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
What’s your definition of a photo studio? Is it a room with a white seamless backdrop or a cyc wall? Maybe it’s simply anywhere you’re in control of the lighting. In a perfect world, where every day is a breezy 72 degrees with partial cloud coverage, we would all have a 5,000-square-foot studio–and the entire catalog of B&H™ in our equipment lockups. But the reality is that you may have an outdated DSLR with two decent lenses (which took you several years to save up for), and all you have at your disposal is an unfinished basement, your garage, or the empty conference room at your office. That’s where Studio Anywhere comes in. With photographer Nick Fancher as your guide, you’ll learn how to get portfolio-ready photos while working in some of the most problematic scenarios imaginable. Whether shooting a corporate portrait, a test shoot with a model, or a promo shoot with a band, you’ll discover that most of the time, there’s no need for an expensive studio–you just have to get creative. Studio Anywhere is a resource for photographers to learn through behind-the-scenes photos and lighting diagrams from a range of photo shoots–but it doesn’t stop there. Because directing a photo shoot involves more than simply knowing how to wield a camera or process a raw file, Nick also lets you in on the aesthetic decisions he makes in his signature photos, inspiring you to develop your own vision. And, finally, he describes his Lightroom and Photoshop workflow so you can learn how to deftly navigate post-processing. Shows how to create images with minimal equipment that is within reach of anyone’s budget Takes you through the entire shoot, from concept to lighting to exposure to post-processing in Lightroom and Photoshop Teaches how to build a portfolio without a dedicated studio space
Practical teaching and stories related to the author's life experience teach you how to overcome your hesitancy in photographing people. Shy photographers know how uncomfortable it is being photographed. Naturally, we should be more sensitive, more empathetic, and therefore more capable of creating portraits with depth and feeling. Photographing People - A Guide For Shy Photographers is intended to encourage you to take photos of people. Experience has taught me to overcome the feeling of not wanting to impose when I point my camera in the direction of a person. It's also taught me this fear is common, particularly amongst shy photographers. The book, divided into four sections, is designed to guide you through the adventure of learning to photograph people. Each section demonstrates and teaches how you can overcome the fear of not wanting to impose. You will learn how to manage your camera well. You will also learn how to manage your thoughts effectively to deal with the unnecessary fear that inhibits shy photographers from photographing people. My first review: The photos of people I've taken on my travels are my favorite souvenirs. Along the way, though, I know I've missed so many opportunities because I was unprepared or just too shy to ask if I could take a photo. In this book, Kevin describes how he personally overcame shyness to become the awesome portrait photographer that he is. In this down to earth and easy to read text, Kevin provides practical advice on how to be prepared as well as how to approach and communicate with people you'd like to photograph. This is an inspiring little book. I read it while traveling in Mexico and, in the two days after finishing it, I approached three people for photos and, using Kevin's suggestions, they all said "Yes". If you love taking photos of people, you will love this book. I can't recommend it enough! Maryellen, Davis, California, USA
The ability to create an effective portrait is probably the single most important skill any aspiring photographer must master. Few professional photographers, whatever their area of specialization, can hope to have a successful career without ever being called upon to create a likeness of another person. The Portrait Photography Course is designed to build a student photographer's experience and get him or her started on a rewarding career. Detailed tutorials cover every aspect of studio and location work, from composition and psychology to complex lighting schemes, equipment options, and digital retouching. Portfolios of exemplary images showcase individual photographers' work and demonstrate techniques explored in the tutorials, while interviews with top portrait photographers shed insight into their methodologies and philosophies. Presented and written by a leading portrait photographer, this book is an indispensable guide to taking professional pictures.¿
Combining the benefits of video training and book learning, Tony Northrup's Lightroom 5 Video Book gives you over 12 hours of video and 250 pages of written content. When you can set aside the time, start the videos on a smartphone, tablet, or PC, and work alongside Tony & Chelsea in Lightroom. When you'd rather learn away from your PC, or you just want to quickly look something up, search the eBook or flip through the paperback book to find the information you need. Similar video training costs well over $120 or more, or worse, requires you to pay a monthly membership fee that might cost you thousands. Similar books cost over twice this amount. You also get over 150 Lightroom presets, which usually cost more than $100, and access to our private Lightroom group on Facebook so you can ask questions and get feedback. Tony covers every aspect of Lightroom in-depth, but structures his teaching so that both beginner and advanced photographers can learn as efficiently as possible. If you just want a quick start, you can simply watch the first video or read the first chapter and you'll be organizing and editing your pictures in less than an hour. If you want to know more about a specific feature, switch to that video or flip to that chapter in the ebook. If you want to know everything about Lightroom, watch the videos and read the book from start-to-finish.
People Saving Their Trees in Hurricane Sandy will raise funds for charities to plant trees in stricken areas. Read inspiring, heartfelt, and heroic stories from people who used the Tree Whispering Storm Prep Whispers to help their trees survive Hurricane Sandy and to empower themselves in the face of disaster.
In this volume, Tanya Sheehan takes humor seriously in order to trace how photographic comedy was used in America and transnationally to express evolving ideas about race, black emancipation, and civil rights in the mid-1800s and into the twentieth century. Sheehan employs a trove of understudied materials to write a new history of photography, one that encompasses the rise of the commercial portrait studio in the 1840s, the popularization of amateur photography around 1900, and the mass circulation of postcards and other photographic ephemera in the twentieth century. She examines the racial politics that shaped some of the most essential elements of the medium, from the negative-positive process to the convention of the photographic smile. The book also places historical discourses in relation to contemporary art that critiques racism through humor, including the work of Genevieve Grieves, Adrian Piper, Lorna Simpson, Kara Walker, and Fred Wilson. By treating racial humor about and within the photographic medium as complex social commentary, rather than a collectible curiosity, Study in Black and White enriches our understanding of photography in popular culture. Transhistorical and interdisciplinary, this book will be of vital interest to scholars of art history and visual studies, critical race studies, U.S. history, and African American studies.
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 classic Photofile series brings together the best work of the world's greatest photographers in an attractive format and at a reasonable price. Handsome and collectible, the books each contain reproductions in color and/or duotone, plus a critical introduction and a bibliography. Paris in the early 1920s saw the growth of a new art form called surrealism. Both a formal movement and a spiritual orientation, surrealism embraced ethics and politics as well as the arts. Surrealists sought to create a medium that liberated the subconscious mind, and many artists and photographers captured this revolution through photographic images. This new survey includes works by Max Ernst, Dora Maar, Lee Miller, René Magritte, Meret Oppenheim, and more.
