Digital Portrait Photography and Lighting: Take Memorable Shots Every Time

By Sean McCormick and Catherine Jamieson

Portraits preserve people Since the earliest portraits were scratched onto cave walls, we've developed increasingly sophisticated tools for capturing human likenesses. Yet the motivation has changed little -- to freeze a human image as an art form, a means of communication, a piece of personal history. Whether formalized with elaborate settings and lighting or snapped at the beach to hold forever the pure joy in a child's face, portraits preserve people. Today's digital technology offers flexibility, economy, and almost limitless tools for perfecting your images, and these experts help you use it. * Discover the skills you need to move from serious amateur to professional photographer * Learn how a snapshot differs from a casual portrait * Identify what you want your portrait to communicate * Investigate lighting equipment and how to use it in different scenarios * Use natural or mixed light to create unique effects * Explore composition, posing, and handling challenges * Handle props, backgrounds, color, location shooting, and studio shots * Work with groups, children, and pets * Perfect image-editing methods and final-touch processes that produce high-quality, professional images * Find resources that can help you in setting up your own portrait business

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471781282
• ISBN13: 9780471781288
• Release Date: July 2006
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Length: 347 Pages
• Weight: 2.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 8.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

for professionals

I found the book very dense with information - good information . However, I think this is best suited to people interested in persuing a professional career as a photographer or a really serious devotee of the subject. It is not a book you can pick up and find quick helpful tips; you have to really read and digest the info offered. I returned it for this reason though I feel the book was well written it just wasn't what I was looking for at this time.

Just what I was looking for...

My photographs have improved over time to the point where I realized how poor my skills were at taking pictures of people. I looked for several books until I found this one. It seemed like it might be helpful. I was very pleased to find the book was exactly what I was looking for. It is written in a conversational style that concise but interesting. The book covers the special compositional skills required for good portraiture as well as practical guidelines to help overcome common posing challenges (such as irregular facial features). Studio lighting has always been a bit of a mystery to me. The chapter on lighting shows how to get started with a few basic studio setups and how various lighting elements interact with the subject. The book also covers different types of portraiture, a brief overview of starting a portrait business, digital editing and even how to work with models. I would encourage anyone trying to improve their "people pictures" or who is interested in portraiture to read this book.

Best book on portraits I've seen

I've read eight different books on portrait photography and this is by far the best one. I highly recommend it for anyone from the beginner who just wants better snapshots of their kids or family to the serious amateur who wants to learn how to take pro-looking, posed portraits. The book also covers lots of useful stuff on lighting in addition to posing. What I like about this book is you can get useful and practical stuff out of it no matter how much time you have. If you spend 10 minutes paging through chapter 5 on posing, you will immediately improve your portrait composition. If you spend more time understanding different lighting options (natural and flash), you'll improve even more. A very practical book and significantly better than all the other ones on this subject that I've read.

Another book for my must have collection

This is one of the most well written and comprehensive books on portraiture that I have read in a long time. Very though and engaging- this book covers a lot of ground but does in such a way that the reader never becomes bored. This is a book about portrait photography, and the 1st half of it really applies to both film and digital. The last part is more photoshop-centric but also awesome.

My new photography bible.

I first purchased this book to show support for another Flickr member. I figured it would be a nice book about portrait photography with some nice photographs. I was pleasantly surprised when my book arrived and I realized it was a very comprehensive book on the subject of portrait photography! I have to tell you...I think this is the best book on portrait photography and lighting that I've read to date. I have quite a few books on the subject, and I wish this one had been released sooner. Would have saved me a few bucks. :D The book is well written and easy to understand. It has great lighting setup diagrams, and the best part is the collection of wonderful photo examples. Every other photography book out there seems to have the most out-dated photos! Most of them look like they were taken in the 80s, but these are current and just fantastic. The book also gives SPECIFIC examples for headshots, glamour shots, and other portrait scenarios which is unbelievably helpful. It will probably become my new photography bible. LOL Photography is a technical art form, and it's easy to get bogged down in things like apertures, shutter speeds, and lighting ratios. So many other books out there seem to "dumb down" the technical side of photography, much to my dismay, but this book is a good balance between the two. I highly recommend it to anyone out there who's interested in portrait photography. Many thanks to Catherine and everyone else who helped out with the book! It's wonderful. :)