  Not bad if this is your first portrait book
This is not a bad book for an amateur who's only getting interested in candid portrait photography and wants some tips and ideas in one place. While I consider myself an amateur as well, I've been interested in candid photography for a good 2 years now, so I've been reading tips and advice on a ton of different photography sites, and I feel like this book did not offer me much of what I haven't already read elsewhere or figured out on my own, by trial-and-error.
Plus, I already had a book on candid photography and was looking for something that would teach me a little more structure and posing, and I feel like this book failed at that. It did cover some posing tips, but "tips" are helpful for fine-tuning, not for learning something you're completely unfamiliar with. And I felt like these tips were not always well illustrated.
I've since looked through Mark Cleghorn's book Portrait Photography: Secrets of Posing & Lighting (A Lark Photography Book) and it seemed a lot more along the lines of what I was hoping for, although I did not *read* the book thoroughly to really recommend it. I do, however, wish I'd gotten this book instead of Erin Manning's.
My final but big complaint about this book is the quality of photos. The cover picture aside, they are AWFUL! I find that inexcusable in a photography book. They look like snapshots from a cheap compact camera, not like photos from a dSLR done by a pro. Some of them are so soft - they look out of focus. While it does not always hurt in the learning process, I do feel like part of the pleasure of learning about photography is viewing shots that take your breath away and make you want to accomplish something similar in the future. This book made me feel like I was already there (when I'm certainly not!). :-)
Authoritative instruction, great ideas for portait and candid photography indepth
Strengths: Nice layout. Reads like a well instruction oriented lessons. Good glossary and index. Good photos and screenshots. Good bold highlighting of the number of the chapters and the titles on the top left pages makes for easy access and shuffling through the pages you want to find or browse. Good basic information about software and editors.
Weaknesses: If your require more information about photographic software and editors Chapter 10 is a good start but you might want to use other books to sharpen those skills.
Novice/Intermediate/Advanced
Rating: 5/5
Shooting portraits and candid photography is an art in itself. It is not just luck and takes much preparation. But how do you learn how to make better photos for portraits and candid shots whether for commercial, your business or just of family? This book is a good place to start.
The author is Erin Manning, DIY Network host of The Whole Picture, who encourages photographers to take outstanding photos of people. This book represents the author's efforts to provide instruction in this area. She helps readers gain the skills and confidence to successfully use the digital camera as a tool to create and capture life's moments
The 10 chapters include in-depth instructions and information about cameras, accessories, working with light, composing your pictures. I particularly like how the author details the information by focusing more concerning the using of your camera and using to its best advantage. Of course the technology and the basics are introduced. But what is even nicer, the reader can better learn to develop their artistic eye, using techniques that will help prepare for actual photography. Action shots are also covered. The last chapter 10, also includes some information about enhancing and sharing your photos (even includes information about using Picasa (Google) and iPhoto (Apple), Windows software , Adobe's Photoshop Elements and more.
Working with lighting, location, angle, composition, physical characteristics, environment, and more , including the unique challenges of photographing babies, group activities, and action, are covered with insightful instructions. Every one of the ten chapter ends with an assignment that readers are encouraged to complete. Users can even upload their best image to [...] to
Conclusions
It is rare for a book to clearly show the photographer camera user how to study your subjects in their natural habitat. There are great ideas within this book which related to observing, reacting and interacting with your subjects and how make the photos come "alive". The techniques for improving photos of babies and children are very interesting and well done. Learning to capture facial expressions and learning how to tell a story with a series of candid photos is also included. There is a nice section concerning how to add interest to large-group shots.
If you are looking for a great instructional manual that focuses on techniques for portraits and candid shots, this is a great book. The fact that the instruction is teaching tips and information are performed in several ways other then reading the tests give you a better idea of how to take better photographs. I recommend this book highly.
For the serious hobbyist
I found this book (And the entire Photo workshop series) to be very helpful especially to beginning and intermediate level photography hobbyists.
It assumes no previous knowledge of photography, and explains such things as f-stop and how things interact to affect exposure without being overly technical.
Each chapter ends with a "Lesson" or exercise to emphasize the subject of that chapter. And being able to combine the book with the website (Free membership) to upload your lessons for group critique (Sometimes including from the author) is a good way to improve you photo skills.
Note that though this is part of a series of books, there is no sequence in reading them. For that reason, there is a degree of overlap in each book.
That said, you really need to be using a SLR type camera to be able to have the control of the camera that many of the exercises require. A point-and-shoot may not allow it.
But for the serious hobbyist, I would say this book (and series) is worth the money and time.
AMAZING!
This book is AMAZING. It's both easy and fun to read. The assignments at the end of each chapter are brilliant!
Great for anyone at any level
This is my favorite photography book by far. While I feel I have an eye for design and color, photography has always seemed intimidating to me. The author of this book, Erin Manning, writes as though she is a friend and mentor guiding you through the realm of digital photography. While digital photography may be old hat to many - especially the techno savvy - not everybody is adept (and from what I have experienced, most are not in every capacity). Erin leads us through the basics, then goes on to explain things even the most "camera competent", will find utterly engaging. Erin pulls you in and brings out the innate artist in all of us, no matter what level.....and for those of you that actually do understand the art of photography, Erin will only enlighten you more. This is an "easy read" as it is written as though a friend is speaking to you, acknowledging your expertise while giving you a boost where you need it. A great book that I will definitely pass along (and that I will constantly refer to in the future). Good job, Erin. Best of luck.
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