Book Review of The Hot Shoe Diaries: Big Light from Small Flashes by Joe McNally
  Joe McNally's The Hot Shoe Diaries: Big Light from Small Flashes is one of the most in-depth technical how-to books on photography I have ever read. Simply put, if you shoot with Nikon flashes you MUST buy this book. (Nearly all of it is applicable to other manufacturer's flashes as well.) This book is not a manual. You can not find this material in the manuals. I know. I've read them. As for other books aimed at small flashes, there are a tiny hand-full that are uniformly unenlightening (pun intended). The double-truck on pages 6 and 7 is a photo of Joe's flash equipment. I count 16 flashes, but I could have missed one or two! I can think of some extremely great photographers who are currently shooting predominately with the Nikon flash system, but I do not know of any photography who has shot as extensively with Nikon flashes and for as many years with them as Joe has (and who has the extraordinary images to prove it). Now, what if someone like Joe were to do a brain dump and spill EVERYTHING he knows about shooting with small flashes? Well, that is what is in the book. Besides the technical tips and equipment info, one of the things I like most about the Hot Shoe Diaries is that it has reassured me that different things I have been doing, or simply guessed at, are indeed the right choices to make. Since a lot of the information presented in the book simply has not been out there in the past, I have had to guess my way through some things. The popularity of Strobist has made this book possible, which Joe fully acknowledges, by creating the market for it, but even with all of the information on Strobist I still have been left feeling "un-assured". For me, this book has really reinforced my thought process when it comes to lighting setups and how to get from step one to the end goal of pre-visualized image. As Joe best sums it up himself: This is not a book of certainties. It is not a manual. It is, as the title states, a diary. It is an ongoing account of adventures and misadventures, of accidents--happy and otherwise--and of successes and failures. It is an irreverent (go figure) brain dump of accumulated knowledge, much of it hard won in the school of hard knocks, bad bonces, lousy exposures, and misguided notions While I have highlighted the book extensively (hence, the five-highlighter rating at the top of this review), the best nod I can give any book is whether I will spend the time to read it twice. With this book, I will. Then I expect to use it as a reference for awhile and eventually read it cover-to-cover a third time. Buy it now: Click the link for a review of Joe's last book, The Moment It Clicks.Labels: Book Reviews, lighting
Book Review: The Photographer's Guide to the Studio by Roger Hicks and Frances Schultz
Pass on it I purchased this as a bargain bin book and was simply hoping to get a few ideas from it. From that perspective, I did get a still-life idea or two that I'll work on in the future. That is all I got from it however. I can't give the book high marks as a studio tutorial because frankly it is not very good. The text is introductory and gives a broad overview of studio lighting, posing, and composition but is nothing spectacular. The images in the book fall way short. Many of them were almost certainly shot in the 1970s or early 80s, yet the book is copyrighted in 2002. Many of the pictures are very, very HORRID. It is hard to take anything the authors say very seriously when the pictures are so bad. The book was written for film-based cameras, lenses, and accessories instead of digital; however, I expected as much and was hoping to pick up tips on lighting equipment irrespective of medium. Unfortunately, The Photographer's Guide to the Studio is not much of a guide to anything of any detail. Buy it on Amazon (or not)
Labels: Book Reviews
Book Review: People Shots That Sell -- How To Succeed in Stock Photography by Tracey Tannenbaum and Kate Stevens
 Creative Ideas People Shots That Sell is an inspirational overview of stock photography. The book's authors have been editors and agents in the industry and their perspective is clearly from that standpoint which can be a good thing for photographers. However, that also accounts for why the book glosses over many details and how-to information that photographers getting started in the stock business will want to know. There are no technical details on how the images in the book were produced, and none of the images have accompanying sales figures on how profitable they have been. Neither are any of them credited, not even in the back of the book, and that's an oversight that any photographer would cringe at. I suspect that nearly all of them were licensed from royalty-free libraries. I still recommend Photos That Sell by Lee Frost as the best book that I've found on this topic. People Shots That Sell is a beautiful book with wonderful photographs that can be very inspirational and idea generative for staging lifestyle people shoots to generate stock images. Most experienced stock shooters will not learn anything new from this book, but it can be a great resource for those wanting to start licensing their work as stock. Buy it on Amazon Labels: Book Reviews, stock photography
Book Review - Being a Photographer by Yann Arthus-Bertrand
 Incredible Retrospective Any photographer lucky enough to have a retrospective of their life's work created with the quality put into this book and accompanying DVD would have to be happy. This is a wonderful volume of extraordinary photographs and excellent text. Being a Photographer traces the life and photographs of Yann Arthus-Bertrand, a French photographer who spent years in Africa as a young man. It was from there that he first started photographing the Earth from above as he gave hot air balloon rides to tourists. Yawn spent more years photographing major sporting events, travel destinations, and other projects before returning to aerial photography to produce his famous book Earth from Above. The superbly printed photographs in this book cover a lifetime of great work and are supplemented with biographical text by Sophie Troubac. The accompanying DVD makes it a great combination and inspirational book for anyone interested in photography. Buy it on Amazon Labels: Book Reviews
Book Review - Shooting & Selling Your Photos by Jim Zuckerman
Great Introduction This is a great introduction to selling photography by one of the very best in the business. Jim Zuckerman is very diverse in his stock photography subject matter and that diversity shows through in the wide range of knowledge he shares in this book. The best coverage is on selling photography at art shows and advice on submitting article and calendar proposals to publishers. If you're specifically interested in stock agencies, I highly recommend Lee Frost's Photos That Sell. Mr. Zuckerman's advice on stock libraries is a good introduction but Lee Frost devotes most of his book to the topic. The photography in the book is of course wonderful, but I would have liked to have seen the author share more information about which images were his best sellers, how many times each image has sold and where, and other details which Lee Frost shares in this book in many cases. However, this is very solid introduction to selling photography and I recommend it. Buy it on Amazon Labels: Book Reviews, stock photography
Book Review - Photos That Sell by Lee Frost
The BEST book on Stock Photography I've read a lot of books on the stock photography industry and this book is by far the best. When I first got it a year ago I paid too much attention to the extraordinary photography and not enough to Lee's text. Recently, I went back and very carefully, slowly (one or two pages a day) studied Lee's advice. I've sold images myself to clients around the world and can tell you this book is what you need if you're interested in selling images. It's accurate, complete, and packed with tips that few others would be willing to share. I have and will continue to look back to this book for ideas in producing my own work. The author provides great advice across the range of stock subject matter as well as the various markets. The are two things that really make this book shine though. The first is the numerous photographs accompanied by sales info: number of sales, where it sold, and the total sales to date in U.S. dollars. Not all the images in the book have this information (most have the standard equipment and exposure stats), but some do. Next, there are several two-page interviews with other stock photographers. They share their backgrounds, markets, and tips. Buy this book. It's worth it! Also check out: Stock photography articles by Lee FrostLee Frost PhotographyBuy it on Amazon Labels: Book Reviews, stock photography
Book Review - Portraits: Developing Style in Creative Photography by Terry Hope
Interesting B+W Picture Book This is an interesting picture book for B+W photographers, particularly those interested in alternative development techniques and materials. Each picture has a paragraph or two from the photographer with, by my count, 19 photographers represented across roughly 51 photographs. Accompanying tiny print from the book's author provides technique tips and pointers. The stunning photographs run the gamut between grainy and non-grainy and different forms of toning. The book doesn't include any images created from digital capture. It's interesting and sometimes inspiring but you need to be specifically looking for examples based on different B+W papers and chemicals for development in order to get much out of it as far as technical know-how is concerned. Buy it on Amazon Labels: Book Reviews
Book Review - Commercial Photoshop with Bert Monroy
Great for Illustrators Bert Monroy is a commerical illustrator with 30+ years of experience in the business and co-authored the very first book on Photoshop. Needless to say, the technical content of this book is unquestionable and quite educational. While many of the techniques in the book can be applied in other areas, a prospective buyer should be aware that the book is completely targeted toward illustration work. One of the techniques that Bert is famous for is creating photo-realistic images by painting them entirely in Photoshop with very few stock photography elements. Whether this is good or bad depends on what you're looking for, but don't buy the book thinking it's going to teach you how to retouch your family photos. One of Bert's many other books would be better suited for the later. Buy it on Amazon Labels: Book Reviews
Book Review - Photoshop Secrets of the Pros: 20 Top Artists and Designers Face Off by Mark Clarkson
Illustration Inspiration Photoshop tennis anyone? In Photoshop Secrets twenty designers face off in ten different matches, two designers to a match. One designer starts an image through a combination of photo clips and Photoshop actions then passes it to another designer for the next "volley". Each match has ten volleys and produces ten completely unique images. These are images that fit the digital illustration genre. If you're looking for photo-realistic techniques, check out one of Bert Monroy's books. How much you'll learn about Photoshop techniques certainly depends on your current knowledge level, but based on what I found this book will give you a few interesting things to try and, even more, a good bit of inspiration if you're interested in doing some professional illustration. Buy it on Amazon Labels: Book Reviews
Book Review: Wonders of the Reef by Stephen Frink
Exceptional introduction to underwater photographyStephen Frink is one of the most experienced underwater photographers in the world and certainly the most published. Wonders of the Reef is a must-read for anyone interested in underwater photography. The book is divided into two sections. In part one, Photo Opportunities for the Dive Traveler, Stephen relates his experience and recommendations on dive spots in the Caribbean, Red Sea, Pacific, and elsewhere. Anywhere holding something interesting to photograph underwater, the author has been there, likely several times. This section of the book would be valuable to all divers, particularly those looking for their next travel destination. In part two, The Science of Underwater Photography, Stephen shares decades of experience in shooting underwater, covering technique as well as equipment. Advanced underwater shooters will find the level of instruction introductory but for most readers the content is right-on. Stephen has written hundreds of articles over the years on diving as well as photography, and his writing, as well as his photography of course, is exceptional. This book was published before the digital camera era really took off, so digital equipment is not covered here. However, that is minor and nearly everything he relates about lens selection, when to use a dome port, etc. is still valid. In addition to all of the above, Wonders of the Reef is also a coffee-table book with tremendous photographs. The pictures are wonderful, captioned well, and the book is superbly printed. Buy it on Amazon Labels: Book Reviews, underwater photography
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David Douglas Duncan LIVED the twentieth century. The wars, the celebrations and celebrities, the places and times--HE WAS THERE, and he captured it on film. As page twenty-four introduces, "My 20th Century". Photo Nomad is a photographic autobiography of his life, a life of such far-reaching adventures, experiences, and travels that is almost impossible to fully comprehend. In a time when most photo books have the lifespan of the latest pop song, this book is an epic. Beautifully printed in Italy, it is a quality volume that will last many lifetimes and provide endless inspiration.
