Light: Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting

EAN:9780240808192 Label:Focal Press Author:Fil Hunter Binding:Paperback

This book is simply the best book on photographic lighting that exists Simply the Best. If you have any interest in improving your photography this is one of the three or four books I would suggest you get2009-03-19 Rating 5. It must be difficult to write a book on a technical subject for a heterogeneous population of readers The most enjoyable technical book I've read!. One can easily become boring and/or the reader can easily loose him or herself2009-03-06 Rating 5. Filling the book with valuable information does not help. The author(s) should also guarantee that the reader can get the pills. Perhaps, making the content light and easily digestable can be considered another solution. This, however will lessen the appeal of the book, to say the least, as such information will most likely be available free! The authors of this beautiful book (from concept, to writing to production) did a most astonishing job and made an easily readable book full of valuable information. The book reads as if it was written by a single author (a sign of good editorial work). The writing style is lucid & enthusiastic without being overly technical. The reader is never lost. The narrative is based on carefully chosen examples or problem situations. There are many repetitions but the reader feels happy to encounter a repetition as that helps to prove his/her progress! The figures are perfectly simple and exactly to the point (except, perhaps Fig. 8. 14, which does not seem right to me). The style can be summarized as "friendly advice"; the authors explicitly deny authority (if you believe them after reading the book!); they only claim experience. I have learned A LOT reading this book. I've read it (contrary to the authors' advice) from cover to cover almost as a thriller. I will keep it and consult it whenever I need to. This book will worth the price you pay for it even if you end up learning only the concept of "family of angles" by reading it. Simply great work. I do have to suggestions, however, for improvement: 1- The section on flash (strobe) photography can be given some more space (as this is probably the most widespread method of lighting for most readers). 2- The book cover should be replaced by a good one. I even think that a cover with text on blank space is better than the present one; the cover just does disservice to the book as it hides the beauty of the work presented. Do not let the cover to push you! I finish by repeating the last sentence of the book to show you what the authors say after giving you tens of perfect examples and as many sound advice: "Help yourself". This book is best for advanced amateur photographers who are interested in learning more about how to light Highly recommended. It is 300 pages long, divided into 10 chapters2009-02-27 Rating 5. The book is authoritative and fairly thorough, though more advanced photographers may find a good portion of the book to be a rehash of what they've already learned through other means. Still, this book is worth the read for the useful and technical information it provides, though it may be less meaningful for those without at least some lighting equipment (be they studio strobes or dedicated flashes). More advanced photographers might even learn a thing or three -- if they can get through all the stuff they might already know. Here's a list of what the chapters are about: 1) How to Learn Lighting (a brief introduction to the book and some topics that will be discussed in future chapters) 2) Light: the Raw Material of Photography (a description of what "light" means to a photographer, how light typically behaves) 3) The Management of Reflection and the Family of Angles (An in-depth description of light and relevant information about what to expect of light's behavior in photography) 4) Surface Appearances (a description of how light affects the appearances of various surfaces, and ways to best light particular surfaces -- glass, glossy, matte, black surfaces, etc. ) 5) Revealing Shape and Contour 6) [How to Light] Metal 7) The Case of the Disappearing Glass (how to light glass objects) 8) An Arsenal of Lights (Portrait photography) 9) The Extremes (how to like white-on-white or black-on-black subjects) 10) Traveling Light (information on strobes and dedicated flashes and how to best utilize them) The book goes much more in-depth about all of these topics than I let on. It would be difficult to summarize all the information without plagiarizing. This is a great rulebook for how to use light in photography, and covers just about any topic most photographers might have, when learning about light. I highly recommend buying this book and keeping it handy as a reference when needed. A really, really, really good book The stuff thats good to know. Goes through all the basic lighting techniques and more importantly it gives you a better comprehension about how and why things work or not2009-02-24 Rating 5. I contains updated material and images that illustrate the ideas of the authors Highly recommend this book if you want to take control over your images. Also alot better than some other books touching the same subject. a great informative book that relies on fact insted of shinny pictures a must . get this and ansel adams basic photography series and you are all set2009-02-22 Rating 5. . An amazing (and some would say magical) resource on photographic lighting that has been talked about in the community and recommended for years This highly respected guide has been thoroughly updated and revised for content and design - it is now produced in full color! It introduces a logical theory of photographic lighting so if you are starting out in photography you will learn how to predict results before setting up lights. This is not primarily a how-to book with only set examples for you to copy