Your Key to Better Portrait Photography Anywhere - Direction & Quality of Light

Liked the practical approach, showing good/bad plates that help a beginner click and learn how to judge light set up. And the categories/functions for additional lights. Excellent grounding for newbies!

Boring, rehashed, nothing new, total beginner and newbie material using the classic - pretty almost legal model. If you know nothing about lighting than buy it - otherwise don't waste your time or money.

This is the second photography related Amherst Publishing e-book I've purchased and in both cases the embedded photographs are fair to poor quality. I know the photographs themselves aren't the issue as I've also looked at the hardcopy at my local bookstore and they look fine there. It has something to do with the method the publishing company or the store is creating the electronic versions of the books. It's a book about photography, the image quality should be stellar and they are not. I also noticed lack of attention to detail in the text where some passages are in one font size then it jumps to something 2-3x the size. I've written to the publisher and they are looking into the matter with the company that produces the e-book versions. Amherst Publishing was nice enough to send me a print version instead which I'll post a followup review but so far it's been good stuff except for the images part. I wouldn't recommend the ebook version of this book until electronic production issues are recified.

If I could get my money back I would and turn around and buy the print version instead as the content from Neil is pretty good as always.

Go look at the publications from Popular Photography's digital subscription - they do it right with high resolution, crisp images.

Disclaimers:
1) I read a draft manuscript of this book and provided some proofreading assistance. I received a finished copy, but I was under no obligation to write a review.
2) I do read the author's blog semi-regularly, and I have attended his workshops.

Review:
In some ways, I think people learning about photography should read this book first before the author's other earlier books, primarily because this book spends some time describing the thought process the author uses to determine how he would light a given scene. This thought process is important regardless of the lighting tools you have.

Is the ambient light adequate or good?
If the ambient light is insufficient or bad, can I do something to change it without adding artificial lighting?
If I need artificial lighting, how can I use my artificial lighting?
Is the light source falling on my subject in a pleasing way?

The first chapters go through the author's thought process on how he analyzes his lighting needs and later chapters tackle this topic in these areas.
a) Ambient light only
b) Single flash unit with and without a softbox (The 'revelation' that once you bounce flash off a surface, that becomes the 'softbox' is something beginners miss initially.)
c) Powerful studio light unit or multiple flash units, both with and without softboxes
d) Video light / Videographer light

The book is easy to read and well-written. The passages are not long-winded nor are they filled with jargon. The content is to the point, without any joking around that some other authors use. The writing is "just right" as if you were watching a presentation done by the author.

The only minor nitpick I have is with the Guide Number tutorial near the end of the book. The guide number can be used to calculate correct manual flash exposure, but it is a little esoteric for me. It definitely works, but it's probably not the first thing I would do. The shortcut at the end of that section is actually more practical, and I think easier to grasp for more people. It might have been better just to leave the guide number discussion out.

One reviewer commented that the book didn't offer anything new, and the content can be found on his blog. Being a reader of the author's blog, that reviewer is correct, but it needs qualification. Each chapter's content is derived from several of the author's blog entries. The author wrote content for his blog at different points in time. While the author sometimes refers to older blog articles in more recent blog entries, the older entries are generally *not* updated. In addition, the blog entries are numerous; you can search the author's blog or use the site navigation, but you may not find what you seek. Lastly, even if the author refers to his past articles, the author doesn't always connect the pieces into a new cohesive whole.

In my opinion, this book is better than his blog in this particular application. The book contains definitive, connected -- all the related, but separate blog entries are finally rewritten as one --, and updated content (including a few new photos) from his blog, so that a reader can find the most important topics the author wants to impart. Of course, the book's contents may become "outdated," but the book is currently handier to read the "good stuff" than searching for it through the blog. Once someone reads this book, it should be easier to follow the author's blog or find other related blog content.

Another reviewer criticized that the photos used in the book require professional-grade equipment that no average reader can hope to achieve. Unfortunately, certain situations do require good equipment to get a usable exposure, but for other scenarios (i.e. general vacation photos, daylight scenes, typical indoors of a house), people with modest equipment can still apply the lighting thought process in the book to improve photos that they currently take. (i.e. if you take vacation photos of the family, don't make them face the sun directly.)

Neil van Niekerk is master of the bounce flash - but as made evident by this book, he is also a master of light in any form. Let's face it, available light is not always sufficient nor ideal, but there is always a solution - and Neil will help you find it. He starts by looking for the best available light in any given location, determines via test shots if that light is main or ambient, then walks you through positioning both the subject and yourself, the photographer, to find the most pleasing angle or direction of light. All the while paying close attention to (a) how the background elements will enhance the image, (b) adjusting shutter speed for the desired ambient levels, and (c) setting the most appropriate aperture for depth of field and/or flash volume.

When circumstances require, we determine if a scene or image can be improved or totally re-imagined by way of flash - whether it be off-camera, on-camera with bounce, modified with flags, softboxes, etc.

This book is more about the artistry of light and not the mathematics of light - it's all about developing a sense of how light can be manipulated to achieve beautiful results in-camera. It contains gorgeous portraiture throughout, really inspiring stuff, with pull-back shots, ambient light test shots, flawed examples that lead to adjustments, and the final image. You feel like you are participating in a well-run workshop, where you are learning from a friend in an intuitive, casual, engaging, and easy-to-understand manner.

I highly recommend this book for photographers who are looking to maximize their understanding of light and how to use it. And isn't that everyone?

This is a decent book to help you understand light. Light and composition are the two most important things that everyone photographer needs to understand. But this book did not go far enough in helping you understand light because is has few, if any, diagrams of where do you place the light in relationship to the subject. It's one thing to say off camera flash, but where exactly what the flash in relationship to the subject? Many books do this by providing look-down diagrams showing light sources. Without this kind of clear help, over half the value of the book is lost.

I have been following Neil's work/advise through his blog sites - Tangents and Forum.

What's so neat about Neil in a world of Photographers?
For me, he's easy to follow along. What resonates for me is that Neil walks you through the thought process of building the photo ....and he does it simply and elegantly - and that is huge!
I don't know Neil, but I can say this much; he is active on his blogs, he comes across as really down to earth and will quite often chip in on a conversation to provide a nugget or clarification. He shares his knowledge freely and I get the sense he really does want others to become better photographers. I like his style and approach. I'm mostly an event photographer and have found his insight to be invaluable.

Why this book?
I would strongly recommend the 2 previous books he has written...my copies have become reference books. This third book hammers down the underlying concept of beautiful light.

Would I recommend this book?
Absolutely, and if he wrote a fourth - I'd be right there with a pre-order

As a professional photographer, I was fortunate enough to learn first-hand from Neil during a workshop at the beginning of my pro career. This book is every bit as good as learning from the master in person!

Full of useful information on topics ranging from the basics of light quality to the advanced use of multiple off-camera flash, this book is a perfect resource for beginners who want to raise their skill level. It also solidly meets the need of the professional, by providing insight into the technical details of the example images. Using 'bad' shots and 'good' shots to illustrate the content AND providing the technical specifications are great bonuses for the reader.

Using the same relaxed, informative and detail-oriented approach he uses in his workshops, Neil has created a 'must-have' resource for photographers of all levels. He provides theory and backs it up with real-world examples, created in all sort of environments and situations, perfect for the working photographer.

Despite having lots of lighting gear in my arsenal, what I most appreciated about this book was that Neil provides ample instruction and relevant examples for working with only natural light. By teaching the reader how to "see" light and use it to create technically sound (and beautiful) images, Neil shows us that you don't have to have an excess of equipment to make great images.

With informative content, logically ordered topics and superb example images this book should be required reading for everyone who calls themselves a photographer.

I have enjoyed reading Neil van Niekerk's previous books, and I looked forward to reading his newest release to complete the trilogy. Fully expecting it to be an extension of the prior two, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was so much more. I think Neil has created the new, de facto standard for anyone wanting to learn how to use and create light for portraiture. Neil's embraceable writing style coupled with extensive, well-detailed sample photos make his concepts easy for the reader to grasp and apply to their own work. I heartily recommend this book, and it is a steal at twice the price!

As a professional photographer, I need to know this stuff. Every time I think I know something, Neil teaches me how much I don't know in his books. I have two other of his books and I've seen him speak a number of times at various conferences and classes and I read his blog which I find very educational. I learn from Neil's work, and I love how he educates. Since Neil wrote this book and I'm a fan, I read this. I knew I would learn something but wow, each section opened me up to new possibilities, things I wouldn't have thought of, things I want to try and 101 things I just didn't know. He explains things in great detail, and shows photos of concepts he is illustrating. The set-up photos are extremely helpful in understand how and why he does things a certain way. And I like how he shows photos with various settings to show exactly how changing an element can drastically change the result of a photo. I'm very visual so reading it and then seeing it really helps me. I also like the variety of photo subjects. Since I'm not a wedding photographer, it would be uninteresting for me to see all photos of brides. He shows models, brides, couples, and the style of the photos go from sweet and beautiful to edgy so you can learn how to approach your own style of photography through Neil's examples.

I highly recommend this book to people who want to broaden their minds to areas of photography they don't know, people who want to open their minds and approach things they already know in a different way, AND realize all the things you just missed along your photography journey that this book fills in.

After following Neil van Niekerk's blog for years, I was excited to get his latest book. It truly is the most comprehensive and well written treatise on light that I have read. The chapters are arranged so that they build easily upon the next and the techniques are illustrated beautifully with van Niekerk's images. His pull back images throughout the book serve both to illustrate and to inspire. This is an invaluable tool for learning!

Was majorly disappointed with this. I guess I figured it would be about how to deal with natural light as it doesnt say anything about unnatural light on the cover. But its all about using external flashes or studio lighting with a very small section dedicated to natural light.

I have read many books on lighting, but found this one to be the simplest, but yet the most clear and helpful yet. Neil takes a complex subject and breaks it down in to easy to understand elements. It makes you want to go out and shoot.