Beginner's Guide to Photographic Lighting: Techniques for Success in the Studio or on Location

Rating:
Summary: Depends on your definition of "beginner"
Review: I bought this book hoping to get insights on getting into product photography. The author definitely knows his stuff, unfortunately, he doesn't describe some stuff in enough detail for someone getting started. I saw the word beginner and assumed it was a good book for someone who knew nothing on the subject. It isn't. He describes techniques very well; however, you need to know what grids, cookies, flags, etc are before you can really follow his techniques. He describes a lot of the equipment with words and not pictures. This book really is for someone who've actually already have some familiarity with equipment and the studio and just looking for techniques. I think this book would be great after reading a true beginner's book.

Rating:
Summary: The only book on lighting you will ever need!!
Review: I buy a lot of books on photoshop and photographyand this is one book you have to have. Concepts are explained well and bakced up with helpful diagrams. I have been looking for a book the last three year's on Lighting that I could understand and this did.
It even discussses special lighting effects used in high quality studio shots. Having this book will let you cross over from amateur to professional.
Thanks Mr. Marr for a great tome!

Rating:
Summary: The only book on lighting you will ever need!!
Review: I buy a lot of books on photoshop and photographyand this is one book you have to have. Concepts are explained well and bakced up with helpful diagrams. I have been looking for a book the last three year's on Lighting that I could understand and this did.
It even discussses special lighting effects used in high quality studio shots. Having this book will let you cross over from amateur to professional.
Thanks Mr. Marr for a great tome!

Rating:
Summary: Great choice!
Review: I consider myself a professional amateur photographer, but I really needed one good lighting handbook - I found it with this one! It begins at the beginning, but takes you far enough so you can venture out and be creative on your own.

Rating:
Summary: Much More Than Expected
Review: I have purchased many books from Amherst Media, the "photography publishers" and some I've liked, many I haven't. This book is a terrific overview (and then some!) of light in photography. It's well-organized, succinctly written and very informative. It suggests some very worthwhile exercises to try (if you have the right equipment and adequate space). It more than makes up for the other "less worthy" books coming from Amherst.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent introduction to studio lighting
Review: This is an excellent introduction to studio lighting, written by someone with years of experience in teaching the subject. Many of the lighting books I have read try to convince you that lighting is a mysterious art that is hard to master. Instead, Don demonstrates that the foundations of effective lighting are relatively straighforward and easy to learn. While applying those skills effectively may take years of experience, with Don you learn that the basic skills are not that mysterious.

I had the good fortune to take a lighting class with Don Marr at the Santa Fe Workshops. By the end of the 6 day course, we all went from rank amatueurs to being able to recreate many of the images we found in magazines and advertisements. Don was a patient and careful teachers, explaining the subjects in a way that both made sense and was easy to remember. Reading this books now (a year and a half after I took the class), I find that it mimics the style of his class very effectively -- reading it was like taking the class over again. Don Marr breaks the subject down into easily understood chunks, and clearly explains each. I now use this book a reference guide for lighting, turning to it whenever I need a refresher on my core techniques.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in starting out in studio lighting, and anyone who has some experience but could use a helping hand in the studio.