I am an advanced amateur who is trying to learn how to take photographs in a studio setting. I've always preferred photographing people in a candid way and using natural settings. But I was blessed with a new daughter and I wanted to start taking pictures of her in a studio setting. I do know a lot about my camera and my lenses and have recently learned about skillfully using an on-camera flash. But I knew nothing about how to set up a studio so I wanted to buy a book that will teach me how to do this from ground up. Since my main subject will be my baby, I decided to get a book about studio portrait photography of children and babies (this book).
While it took me 3 months to read and master the last book that I read on photography, it only took me an afternoon to read through this book. The material was just so basic! While she did give helpful hints about conducting a pre-session interview and also about age-appropriate props, she only did so in a very brief manner. I read through that part so fast because most of the things she said were self-evident and I felt that I wasn't really learning anything new.
However, the part that I really was interested in is the studio set-up. While she did spend 2 chapters on this, I was left more confused and just wanting to either surf the web for the basics of a studio set-up or buy another book specifically for this. From the level of writing in the first part of her book (about the subjects--children), I was thinking she maybe is writing for beginners. But then she really did not explain the studio set-up as if she was writing for a beginner. For example, in Chapter 6, her first paragraph was "The simplest studio lighting setup involves only three lights: a main light, fill light, and a background light. The main light might be set at f/8.0. The background could be a full stop more than the main light, making it f/11.0. The fill light would either be f/4.0 or f/5.6, depending on how much fill you desire for your portrait." That got me totally confused. She was talking about f-stops for lighting! F-stops for lighting? But then she didn't explain what those were.
This part is probably what got me disappointed about the entire book. I was hoping to get a single book that would explain to me (1) how to do a studio set up from scratch and (2) explain all there is to know about the studio set-up. This book did not do this. Now, I will have to either scour the web for this information or buy another book specifically for this.
I feel bad for giving this book only two stars. Maybe it is just not the right book for me but maybe it is perfect for a lot of other people.
Author(s): Marilyn Sholin
Edition: 3rd
Publisher: Amherst Media, Inc.
Year: 2007
Language: English
Pages: 130
CONTENTS......Page 4
About the Author......Page 6
Introduction......Page 7
THE CHILD-FRIENDLY STUDIO......Page 10
Toys......Page 11
Overcoming Shyness......Page 13
Your Camera Room......Page 14
Conclusion......Page 16
WHO’S THE BOSS HERE?......Page 18
Newborn to Six Months......Page 19
Seven Months to Thirteen Months......Page 24
Fourteen Months to Eighteen Months......Page 26
Nineteen Months to Three Years......Page 28
Four Years to Six Years......Page 30
Older Sibling Syndrome......Page 32
A Word About Moms......Page 33
Conclusion......Page 34
Clothing Consultation......Page 35
What Works?......Page 37
Keep it Simple......Page 38
Clothing Evaluation......Page 41
Close-ups......Page 42
Final Viewing Appointment......Page 43
Conclusion......Page 44
Megapixels and Resolution......Page 45
CCD vs. CMOS Sensors......Page 47
Image File Formats......Page 50
JPEG......Page 51
Minimum Camera and Lens Requirements......Page 52
Strobes......Page 55
Built-in and On-Camera Flash......Page 58
Softboxes......Page 62
Reflectors......Page 63
Minimum Lighting Requirements......Page 64
Two-Light Setup......Page 67
Effective Background Lighting......Page 68
Loop Lighting......Page 69
Split Lighting......Page 70
Conclusion......Page 71
Game Plan for Style......Page 72
Variety......Page 75
Creativity......Page 77
Conclusion......Page 80
Just Add Water......Page 82
Cloned Backgrounds......Page 85
Auto-Painting......Page 86
Conclusion......Page 90
Black & White Conversion for a Subdued Effect......Page 91
Conclusion......Page 95
MARKETING THAT WORKS......Page 97
E-mail......Page 99
Websites......Page 100
The Game Plan......Page 102
Conclusion......Page 104
Digital Proofs......Page 105
Conclusion......Page 108
Basic Strategies......Page 109
Portrait Collections......Page 111
Purses and Jewelry......Page 112
Other Options......Page 114
Conclusion......Page 115
Mailings......Page 116
Phone Calls......Page 117
Conclusion......Page 119
Resources......Page 121
Index......Page 124
Other Books From Amherst Media......Page 126
