A Comprehensive Guide to Photographic Lighting: Learn the Art of Light Science and Magic

Mgeyser: Informative

United States on Dec 29, 2022

van: Good reading

United States on Aug 12, 2022

Wayland: I thought I knew a reasonable amount about the subject but this book has taught me a lot that I didn’t even know I didn’t know.

It breaks things down to the ground, builds solid foundations and then gives you the tools to construct your lighting with a deeper understanding.

Worth every penny.

United Kingdom on May 01, 2022

Edward A. Ingold: This book is a classic, a must-have for every photographer. It is both technical and practical, addressing situations we all face in lighting objects in the studio. There are many books on the "how," but few like this one which excels in the "why" and "when." It puts to rest the myth that crossed-polarizers are the universal answer to 3D lighting.

United States on Jul 04, 2021

A. J. Weatherburn: An excellent book which I highly recommend.
One opportunity for improvement is that even as a 2015 5th edition there are some points at which it is still more focussed on film technology than on digital, talking of reciprocity failure for example rather than the noise consequences of using high ISOs (p82). A further update to 2021 terminology would benefit the younger / non film reader.

United Kingdom on Jan 11, 2021

Santiago: Este libro es uno de los grandes clasicos o "grandes biblias" sobre iluminacion. Es un libro que explica los conceptos muy claramente y los ilustra con multitud de fotografias. Viene distribuido en capitulos, unos generales sobre la luz, y otros especificios sobre como fotografiar materiales concretos (metal, cristal, etc...) Este libro esta traducido al español, pero no la ultima edicion que es la que estoy revisando, que esta en ingles y tiene algunas paginas más y, tambien, algunas fotos más. Por eso escogí esta edicion. Con este libro no necesitas ningun otro sobre la materia. Si tuviera que puntuarlo dira que 10/10

Spain on Sep 17, 2020

Old Texan: You need this book, unless you are a super-pro photographer. I have 10 or 12 photography books, from beginner to more advanced technique., most recommended by a professional photographer, (makes his living 100 % from photography). They will all have a chapter on lighting. Light, Science and Magic gathers all the lighting information in one book, 382 pages of it.
There is lots of information on light placement, with diagrams and illustrative photos. The illustrations are of studio lighting, but work with multiple speedlights. There is a chapter on speed lights and how to set up your first studio.
It explains reflections and how to overcome them, the family of angles, how to photograph metals, glass with light field and dark field.
Ask 10 photographers what specular lighting is and you will get 12 different answers. Light, Science and Magic clarifies the meaning as well as how many photographers use it.
It covers portraits, still life, museum exhibit photography, documents, artistic and documentary photography.

United States on Jun 22, 2020

Dietmar C.: Das Buch "Light Science and Magic" kann ich jedem ambitionierten Fotografen empfehlen, denn:
1. Es enthält wesentliche Grundlagen zur Beleuchtung von Motiven. Diese erscheinen mir für viele Motive so essentiell, dass man um das Erlernen dieser Grundlagen nicht herum kommt.
2. Die Schilderungen sind sehr gut verständlich, die Erklärungen sind im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes klar und nachvollziehbar.
3. Die Beispielfotos zeigen das, was sie zeigen sollen, und zwar deutlich. Das ist bei vielen Fotobüchern nicht der Fall, bei denen im Druck die wesentliche Information verlorengegangen ist.
4. Man muss kein Profifotograf sein, um die Inhalte zu verstehen.
5. Sehr guter, umfangreicher Index.
6. Zumindest für mich angenehme Sprache, sehr sachlich, aber keinesfalls langweilig.

Germany on Jul 08, 2019

reviews again: I bought this book as soon as I read someone saying "if you like Scott Kelby's books this one is NOT for you ...". I cannot stand Kelby's literature, the man cannot take a half-decent photo once. He is a living proof how worthless yet complete knowledge of inner workings of Photoshop will take yiou absolutely nowhere in visualaspectof photography. Why am I saying this here? This book, as expected form description and most reviewers, is about how light works. Like everything else, if you care to have command of light youdo need to get involve in its physics. This is thorough albeit expectedly hard read at times, but stick with it, perhaps push yourself through when read seems a bit overwhelming, but you will be glad yiou did ... eventually. Nothing ever works as Kelbys describe things as every case if different. If yoiu believe in self-claimed "masters" (like Kelby) then surely continue on his path to never reaching your own potential. But if you care to distance yourself from the common myths Kelby describes on nearly page of his books, get this, get inside the subject, split time between shooting to your heart's desire and getting to know the few main yet relevgant principles....

United States on Nov 01, 2016

pjm: One of the best books on lighting that an aspiring beginner or enthusiast can read. It is aimed at those who are competent at using their camera without flash and are happy in manual mode. It takes you through the basics of lighting and into some more advanced topics such as the reflective properties of different materials, light polarisation and the like.

It does not get too bogged down in physics, angles etc., but an understanding of or least a passing acquaintance with the fundamentals is beneficial, and this book explains that as clearly as any.

It is probably more suited to those who wish to understand how to light static objects in situations such as product photography, rather than landscape or portrait photographers. However, many of the lessons learned in this book would apply to these other disciplines.

If you want to understand lighting, this is probably one of the best reference books on the subject.

United Kingdom on Apr 18, 2016