The first thing you notice about this book is the style. It was first published in 1997 and the photographs and even the layout look quite old fashioned compared to more recent books. Because it does not appear to have been updated since there is no mention of digital cameras and being American some of the equipment and terminology may not be familiar to UK readers, though it should be easy to work out alternatives. It spends a lot of time on double exposing film which could now be done by Photoshop. Having said all that the main question is “Will I learn about studio lighting by reading this book?”
The book consists of “recipes” from six professional photographers which the author claims are foolproof. The first part consists of a list of all the necessary equipment but not every item has an accompanying photograph.
Over half the book is taken up with portraiture. Part 2 is “Basic Portraiture”, for example – “Simple reflectors”,” Scrims and Sheets” “Snoots and Foils”. At first the photographs are accompanied by clear lighting diagrams and the author explains the principles of lighting and the reasons behind the choice of lighting which makes it easy to understand. However, once the lighting gets more complex, especially in Part 3 “Corporate and Industrial Shots”, where 6 or more lights may be being used the diagrams dry up almost completely and I felt the descriptions of the lighting were not clear enough on their own to replicate them.
Part 4 is “Production Shots”. This has useful sections on photographing glass, crystal and textiles. Most of these are accompanied by diagrams.
Part 5 is “Specialised Techniques”. This involves types of photography which you could do as a profession, for example architectural interiors, micro lighting, and pet photography.
As a whole, the writing style is very readable, there are hints on making your own equipment to save money and even tips for professional photographers on selling their photos and dealing with clients. If you’re after a book which explains everything about lighting this is not it. I think it is useful enough to buy because I have learned a lot from it, but there are better, more modern comprehensive studio lighting books on the market.
The Lighting Cookbook on Amazon – £11.84 at date of posting.
Review by: DMC08
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