Learning to Light: Easy and Affordable Techniques for the Photographer

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely great for the advanced amateur
Review: As an advanced amateur, I find this to be one of the very best books in my collection. It has given me clear answers to more questions that formally puzzled me, and introduced me to more new techniques, than any other book. I own several other standard books on lighting and feel strongly that this title is tops in the category, and can't resist alerting others to it.

The authors discuss all sorts of lighting equipment, but also cover light meters, back-drops, reflective surfaces, and household lighting sources such as desk lamps. A final section covers a wonderful variety of projects from low-key portraits to photographing windows.

The many photographs are perfectly chosen and are subordinated to illustrating the points discussed, rather than being just a show-case for fabulous pictures, as they are in the average photography book. A clear diagram accompanies the description of each lighting approach.

The one negative Amazon.com review mentions the problem of buying equipment "slowly"... as I develop a basic set of lighting equipment, slowly, I will be glad to have this resource to guide me.

Rating:
Summary: Not the best in its class
Review: I bought the book because I thought the "Easy and Affordable Techniques" would be clever and insightful, which they were not. The author's ultimate advice is to buy the standard lighting equipment, but slowly. While he does explain how/why the standard studio lighting equipment works, so does virtually every lighting book. I prefer the Pro Lighting Series for better photos, better diagrams, and better writing.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty basic...pretty scanty
Review: I'd give this 2 1/2 stars. It has a lot of very basic information in it, maybe what I'd call the FUNDAMENTALS of lighting which can be helpful. But it's pretty parsimonious in the information it provides. Since most buyers will probably be amateurs, I think the authors have short-changed the reader in areas like the meaning & effects of color temperatures or the various types of tungsten lighting & associated code keys. I don't think that's asking too much more for a book of this price (& title). The final impression I get from this book is that the authors are saving the good stuff for the next... book.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic book that covers EVERYTHING
Review: this book has sections on everything you can imagine-- I won't get into them all here, but I will say it has an excellent, excelent first section on just equipment: what the different types of lights are, how they're used, sample photos that show the unique characteristics of that light, etc. it also goes into scrims, gobos, snoots, light meters, and allllll that other weird stuff you will need to know about as you get better at lightign. tons of sample photos make this a great reference AND learning guide.

Rating:
Summary: Reader friendly, inspiring, and informative.
Review: This book helped to improve my understanding of lighting and is particularly useful to those on a restricted budget. It covers a wide range of styles and subjects both clearly and concisely. The writing manages to avoid the dryness and sterility I've so often encountered elsewhere, and I can personally vouch for the fact that suprisingly good results can be obtained by working with the simple diagrams and recommendations. There are also many handy hints, from buying gear to setting up a studio. This book encourages the reader to improvise and experiment whilst informing and educating, and I wish I had discovered it sooner!