Rating: 
Summary: A Good Enough Book
Review: I would guess that every photographer has tried to take a picture of someone out-of-doors and has been disappointed with the result. Douglas Allen Box provides a good, serviceable manual that should improve the quality of the average photographer's portraits.The author's approach is to present a portrait and then explain the photographic considerations that went into it. Usually he provides an overhead diagram showing the relationship of camera, subject and light. With each picture a short description of lighting, photography and background is usually included. Some portraits have been selected because they presented special situations or techniques. For these, besides the trio mentioned, he offers a short discussion of the problem and how he solved it. For example a portrait featuring "head tilt" discussed what Box calls the C pose and the relationship of a tilted head to lighting. When you've finished this book you will know how to look for that soft, indirect lighting that usually makes for attractive portraits. That may not sound like much, but it is probably the most important single factor for a good portrait. You will also have encountered a number of tips that will make your portraits better looking that you might not encounter elsewhere. For example, I had never read that having people in a group portrait dress in similar clothing would create of feeling of unity. And yet putting both members of a couple in white shirts and khaki pants can achieve that goal. I have some nits to pick with the author. Box is a medium format guy and doesn't mention auto-exposure. Since most photographers are now using 35mm cameras with auto exposure, a little tailoring could have helped, but this shortcoming is not fatal. And he preserves a few photography myths, like the suggestion that a longer focal length lens creates a shorter depth of field. Optical science is clear that for the same image size on a negative, the only way to change the depth of field around a subject is by changing aperture. Reading this book and following the author's advice will not make you into a Karsh or Avedon. Not only did those photographers create their portraits in the studio with special lights, but they also had some of the most photogenic faces in the world to work with, as well as a degree of talent that was (and is) exceptional. This book is aimed at the majority of us who will take our cameras outdoors to photograph friends and family and who will be happy if the result is a picture that will lead others to say "Doesn't Jim (or Jane) look great in this picture.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Enough Book
Review: I would guess that every photographer has tried to take a picture of someone out-of-doors and has been disappointed with the result. Douglas Allen Box provides a good, serviceable manual that should improve the quality of the average photographer's portraits. The author's approach is to present a portrait and then explain the photographic considerations that went into it. Usually he provides an overhead diagram showing the relationship of camera, subject and light. With each picture a short description of lighting, photography and background is usually included. Some portraits have been selected because they presented special situations or techniques. For these, besides the trio mentioned, he offers a short discussion of the problem and how he solved it. For example a portrait featuring "head tilt" discussed what Box calls the C pose and the relationship of a tilted head to lighting. When you've finished this book you will know how to look for that soft, indirect lighting that usually makes for attractive portraits. That may not sound like much, but it is probably the most important single factor for a good portrait. You will also have encountered a number of tips that will make your portraits better looking that you might not encounter elsewhere. For example, I had never read that having people in a group portrait dress in similar clothing would create of feeling of unity. And yet putting both members of a couple in white shirts and khaki pants can achieve that goal. I have some nits to pick with the author. Box is a medium format guy and doesn't mention auto-exposure. Since most photographers are now using 35mm cameras with auto exposure, a little tailoring could have helped, but this shortcoming is not fatal. And he preserves a few photography myths, like the suggestion that a longer focal length lens creates a shorter depth of field. Optical science is clear that for the same image size on a negative, the only way to change the depth of field around a subject is by changing aperture. Reading this book and following the author's advice will not make you into a Karsh or Avedon. Not only did those photographers create their portraits in the studio with special lights, but they also had some of the most photogenic faces in the world to work with, as well as a degree of talent that was (and is) exceptional. This book is aimed at the majority of us who will take our cameras outdoors to photograph friends and family and who will be happy if the result is a picture that will lead others to say "Doesn't Jim (or Jane) look great in this picture.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: Portraits are almost certainly the most common type of amateur or professional photography, and natural light is the only type of light truly available to us all (unless, of course, you live in an asylum, in which case I mean no offense). Why, then, must a beginner's pictures look any worse than those of a seasoned pro? The answer: they don't have to! Natural light is the first kind of light. All forms of artificial portrait lighting is made to approximate the sun. But shooting good pictures in natural light does not mean that the natural light is any kind of sunlight. There is good and bad light, and there are ways to turn bad light into good light. This book teaches how. The examples are great. Some are cheesy, some tasteful. All are noticeably professional, and a reader will learn essentially how to get the same results. The book also touches on posing and backgrounds and technical details about exposure. All-in-all, the book is worth the money.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly Recommended!!
Review: This book is outstanding! It is very clear and covers everything one would like to know about outdoor, natural light photography. The information presented in this book is very well ogranized and thought out. The pictures (with setup diagrams and descriptions)really help you get an idea of what your own shots would look like under the same conditions. In addition, the author had a lot of diverse shots from which you can learn. I will definately be referring back to it in the future when needed. I highly recommend this book if you are looking to master outdoor, natural light photography!
Rating:
Summary: A Very Nice Book
Review: This book is very nice. It tells a good amount of important information about how to take great portaits. It is very clearly written with nice pictures. I learned a lot from the book. The instructions in the book are very easy to follow and interesting to read. I like it.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice book, but
Review: This is a very good book for a beginner photographer, however there are some things I would recommend to add and/or improve. Throughout all the book there are very interesting details describing the light sources, shading, and other aspects of natural light photography. However, author keeps repeating the same staff on every page... I.e. posing scheme, lens details, techniques, etc.... I wish to turn 100 or something pages and find something new on each page... Otherwise after you read couple of chapters you meet lots of repetitions... Same thing is told twice or more.
Rating:
Summary: Great book ... but, wish there was more!
Review: This is an excellent book on portrait photography for the amateur and beginning photographer, but not for the reasons most people may think. The author does not delve into the the basic of photography and presupposes some working knowledge of composition, technique, and camera operation; however, most beginning photographers and amateurs are de facto natural light photographers. What beginning photographer can afford a complete studio set up or assistant to set up and carry equipment for outdoor photography? So, instead of taking poor natural light photographers and praying for the day you can afford "real equipment", read this book and become a master at taking photographers in natural light that are truly amazing. This is an excellent resource and a wonderful book ... much more useful and practical than other books on portrait and glamour photography I have read. Why only 4 stars? This was such a great book I didn't want it to end and I would have liked a little more depth in the coverage of topics.
Rating:
Summary: Susan in Guam
Review: Very well written, lots of great examples and plenty of info on various conditions you would be faced with light-wise. A great boost of inspiration when your posing and locations tend to become stale.
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