From flashlights and top-of-the-line studio electronic flashes to light stands and battery/inverter packs, this all-encompassing survey evaluates the vast array of lighting and equipment options available to professional photographers. Beginning with a basic history of the role of lighting equipment and the interplay between advances in capture and lighting technologies, the emphasis then shifts to advances made within the past five years that have enabled photographers to consider more low-powered and cost effective options than ever before. In addition to identifying the wide range of gear currently on the market—as well as those photographers may devise on their own—this reference examines the pros and cons of the various technologies and provides suggestions for their most practical use. Photographs of the equipment surveyed as well as real-life images created with the different pieces of equipment are interspersed throughout the text. Other helpful hints include tips for maximizing versatility, investment in each piece of equipment, and a “Top-Ten Must-Have List.”
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With this guidebook, photographers learn how to create stunning, professional images while avoiding the common pitfalls of using an on-camera flash. Techniques for using simple accessories—such as bounce cards and diffusers as well as how to improve a lighting scenario by enhancing it rather than overwhelming it—show photographers how to master this challenging aspect of portraiture. For wedding and environmental portrait photographers who must work in ever-changing lighting scenarios, executing these tips to evade flat, lifeless images with harsh shadows, washed-out skin tones, cavernous black backgrounds, and other unappealing visual characteristics results in not only better images, but happier clients and more sales.
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Use Light to Photograph Nude Female Models This guide shows you how to use light to photograph nude female models and create various moods and effects. From the plainspoken to the artistic, each lighting configuration is diagramed in painstaking detail. Learn the art and skill of using light and controlling shadows from the author of True Confessions of Nude Photography. For those who loved the lighting section in the first book and want even more, this follow-up book concentrates purely on Nicholas' nude lighting style with updated images, text and diagrams.
More than just studio lighting. From indoor to outdoor, studio to location, you'll learn what can be achieved and how to make it work for you. From just one light in a small room, to elaborate creative setups, everything is described.
Shoot Great Nude Photos Photos you can actually create yourself. If you think that great photos require expensive lights, an enormous studio, and a team of assistants, this book will debunk that misconception. You may be surprised at how many ways you can shoot great nude photos you'll be proud of without breaking the bank. And there's plenty more you can accomplish if you do want to invest a few well placed dollars on some moderately priced equipment. This book doesn't promise that learning is easy or quick - your results will be based on your level of effort, but it is easier and quicker with a guide.
18 Lighting Setups with Diagrams There are sections on Equipment, Lighting Exercises, Lighting problems, Outdoor lighting, Studio Lighting. The lighting setups include the use of softboxes, umbrellas, snoots, gels, booms, diffusers, parabolic reflectors, water nudes, and a beauty dish. Techniques include isolation, backlighting, accent lighting, and fill light. Lights Camera Nude! includes an 18 lighting setups and over 80 example photos as well as a link to online bonus material exclusively for readers.
18 models, 80+ example photos, 100 pages, approximately 14,000 words of text.
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Detailed coverage of the three high-end speedlights built exclusively for new Nikon SLRs
Nikon speedlights put creative control of flash at the photographer's command, and with Nikon's Creative Lighting System, flash control is practically intuitive and possibilities are seemingly endless. However, setting up, synchronizing the equipment, and determining lighting ratios can be a daunting task. This new edition of a bestseller puts your mind at ease in a flash.
Award-winning photographer Benjamin Edwards begins with the basics and demystifies the complexities of using multiple speedlights, adjusting flash outputs, and setting up a wireless studio in an understandable, approachable way.
Teaches you how to fill in shadows, reveal detail, and add a sense of motion or visual effects to your images, all with automatic ease and total wireless control
Includes coverage of other Creative Lighting System components such as Nikon's wireless commander and macro speedlights
Explores the basic functions of the SB-910, continues with the SB-700 and the similar, but less expensive, SB-600
Boasts unique, detailed advice on lighting specific subjects: weddings, pets, product shots, corporate locations, portraits, large groups, sports, and much more
While the Nikon Creative Lighting System speedlights are like having a low cost, wireless, studio lighting system that's portable enough to fit in a camera bag, this invaluable guide does fit in your camera bag and goes where you go to help you take control of this amazing lighting system.
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How to make digital photography lighting more creative—and less challenging!
How do you master the art of lighting your photographs? Go beyond the basics, go beyond the "rules," and get creative with the help of renowned photographer Harold Davis. In this book, Harold shows you how to break the boundaries of conventional wisdom and create unique, lively, and beautifully lit photographs. Packed with tips and tricks as well as stunning examples of the author’s creativity, this book will both inform and inspire you to create your own lighting style.
Teaches you when and how to control the light in your photographs
Reviews the basic “rules” of digital photography lighting and shows you how to break the rules to create your own uniquely lit images
Helps you start building a lighting style of your own
Includes stunning examples of the author’s photography and lighting techniques
Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned digital photographer, you'll find ideas and techniques to spark your creativity.
Amazon.com Exlusive: Introduction Letter from the Author
Dear Amazon Readers,
Light is crucial to photography, and without lighting you cannot have a photo. But books about light and lighting come in a number of varieties. So if you are considering my book, I wanted to let you know why I wrote Creative Lighting: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques, where I am coming from in this book, and what you’ll find in it.
If there is one skill a photographer needs, it is the ability to see and understand light. Learning about the directionality, intensity, quality, and color of light is partly intuitive--but can largely be taught. Creative use of lighting makes or breaks a photo, whether the photo is shot outdoors or in the studio. Furthermore, you can’t even begin to understand how to create effective lighting until you learn to “read” light itself. Becoming familiar with light and lighting in all its infinite varieties is the first step along the way to mastering the craft of photography.
Creative Lighting covers both natural light and studio lighting. However, it is not a cookbook covering studio lighting setups; nor is it a book that emphasizes the pixels over the overall visual impact that a photograph can make. Each of the photos in this book can be used as idea generation for your own work--how you can use existing light, alter light, or create lighting to make spectacular photos of your own. I’ve included the story behind each photo in the book, as well as full technical data about the captures. The emphasis of my book is the creative use of lighting. Like other books in my Creative series, Creative Lighting is intended to be useful as an idea book.
Creative Lighting is conceptually divided into five parts. As you’ll see, there is a great deal of material, and it covers a lot of ground. The parts of Creative Lighting are:
Part I: Seeing the Light--Covers understanding and observing light and its characteristics (and applies to both studio and natural light); learning the material in this section is a first step towards becoming a master of light.
Part II: Exposure & Lighting--Details the responses to lighting in terms of camera settings because light and lighting is only one part of the exposure equation, the other side of the equation is how you set your camera to respond to the way the subject is lit.
Part III: Working with Ambient Light--Explains how to work with existing light, meaning sunlight and also mixed lighting environments, and also provides some tips for improving the quality of ambient and existing light.
Part IV: Lighting in the Studio--Shows you how to make creative use of continuous lights in still life compositions, and how to create stunning portraits using strobes in the studio.
Part V: Lighting in the Digital Darkroom—With digital photography, taking the photo is just the first part of the workflow. In this section, you’ll learn to use RAW processing and Photoshop to improve the creative impact of lighting in post-processing, and even change the entire lighting effect in a photo.
I hope you enjoy Creative Lighting. May the light be with you, and best wishes in photography!
Harold Davis
From the Author: Lighting Case Studies
Case Study: Light Through Clouds
Case Study: Bud in Vase
Case Study: Blossom
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Creative Lighting: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques Reviews
This review is from: Creative Lighting: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques (Paperback)
Creative Lighting, Digital Photography Tips & Techniques, By Harold Davis
Regardless of your photographic genre, this book contains valuable ideas to help use and utilze light creatively. The author breaks down many different lighting situations a photographer may encounter. Each section stands on its own, so one does not have to read the entire book to benefit from it. That also makes it very easy to use this book for later reference and review. A quick view of the table of contents demonstrates the full depth of the book. Major sections include "Seeing the light", Exposure and Lighting", "Working with Ambient Light", "Lighting in the Studio", and "Lighting in the Digital Darkroom". Each section is further subdivided into many topics, all providing a well-written, easy-to-read discussion of each topic.
Have you ever looked at an image and wondered how did the photographer capture it? If so, then you'll enjoy this book and keep it close in your... Read more
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This review is from: Creative Lighting: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques (Paperback)
Harold Davis has written a great "Creative..." series of books (Black & White; Night; Close-Ups; Artistry; Composition; Landscapes). I started reading "Creative Lighting" after a perfect segue in completing his "Creative Portraits: Digital Tips & Techniques." This library of books are a must have from beginning photographers looking to stretch their skills to experienced photographers looking to enhance their expertise.
"Creative Lighting" is not just about flash, softboxes and the like. It is about understanding light in all its permeations, the complete spectrum from natural available light to sophisticated illumination set-ups. For a photographer, it is critical that you understand the quality of light. Photography's prime ingredient is light. Quality of light is influence by brightness, temperature, distance, angle, time, duration, reflection, reflective surface behavior and size of the light source. This is a smart, practical text presented in a very... Read more
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This review is from: Creative Lighting: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques (Paperback)
Harold Davis is a well-known, award winning photographer based out of California, but with a suite and portfolio of pictures from around the world. He has a written a number of books on photography, most notably the "Creative" series.
Creative Lighting: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques is the latest of the latter series of books. Creative Lighting's mission and goals are to allow photographers to take better pictures by taking advantage of, and in some cases, manipulating the light available for photographs. While a small section at the end explores how to use Photoshop to work with High Dynamic Range photography and other effects, Davis keeps the bulk of the book grounded for dealing with and creating situations in the field and in the studio.
Within each of the major sections of the book, Davis has a wide assortment of topics, usually only a couple of pages long, with one or more photographs to illustrate the technique or subtopic. The photographs are a... Read more
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Learn to achieve the best possible images with minimal lighting equipment
Author Bob Davis is a photographer whose high-profile clients include Oprah Winfrey and Eva Longoria, and whose work has appeared in Time, OMagazine, and People. Along with his invaluable professional advice, this beautiful full-color book includes a DVD featuring portions of his workshop curriculum. He covers the elements of lighting and shares his two-strobe technique that will enable you to create studio-quality lighting anywhere with only minimal equipment.
High-profile photographer Bob Davis is especially known for his lighting techniques; this book shares his advice on lighting for professional photographers and serious amateurs
Covers all the key elements of photographic lighting, with informative illustrations and lighting grids
Details the author's pioneering two-strobe technique that reduces the amount of equipment a photographer must carry to a shoot and dramatically lowers equipment costs
Features professional tips and stunning full-color images
60-Minute DVD includes video from the author's three-day lighting and photography workshop
Lights, Camera, Capture: Creative Lighting Techniques for Digital Photographersoffers your professional advice worth many times the cost of the book.
Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.
Amazon.com Review
Learn to achieve the best possible images with minimal lighting equipment
Author Bob Davis is a photographer whose high-profile clients include Oprah Winfrey and Eva Longoria, and whose work has appeared in Time, OMagazine, and People. Along with his invaluable professional advice, this beautiful full-color book includes a DVD featuring portions of his workshop curriculum. He covers the elements of lighting and shares his two-strobe technique that will enable you to create studio-quality lighting anywhere with only minimal equipment.
High-profile photographer Bob Davis is especially known for his lighting techniques; this book shares his advice on lighting for professional photographers and serious amateurs
Covers all the key elements of photographic lighting, with informative illustrations and lighting grids
Details the author's pioneering two-strobe technique that reduces the amount of equipment a photographer must carry to a shoot and dramatically lowers equipment costs
Features professional tips and stunning full-color images
60-Minute DVD includes video from the author's three-day lighting and photography workshop
Lights, Camera, Capture: Creative Lighting Techniques for Digital Photographersoffers your professional advice worth many times the cost of the book.
Top 10 Lighting Tips Amazon-exlcusive content from author Bob Davis
1. Become a seeker of light. My lighting improved leaps and bounds once I began to notice and study light and how it creates mood, shapes, and defines textures. It’s all about light. I take mental notes when light catches my eye. I love the way the sunlight reflects off my stone counter tops and creates beautiful patterns on the kitchen cabinets. I then think of how can I emulate that.
2. Take visual notes using your cell phone camera. I love using my iPhone for this. Most people have a camera on their cell phone; it’s great for capturing those wonderful moments when the light catches your eye. Later, practice recreating that light with any type of light source, flashlight, shop light, strobe or video light.
3. Practice, practice, practice… I use a teddy bear and a flashlight to see how the light and shadows change as I move the light around the teddy bear. Then, I try to create that same look using an off-camera flash.
4. If you find using an off-camera flash a challenge because you can’t see the light, try using a flashlight as a modeling light. Point the flashlight in the same direction as your flash head. For a long time, I used a Mag light rubber banded to my Speedlight until I became comfortable using my flash.
5. Use a diffuser over your flash and, if at all possible, bounce your flash. Even the pop-up flash on a point-and-shoot can be diffused using facial tissue. If your flash has an adjustable head, try bouncing it off the ceiling by pointing the flash head upwards, or even to the side if there is a wall near by. Review your results, and make a mental note.
6. Whenever possible, get your flash off-camera. You can create depth and dimension by getting one flash with a bounce diffuser about 45 degrees to the left or right of your camera. This creates a nice modeling light to shape your subjects, and looks more natural than direct on-camera flash.
7. Read you camera and flash manual. I know they read like bad stereo instructions written for engineers, but if you read one page, and then practice what you’ve just read with your camera and flash, soon you will master all of the functions of your flash.
8. Use fresh batteries; even better, use rechargeable high capacity batteries. This alone will greatly improve your overall flash consistency.
9. Use flash outside on a bright sunny day to fill in the shadows under the eyes, hence the term “fill flash”. Photograph people in open shade to avoid them having to squint, and remember to turn on your flash to fill in their face with light. Almost all point-and-shoot cameras allow you to use your flash outside. Give it a try, and see how it puts that sparkle in their eyes.
10. You don’t always need a flash, I love lighting people using a reflector. There are many types of collapsible reflectors. You can use anything as a reflector. I once created a reflector in a pinch by using a paper plate and covered it with aluminum foil. It works! Remember it’s all about the light. Have fun, there is no wrong way to light; there are no rules written in stone. Create the light you want!
Tips for Using Strobe Lights
Strobes give you an incredible sense of flexibility in your approach to light, largely due to the many different ways you can manipulate and adjust their output.
Your flexibility increases significantly if you are able to move the flash away from the camera's hotshoe, because you can position it exactly where you would like it. Add more flashes to the mix, and you’re straying into more creative territory… This is your cue to take control of your lighting! Create the light you want anywhere.
I envisioned a romantic taxi cab ride, but I wanted to capture that feeling of motion, twilight and love. I like to think outside the box, literally! For this picture of the newly engaged couple, I mounted a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, in aperture priority mode, with a 16 – 35mm wide angle zoom lens at 18mm, 1/8th sec with f/4.0 at ISO 160. Here’s where it gets fun, so hold on and lets go for a ride. I mounted the camera on the outside trunk deck of the taxi using a Delkin Fat Gecko suction cup mount, and triggered the camera using a Pocket Wizard remote control. I used a Canon ST-E2 Speedlite Transmitter and Radiopopper transmitter and receiver to fire the remote Canon 580EX II Speedlite, in ETTL II mode, inside the cab. The Speedlite was diffused using a Lightsphere light modifier, creating the light I wanted. I choose aperture priority because of the changing available light as we drove through the streets of Chicago. I knew the camera would choose a slow shutter speed because of the low ISO, giving that sense of motion I had in my mind’s eye.
I’m always trying to tell a story through my pictures. I did the formal, “safe” pictures of the bride and groom first, and then I asked if they were up for something a little more creative. I got the green light, so I quickly changed from soft light-modifiers, such umbrellas or Lightsphere, to hard light. Using creative hard light, you can create a dramatic mood. I was feeling a little Casablanca; you know the old, classic black-and-white film with Humphrey Bogart? I had only a few minutes to create the look. I placed the groom in the background, and put spot light on him with one Canon 580EX II in ETTL II mode in group A. I modified the light using a HonlPhoto Snoot to vignette the light: focusing it on him, not the background. Next, I gave the bride the yellow flower, and asked her to give me a little attitude. I had her look into the second Canon 580EX II in ETTL II mode in group B, modified with a small beauty dish. The beauty dish creates a softer light than a snoot. I used a Canon EOS 1D Mark IV in manual mode, with a 70 – 200mm IS II lens at 70mm, 1/250th sec with f/2.8 at ISO 200. The Speedlites were triggered using a Canon ST-E2 Speedlite Transmitter and Radiopopper transmitter and receivers. I choose the long lens to compress the space, and an aperture of f/2.8 focusing on the bride’s face for a shallow depth-of-field blurring the groom. I loved the image and so did the bride and groom.
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Lights, Camera, Capture: Creative Lighting Techniques for Digital Photographers Reviews
This review is from: Lights, Camera, Capture: Creative Lighting Techniques for Digital Photographers (Paperback)
I'm a professional wedding photographer and have been for 5+ years. One area that I continue to try to improve in my craft is lighting. For the longest time I considered myself a available light shooter - and I still do, when I can. But what I learned from Bob is that you can achieve the look of available light with a flash, if only you know how to do it!
This book is very easy to read. He provides great explanations on how to get the results he got in the sample images he puts in the book. He doesn't use a ton of geeky lingo, with complex mathematical equations to get his point across. He tells you what you can do, shows you sample images, and diagrams as to where the camera, subject and lights were when he took the shot. Though there is TONS to learn in this book (for those looking for a different look at lighting), he doesn't bore you like a textbook.
I really enjoyed reading and learning from Bob in this book and would strongly recommend it to anyone who is... Read more
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This review is from: Lights, Camera, Capture: Creative Lighting Techniques for Digital Photographers (Paperback)
When reviewing a technical book, one always has to keep the skill levels of the reader in mind. This was particularly important in reviewing "Lights; Camera; Capture: Creative Lighting Techniques for Digital Photographers" because this book is aimed at the novice photographer with little or no knowledge of the use of flash in photography.
After an introductory chapter telling the reader that to be a good photographer, one must be particularly attentive to light, the author explains the quality of light and the basics of exposure. He next discusses basic lighting equipment including flashes and light modifiers. Next Davis explains the basic camera modes like aperture priority and shutter priority and flash modes like through-the-lens and manual flash. After these foundation explanations he discusses how to control the light and finally how to apply it. Each of the illustrative images is supported by a lighting diagram.
All of these explanations are of the most... Read more
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This review is from: Lights, Camera, Capture: Creative Lighting Techniques for Digital Photographers (Paperback)
I like Bob Davis' work so I was looking forward to this book for some creative insight to lighting. The one positive thing I can say about this book as that I liked many of the images. I saw that some other reviewer did not like his images but I disagree. For me, a photography book should contain a variety of beautiful images that will inspire me, as well as educate. This book at least had some nice images, though there were some I did not like. I guess that is my prerogative. I did like the lighting diagrams that accompany each photo.
The biggest negative thing I have to say was the mistakes. This book was clearly written for a beginner and these mistakes would confuse the heck out of any beginner, and are therefore inexcusable. In one case he talks about moving to a larger F-stop when he should have said smaller. And I know Bob knows the difference so that was just an editorial mistake. There were also a couple cases of lighting diagrams attached to the wrong images and... Read more
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