Photographers will see how fill flash can decrease contrast and shadows in outdoor portrait photography, understand how to control the light using bounce and multiple flash techniques, and expertly employ high-speed and rear curtain synchronization to create impressive motion-blur images. Everything you need to know is here--including a section on studio flash and computer processing.
Without light, there is no photograph. As almost every photographer knows, the word “photograph” has its roots in two Greek words that, together, mean “drawing with light.” But what is less commonly acknowledged and understood is the role that shadow plays in creating striking, expressive imagery, especially in portraiture. It is through deft, nuanced use of both light and shadow that you can move beyond shooting simply ordinary, competent headshots into the realm of creating dramatic portraiture that can so powerfully convey a subject’s inner essence, communicate a personal narrative, and express your photographic vision.
In The Dramatic Portrait: The Art of Crafting Light and Shadow, Chris Knight addresses portraiture with a unique approach to both light and shadow that allows you to improve and elevate your own portraiture. He begins with the history of portraiture, from the early work of Egyptians and Greeks to the sublime treatment of light and subject by artists such as Caravaggio, Rembrandt, and Vermeer. Chris then dives into a deep, hands-on exploration of light, shadow, and portraiture, offering numerous lessons and takeaways. He covers:
• The qualities of light: hard, soft, and the spectrum in between
• The relationships between light, subject, and background, and how to control them
• Lighting patterns such as Paramount, Rembrandt, loop, and split
• Lighting ratios and how they affect contrast in your image
• Equipment: from big and small modifiers to grids, snoots, barn doors, flags, and gels
• Multiple setups for portrait shoots, including those that utilize one, two, and three lights
• How color contributes to drama and mood, eliciting an emotional response from the viewer
• How to approach styling your portrait, from wardrobe to background
• The post-processing workflow, including developing the RAW file, maximizing contrast, color grading, retouching, and dodging and burning for heightened drama and effect
The fundamentals of exposure and the essentials of lighting are explored in this photography reference that uses progressive images from portrait sessions as its basis of explanation. Starting with how light is perceived differently by the camera than the human eye, this resource clarifies the more complicated laws that govern light, breaking the rules down with clear, effective examples. Various light sources are investigated—from simple sunlight to advanced professional and studio systems—as well as the types of lighting units used at different times during the sessions. By adding or modifying one light at a time, a sequence of images shows how the desired effect was achieved, offering photographers step-by-step troubleshooting tips. Concise text paired with photo examples offer any portrait photographer the techniques needed to create perfectly lit images.
Master of portraiture Monte Zucker presents page after page of essential photographic lessons to enable photographers to achieve and exceed their financial and artistic goals. Providing instructions on how to conduct a well-crafted client consultation, readers will learn which angles of the face to photograph, how to pose the body, where to place the camera, and the proper positioning of lighting equipment in order to cultivate an emotional connection with clients to produce an ideal image. Chapters with expert advice on digital imaging cleanup and finishing techniques, clothing and makeup selection, and location and studio backdrop options to reinforce portrait concepts are also included.
Aimed at beginners, Foundation Course: Black & White Photography is part of a structured series of tutorials that explain the basic skills and techniques of photography in relation to a specific subject area. Written by experts, each book is divided into six main sections: Basics, Lessons, Revision, Project, Analysis and Progress. This chapter explains the concept of photography in a concise, easy-to-follow manner. There's information on the types of camera, lenses, tripods, filters and other useful accessories; the basics of exposure, metering, aperture and shutter speed, ISO, dynamic range, histograms, exposure compensation and using filters. There's also information on colour and composition, including the effects of light, the effects of colour on the perception of a photograph, plus how this changes when shooting black and white.
Photographers are guided through every aspect of posing—beginning with the consultation and continuing with specific tips for posing children, high school seniors, wedding parties, families, events, teams, groups, and pets—in this comprehensive manual. Maintaining that good posing is 80 percent mental and only 20 percent technical, this guide stresses the importance of communication between photographer and subject to creating a portrait that not only captures the subject’s personality but also makes the subject comfortable, fostering repeat business.
The author of Create presents “an all-in-one, easily accessible handbook . . . [that] will show you how the pros do it. Study this and take your best shot” (Chase Jarvis, award-winning photographer). In Advancing Your Photography, Marc Silber provides the definitive handbook that will take you through the entire process of becoming an accomplished photographer. From teaching you the basics to exploring the stages of the full “cycle of photography,” Silber makes it easy for you to master the art form and create stunning pictures. From thousands of hours of interviews with professional photography masters, you will learn valuable insights and tips on beginner, amateur, landscape, wedding, lifestyle, sports, animal, portrait, still life, and iPhone photography. Advancing Your Photography features: · Top tips for making outstanding photographs from iconic photographers and many other leading professional photography masters of today · Numerous step-by-step examples · Guidance on training your eye to see composition with emotional impact · Tips on mastering the key points of operating your camera like a pro · Secrets to processing your images to professional standards Photography and the technology associated with it are constantly evolving, but the fundamentals remain the same. Advancing Your Photography will help to bring you the joy and satisfaction of a lifetime of pursuing the art of photography.
