Reviews (22)

Not exactly inspiring
I think people have very different expectations for these kinds of books, and this one did not at all meet mine. While Master Lighting Guide is very thorough and really gets into the basics of the different kinds of portrait lighting it totally fails to inspire. The photography in this books is very dull and really reminds me of the faded portraits you see plastered to the windows of sad photo stores and barber shops.
Great content, well written
I was very impressed with this book. Mr. Grey has done a fantastic job writing this book. It's obvious that he's very accomplished at his craft and has logged countless hours refining his skills. He also explains each scenerio with enough detail to make his intentions perfectly clear. All of the images in the book are crisp, sharp and well composed. Each sample includes a two dimensional diagram of the lighting configuration. Since there is no third dimension to the diagrams it is sometimes hard to tell if a light was placed high or low in relationship to the model and the other light. Mr. Grey does explain the configuration in the narrative so it's not that hard to figure out the height of a light in the diagram. Great book. I highly recommend it for a portrait primer. Side note - The cover picture is fantastic. It's a great representation of the quality of the book.

Great Book
I have advanced in my photography skills a great deal from this book. My lighting has become just as artistic as the shots themselves. Alot of the ideas in the book are just fun to play around with to help create your own kinda lighting. A must read for those not to new but would like to make the next leap... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Lighting    2. Photo Techniques    3. Photographic Techniques For Specific Conditions    4. Photography    5. Portrait photography    6. Portraiture    7. Subjects & Themes - Portraits    8. Techniques - Lighting    9. Photographic equipment & techniques    10. Photography / Portraits   

Reviews (25)

Excellent for the beginer and the experienced DP
This book goes back to first principals and clarifies things that many of us have picked up by experience without really thinking about them.It starts by talking about the difference between diffuse and direct reflection which makes books like "Lighting for Digital Video & Television, Second Edition" and "Matters of Light and Depth" more valuable for the beginner.It also talks about subjects like lighting extreme contrast, glass and specular metal objects which will benefit anyone doing table top shooting as well as outdoors.The section on portraits shows what works and why in a really useful way.They don't promulgate rules but give you the tools to think through what you want yourself.This book is like the sound books by Jay Rose an essential for every level.

A Must Have to Understand What You're Doing, Recording Light
If you plan to go beyond mere snapshots with a cheap camera, then you need to understand and know what's in this book. Even if all you have is a point-and-shoot camera, you will take better photographs knowing what's in this book.
simply the best book on artificial lighting
This is the best book ever written on the subject.It explains the physics of light and types of reflection, which is what the camera records.
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Subjects:  1. General    2. Lighting    3. Photo Techniques    4. Photographic Techniques Using Specific Equipment    5. Photography    6. Techniques - General    7. Techniques - Lighting    8. Applied physics & special topics    9. Photographic equipment & techniques    10. Photography / Lighting    11. Special kinds of photography   

Reviews (5)

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.
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!
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Subjects:  1. Digital techniques    2. Lighting    3. Photo Techniques    4. Photographic Equipment    5. Photography    6. Portrait photography    7. Subjects & Themes - Portraits    8. Techniques - Digital    9. Techniques - Lighting    10. Computer graphics software    11. Photographs: portraits    12. Photography / Equipment    13. Special kinds of photography   

Reviews (8)

Title should also include - How to abuse a picture with photoshop
Granted, there are some nice pics in this booklet and some useful techniques which would be helpful if I had more than one strobe, but I was looking more for practical lighting tips without over-abusing a digital image with Photoshop.Almost 2/3 of the sample photos have some kind of photoshop tampering.That's not photography, that's graphic design.Other than that, I'm glad that I didn't have to pay the $34.95 that was the suggested price on the actual booklet (I paid about $15).Overall, it's good for ideas on how to approach a situation with regards to lighting.

Stuck in the 80's
As an overall guide to lighting techniques, this book gets all the basics right. However, when it comes to inspiring the reader it doesn't fare so well. Some of the photographs in "The Best of Photographic Lighting" are bordering on attrocious - many of them firmly stuck in the 80's tradition of painful soft lighting ala oldschool Playboy (maybe this shouldn't surprise me, since the cover is much lit this way). Too many tacky pictures of urban saxophone players lit "creatively".
The Best of Photograpic Lighting: Techniques and Images for Digital Photographers
This is well written book with the basic lighting techniques for the motivated photographer. It is not a tutorial type of book but it provides a starting point which provides the reader the conceptual frame work in order to use lighting. This is a good book that is well illustraded. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Photo Techniques    2. Photographic Techniques Using Specific Equipment    3. Photography    4. Techniques - Digital    5. Techniques - Lighting    6. Photographic equipment & techniques    7. Photography / Lighting    8. Special kinds of photography   

Reviews (5)

Excellent but pricey
I'm very new to lighting for any film stock. My goal is to become more aware of how to light for film, mainly digitial stock. This books does provide extremely detailed information on lighting, such as footcandles, gamma, lighting terms and much more, but mainly in one chapter. It did provide detail about digital film lighting and standard photography lighting. I wish it gave more insight about "moods" but I learned a great deal. Downside, it's expensive for the material you get.

Not for Novices
This book dishes out a lot of information in the small space between it's paperback covers.I read it looking for film lighting basics, and had a tough time grasping some of the more technical language involving exposure, T-stops, etc, even though I have a decent background in photography. The book does a poor job of addressing and explaining these key concepts.I gleaned a decent amount of information from the pictures and diagrams, but they were poorly aligned with the text, requiring lots of flipping back and forth. All in all, I would reccommend this book only to people with a fair amount of knowledge of the physics behind photography and/or film.

Must Have
Anyone interested in Ciinematography sholud have this book. It is full of practical examples, and the apendix is a very useful reference. Lots of information you will not find elsewhere ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cinematography & Videography    2. Photo Techniques    3. Photography    4. Techniques - Digital    5. Techniques - Lighting    6. Business & Economics / Industries / Media & Communications Industries    7. Films, cinema    8. Sound, lighting, scenery   

Reviews (7)

Biblical...
The real "goosebump" reader...Light the way I never knew it.It's a natural.

Typical British understatement
Don't get this book if you are looking for a detailed, "how to" manual. You will learn more if you have mastered the basics of lighting and working with models already. Think of it more as a master class than an instruction manual. I suspect, however, that you will find at least one image or technique that helps you find your own creative "voice."

An excellent book on lighting
This is NOT a PhotoShop book, it's NOT for people looking for info on POST-PROCESSING.It is however a great book if you want to learn about lighting; what to do and look for BEFORE you take the shot.Contrary to the title, you can learn about more than just "Lighting for Nude Photography"; the nude is just one type of portrait.
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Subjects:  1. Photo Techniques    2. Photography    3. Subjects & Themes - Erotica    4. Techniques - General    5. Techniques - Lighting    6. Photographic equipment & techniques   

Reviews (1)

An Excellent Insiders Guide To Celebrity Portraiture!
For anyone interested in celebrity portraiture and what it takes to make the images you see in today's magazines, this book has it all! Grecco has taken highlights from his career as one of the top celebrity photographers in America and not only broken down the technical aspects into easy to understand terms (including concise lighting diagrams), but he has peppered the book with candid, behind-the-scenes anecdotes that show what it's like to make a truly inspired image and remain fresh in a very competitive photography market. That's what I like about it...this book is not simply a monograph of pretty pictures, but instead shows beautiful photography and the work involved in making it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Celebrities    2. Lighting    3. Photo Techniques    4. Photographic Techniques For Specific Conditions    5. Photography    6. Portrait photography    7. Portraits    8. Portraiture    9. Subjects & Themes - Portraits    10. Techniques - Lighting    11. Individual photographers    12. Photographic equipment & techniques   

Reviews (50)

Excellent reference
Night and low-light photography is particularly challenging, because of the problems of determining the correct exposure, countering blur from slow shutter speeds, the effects of reciprocity failure and/or noise from long exposures, high contrast illumination, etc. etc.This book tells you how to work around these problems and get dynamite pictures under difficult conditions. This is an excellent reference for any photographer.

The Outdated but Useful Guide to Night and Low-Light Photography
When this book was written, digital cameras were still a new technology that couldn't match the quality found in film cameras.Lee Frost makes an acknowledgement of digital cameras, but accurately dismisses them as a quality tool for low light photography.I remember my first digital camera, a Sony Mavica, I bought in 1999 with an incredibly large 0.3mp resolution that recorded on floppy discs.The pictures were small, and subject to noise issues and pixilation.It was a fun digital camera, but could not come anywhere close to the quality of the pictures from my Minolta Maxxum SLR.
the guide
this is a great book, well at least so far it's great. I haven't got to the end but the author has really covered it all. The first chapter about equipment gives you an overall look about all kinds of camera and it should be a pocket manual to all who are uncertain which camera to purchase next. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Photo Techniques    2. Photographic Techniques For Specific Conditions    3. Photography    4. Techniques - General    5. Techniques - Lighting   

Reviews (7)

Perfect for the experienced, invaluable for the novice.
If you have any interest in motion picture equipment and lighting, or if you are in the industry already, then this book is a definite must-have.It has become a standard for many crew members in the movie business and is often referred to on set. A quick-lookup resource for set lighting technicians
Knowledgeably written by Hollywood-based gaffer and director of photography Harry C. Box, this newly revised and expanded third edition of Set Lighting Technician's Handbook authoritatively covers the equipment, electrical distribution, and techniques of film lighting. From a basic overview of who does what job on the lighting crew; to descriptions of how to use a wide variety of light fixtures ranging from tungsten to HMI to fluorescent lights; to safely handling electric power sources, Set Lighting Technician's Handbook is an excellent reference tool, instructional refresher course, and quick-lookup resource for set lighting technicians of all skill and experience levels.

The finest book on the subject I've read.
After 22 years in the Hollywood motion picture lighting business, I can attest to the value and accuracy of this book. A magnificent work of hard-won knowledge and vital information for the old pro or beginner. Irefer to it often. Well done, Harry. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cinematography    2. Film - Cinematography    3. Handbooks, manuals, etc    4. Lighting    5. Photo Essays    6. Photography    7. Pop Arts / Pop Culture    8. Techniques - Lighting    9. Television - Direction & Production    10. Films, cinema    11. Special kinds of photography   

Reviews (30)

Simply the best book on exposure
This is a great book on camera exposure and the Zone system. It is clear, thorough, and has loads of diagrams and charts. Did I say this book is great? This book is great great and worth three times the cover price. This book and another on composition will be all your photo library needs.
First read the title, then complain.
I read the reveiws here, and I was a little worried about the ones that say this book is confusing.
Overly Complicated
Bahman is an exposure master in his own right, but he unnecessarily complicates the Zone System theory with impossible hand drawings that confuse readers even more.
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Subjects:  1. Photo Techniques    2. Photography    3. Techniques - Equipment    4. Techniques - General    5. Techniques - Lighting   

Subjects:  1. Photo Techniques    2. Photography    3. Techniques - Equipment    4. Techniques - Lighting    5. JUVY-WORKBOOKS - JUV WORKBOOKS    6. Photographic equipment & techniques    7. Photography / Camera Specific   

Reviews (2)

A completely professional approach
The thing about this book is that it is written from a completely professional point of view.It deals with lighting as it is really practiced on professional movie sets - not like most books on cinematography which seem to be written by people who haven't actually done it all that much in the real world. I've bought about every book there is on movie lighting and most of them are a waste of money. A good lighting manual for a beginning cameraperson.
Blaine Brown's book provides a decent explanation of set lighting, it'sinstruments and protocol. The text, though, seems to speak more to thecameraperson or AC who is curious about lighting. There is a lack ofattention given to the juicers and hammers who are actually creating andshaping the light. There is a considerable amount of text granted toelectrics and the distribution of power, but much more thorough and muchmore practically explained definitions are readily available in Harry Box's"Set Lighting Technician's Handbook." ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cinematography    2. Film & Video - Cinematography    3. Lighting    4. Photo Techniques    5. Photography    6. Pop Arts / Pop Culture    7. Techniques - Lighting    8. Television - Direction & Production    9. Video recording    10. Performing Arts / Television / Direction & Production    11. Special kinds of photography   

Reviews (8)

Be careful if you're not a professional!
I think I got used to books saying "professional" just to get the attention of the public browsing books. This one, however, really means it. If you just want an introduction or some simple ideas you could do with limited resources this is not the book you're looking for.
Could be better...
I got this book as a christmas present.I did find it quite informative and helpful as it shows you a floor plan layout of how the shot was set up and lit.
This is an excelent guide
This is an excellent Guide, so much for the user beginner, as for the advanced user. I indicate for all. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Photo Techniques    2. Photography    3. Techniques - General    4. Techniques - Lighting    5. Still Photography    6. Handbooks, manuals, etc   

Reviews (1)

Great Creativity in Posing and Lighting
Just a few moments with this book clearly shows why Norman Phillips has won so many awards. This is a fantastic collection of portraits shot with low light to illustrate just what is possible when you know what you are doing. And the discussion (including light placement drawings) describe what Mr. Phillips was doing when he took the picture.
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Subjects:  1. Photo Essays    2. Photography    3. Subjects & Themes - Portraits    4. Techniques - General    5. Techniques - Lighting    6. Photographic equipment & techniques    7. Photographs: portraits    8. Photography / Techniques   

Reviews (3)

Competent, but a bit thin...
Buying this book to expand my knowledge into this area, I found it a bit thin. It feels stretched to me - like a padded long article. The info about cue types was good, but I'm sure it's covered in user manuals, and the insistence on avoiding mention of specific products diluted the rest of it too much for my liking. I think picking a console and fixtures, even if it's one per chapter, would allow a little more detail. As it is, readable, but unsatisfying.
a look apon The Automated Lighting Programmer's Handbook
Liked it, it is a bit of a conformation for a semi experianced programer. but great for a begininer who has no accsess to a moving light console.
yes. Yes. YES!Buy it.
The author spells out, in common terminology, the basics of programming moving lights for theatre, concerts, television, festivals, and industrials.Read more

Subjects:  1. Optics    2. Performing Arts    3. Performing Arts/Dance    4. Techniques - Lighting    5. Theater - Direction & Production    6. Electronics & Communications Engineering    7. Performing Arts / Theater / Direction & Production    8. Sound, lighting, scenery   

Reviews (4)

Not good
I'm not sure if I was reading the same book as the other reviewers because I can't understand how they could give it five stars. I couldn't get past the fact that all of the pictures were boring, poorly composed, amateurish in quality, and all set in the same environment. I usually don't return books, but I returned this one right away. Do yourself a favor and check out Bryan Peterson's "Photographing People - Beyond Portraiture" if you are looking for a first class book that is leagues beyond this offering. If you are looking for a book that contains the same kind of diagrams as this book does, then check out "Master Lighting Guide for Portrait Photographers" by Christopher Grey. Yes, it's specific to studio portraits, but the concepts of lighting are the same. Indoors or outdoors, all photographers are ultimately trying to shape and model light. Some tools are better suited to the studio and others outdoors, but the concept of direction, tone, composition, and modifiers are essentially the same.

Best Photographic Book of 2006
Master Lighting Techniques
Practical in-the-field advice
I must admit I'm more interested in practical advice and techniques I can use right away than theoretical background, and this book has both.I was surprised to discover that the nuts-and-bolts of lighting did help me do a better job of shooting portraits outdoors and on location.Because portrait photography is so much about the lighting, this is a good general portrait photography book, too.Recommended. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Photo Techniques    2. Photography    3. Portraiture    4. Subjects & Themes - Portraits    5. Techniques - Digital    6. Techniques - Lighting    7. Photography / Lighting    8. Special kinds of photography   

Reviews (10)

Excellent photographic reference
This is a MUST-HAVE book if you take photography seriously. There is so much that goes into taking a photograph and getting the right lighting equipment to make a shot look the way it does. This book is amazing. It is a huge hard-back book filled with pages of classy nude photographs and implied nude shots that are taken from many different angles, backdrops, and with various types of lighting: both outdoors and indoors.
Falls short of expectations, missing images
There is a reason this book is so cheap. I am going to say the other book from Rotovision "photographing people; portraits, fashion, glamour" is a much better book overall. This book has fairly tame nudes, and is missing one or two images it has diagrams for, most notably 'marie' on page 43. It is really boring and there are enough ringflash shots that by the time you see the 4th one, you are ready to tear those pages out.
Great depth, yet easy to understand
Has a great variety of lighting situations from natural light to as many as 9 lights, most commonly 2-4.Shows use of reflectors, absorbers, soft boxes, backgrounds.Talks at the beginning of each chapter about the mood associated with each type of picture and then theorizes different means of attaining that mood.Each shot has easy to read plan and isometric diagrams of the shoot setup, and the pictures are full page and first rate.I wish all photo books were like this one!Now if only they could supply me with a source of willing models.... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Photo Techniques    3. Photography    4. Techniques - Lighting    5. Photography & Photographs   

Reviews (1)

Absolutely Beautiful
This book is, without question, one of the best how-to photography books I've ever read.
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Subjects:  1. Photo Techniques    2. Photography    3. Still Photography    4. Techniques - Lighting    5. Photographic equipment & techniques   

Reviews (9)

By far, my favorite
I am a portrait photographer and I pull this book out all the time to review lighting set ups and get inspiration. A definate must have for any photographer. I especially love that the book extensively covers one and two light set up and using foamcore bookends. You don't need a bazillion lights to create amazing images.

Beautiful photos, inspirational
I've bought three books from this series; the photos are great to inspire you and the lighting set-ups start from simple natural light and move to more complicated, multiple lights. Tells type of lighting used, camera, film, ISO, lens and f-stop and shows diagrams of the set-ups.
Buy This Book!
I do portrait photography (environmental and studio) and this is the first book of the many I've bought that directly addressed my needs for simple, creative lighting set-ups that can be done quickly -- either with available light or with one or two studio strobes with readily-available accessories.The images are very contemporary and the detailed instructions are easy-to-follow.I've bought a dozen lighting books that have cheesy, 80s photos and complicated set-ups; this one replaces all of them.Recommended for serious amateur and professional photographers, especially if you're using studio strobe lighting. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Commercial    2. Photo Techniques    3. Photography    4. Subjects & Themes - Portraits    5. Techniques - General    6. Techniques - Lighting    7. Photographic equipment & techniques    8. Photographs: portraits    9. Special kinds of photography   

Reviews (5)

A superb work on the subject of Lighting...and Light
A very tight, concise, easy to understand yet very well established book. Lark Books have a nice series on photography and should be taken seriously.
Excellent introduction to lighting
Very basic, not quite enough detail, but still an excellent introduction to lighting for beginners. You should start here, learn the basics, and then explore other resources to improve your skills.

Michael Freeman's Close-Up Photography
Michael Freeman is the author of the "Digital Photography Expert" series. Previous books in this series are "The Complete Guide to Digital Photography" and "Nature and Landscape Photography." As the third book in this series, "Close-Up Photography" is, of course, geared especially to the digital photographer.
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Subjects:  1. Digital techniques    2. Lighting    3. Photo Essays    4. Photography    5. Techniques - Digital    6. Techniques - Lighting    7. BG-JUVENILE PROP - BG-JUVY ACTIVITY    8. Photography / Lighting