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The Portrait Photography Course
£3.20
The Portrait Photography Course is an essential guide to the principles, practice and techniques of portrait photography. The ability to create an effective portrait is probably the single most important skill any aspiring photographer must master. Few professional photographers, whatever their area of specialisation, can hope to have a successful a career without ever being called upon to create a likeness of another person. Presented and written by a leading portrait photographer, and serving as a practical self-teaching course, this book offers a series of tutorials and assignments designed to build a beginner portrait photographer’s experience, and get started on a rewarding career. There are tutorials for every aspect of studio and location work in detail, from establishing mood and personality to lighting scheme diagrams, equipment options, and digital retouching. A must-have for all photography enthusiasts.
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Additional information
| Publisher | A&C Black Visual Arts (19 Sept. 2011) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 224 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1408145421 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1408145425 |
| Dimensions | 20.3 x 25.4 x 4.7 cm |
by I. Abraham
The title and one of the other reviews initially put me off buying this book because I expected it to be more theoretical than practical. However, a quick flick through the pages in a local bookshop convinced me to buy it from Amazon.
My book arrived today and I started reading it immediately. The book is divided into chapters referred to as ‘tutorials’ and contains interviews with, as well as portfolios of established photographers.
I have read many books on portrait photography and this is the most comprehensive book that I’ve come across so far. In addition to the usual stuff on equipment and lighting, it also covers posing, the use of props, the effect of shadows, and post production. There’s also a little bit on the history of portraiture, psychology and cliches. Granted this might not be of interest to everyone but I found it useful just to put things into context – horses for courses, I suppose.
I am an experienced photographer but even I can see scope for innovation, personal and professional development in this book!
by wannabe author
This was bought as a christmas present for my partner who has got into photography in a big way after suffering brain injuries after a work accident. I had originally bought it home from the library for him and decided to buy it after I couldn’t prise it away from him to take back. His face when he unwrapped it on christmas morning said it all. He’s told me it is one of the best books he has read on photography……and he’s read a lot!!! He’s always delving into it and has reccomended it to everyone on his photography course.
by Sam
I brought this book as I have recently wanted to become more confident when it comes to portrait photography. I did photography at college but found I struggled with portrait. This book is really good, it gives loads of useful information and also sections where you can try things out yourself with the help of the book. Really good buy.
by Mr. F. I. Dudaniec
Not bad but more academic than practical. I didn’t learn anything from this book and the portraits featured were mostly by students. Not sure where this fits in the market place – it’s not instructional enough for beginners and it doesn’t feature anything particularly of interest to an advanced photographer. It’s a nice book, well presented. I’m just not sure of it’s purpose.
by Albi
This is one of the most unfocused books I’ve ever read.
The book butterflies from topic to topic, covering each very superficially.
The author claims to targets university students, but I hope the usual quality of the study material is higher than this.
Perhaps good for someone who has never taken any photo of anyone ever.
by Amazon Customer
Did not like this book very university type book
by Gonzalo
I wanted to buy a book to set a soil for my future investment in a SLR camera. It is a great book because it helped me to pin point what is exactly what I want, what i need, how to get the most of it and what could be the possible future paths to take in photography. Even if you dont know whether you want to follow portraiture, this book is really helpful into giving you a smart scope of everything you need to know about professional photography. Again, on a basic level but challenging enough to encourage you to look for more.
Seriously, take your hobby further, and learn how can a basic (and cheap) knowledge can boost your vision.
by Londoner
The book is clearly aimed at students of photography as its final chapter is designed to assist students find their first job. It provides a list of museums worldwide, about 15 in all, but it is patently incomplete as it only includes those in English-speaking countries alone (including Singapore), but omits galleries which may be no less relevant. There are some very good photographic museums in Germany and some in France that I know of which are omitted and which are probably as good or better than some listed by the publishers. Other listed resources include books (very few for quite obvious reasons where a full list would require a book of its own), film, web-sites and blogs. Not included is a list of any colleges or universities offering courses on photography to assist those wishing to consider the subject for study or career. There is also a listing of about 50 of the more famous or respected photographers mentioned in the book with a mini-profile of each, but it does not mean that examples of their work is included – they are not!
The book is thoroughly illustrated and the majority of its images are the work of students from the course or courses that the writer conducts. He is also a professional photographer with works published in several magazines and may be presumed to be well-grounded in the subject.
The book is broken down into nine main chapters commencing with a discussion on the nature of a portrait, then moving to equipment, lighting, composition, computer basics, the studio, location work. Following, are the interviews and portfolios and finally that about going pro, both as mentioned previously. Most of the first seven chapters are further broken down into short, usually two-page, tutorial spreads on one simple task. One, not task-driven, is about choosing and using an exposure meter, something that almost every photographer would have owned and used at one time but most non-pros will depend upon the metering capabilities of their camera. Although the camera will do an adequate job in most respects, a separate meter has many distinct advantages but very few now own one. They aren’t inexpensive (some were very inexpensive in the past) and may be a considered purchase.
The book may better serve actively engaged students rather better than anyone simply interested in improving his portraiture techniques, but it does have something for everyone. Its style and content may not suit all, however.