Outdoor and Location Portrait Photography

Rating:
Summary: A Guide to Profitable Photography?
Review: From the title this looks like just the book for someone who wants to shoot good portraits without setting up a studio. However, once you start reading you'll realize that this book is aimed at the professional portrait photographer who has to crank out pictures for a living, rather than for someone interested in capturing the soul of a person on film. It's not that there isn't a place for such a book but I think the publisher has an obligation to give us fair warning. Discovering more than half-way through a photography book that the main theme is "Art is Determined by the Eye of the Buyer" might leave a reader with a bad taste in his or her mouth.

The title might lead you to think that this book was a comprehensive approach to the subject, and that it would deal with lighting, posing, the relationship of foreground, subject and background, and the use of props, among other items critical to good portraiture. Well, the first half of the book does deal with lighting and from the author's presentation, with a little thought, one might be able to derive some comprehensive approach to using light. He certainly hammers home the theme that outdoor portrait photographers don't want direct lighting. Smith also advocates shooting early and late in the day and using reflectors for fill light. But then he lapses into broad generalities. He tells us make sure the background is right but never makes it really clear how one is to do that.

Unfortunately, he spends more of the book telling you that if you want to make money, you've got to work fast and be a step ahead of everyone into the next fad. Certainly chapters entitled "Maximizing Profit" and "Marketing Outdoor Photographs" have little to do with photography itself.

I'm certain there are many better books on portrait photography around. Although by no means comprehensive, the same publisher offers "Professional Secrets of Natural Light Portrait Photography" by Douglas Allen Box. The Box book covers many more aspects of the subject, offers a comprehensive approach to outdoor photography and, even though it includes the word "professional", does not dwell on portrait photography as a money-making enterprise.

Rating:
Summary: A Guide to Profitable Photography?
Review: From the title this looks like just the book for someone who wants to shoot good portraits without setting up a studio. However, once you start reading you'll realize that this book is aimed at the professional portrait photographer who has to crank out pictures for a living, rather than for someone interested in capturing the soul of a person on film. It's not that there isn't a place for such a book but I think the publisher has an obligation to give us fair warning. Discovering more than half-way through a photography book that the main theme is "Art is Determined by the Eye of the Buyer" might leave a reader with a bad taste in his or her mouth.

The title might lead you to think that this book was a comprehensive approach to the subject, and that it would deal with lighting, posing, the relationship of foreground, subject and background, and the use of props, among other items critical to good portraiture. Well, the first half of the book does deal with lighting and from the author's presentation, with a little thought, one might be able to derive some comprehensive approach to using light. He certainly hammers home the theme that outdoor portrait photographers don't want direct lighting. Smith also advocates shooting early and late in the day and using reflectors for fill light. But then he lapses into broad generalities. He tells us make sure the background is right but never makes it really clear how one is to do that.

Unfortunately, he spends more of the book telling you that if you want to make money, you've got to work fast and be a step ahead of everyone into the next fad. Certainly chapters entitled "Maximizing Profit" and "Marketing Outdoor Photographs" have little to do with photography itself.

I'm certain there are many better books on portrait photography around. Although by no means comprehensive, the same publisher offers "Professional Secrets of Natural Light Portrait Photography" by Douglas Allen Box. The Box book covers many more aspects of the subject, offers a comprehensive approach to outdoor photography and, even though it includes the word "professional", does not dwell on portrait photography as a money-making enterprise.

Rating:
Summary: This book is not for all
Review: I bought the book with lots of excitement to learn something new in portrait photography. Now, I have finished about half of this book and got bored because I didn't get much from it. In the following paragraphs, I will get into what I like and not so far. Someone may suggest finishing the book first before rate it. Well, half of book and learned not much is why I give it only 2 stars.

What I like (or not so dislike):
1/ Pictures to explain how the scene is set up before photo shoots.
2/ Somewhat the author is quite practical about time of the day to take pictures, equipments and so on rather than talking about ideal environments or theories that most of us cannot get or experience.

What I don't like:
1/ Author spends too much time criticizing other photographers, pro or not. I question his personalities and get tired of reading about it. It's irrelevant to what I want to learn. It would be much better if he uses the space writing more about the pitfalls themselves.
2/ Too much on business side. This book is about portrait photography, as it suggested, not about making money on portrait photography. I was looking for techniques, ideas, instructions, labs... and it's okay if the author may include here and there his own business world or personal life, but not every single page. Waste of my time...
3/ Too little on techniques, ideas... Again, as I said in previous paragraphs, he spends too much on writing about something else. I rather see more explaination of why and how each picture was taken.
4/ I think the author didn't go too far from his barn studio. What about on the beach, in the wood, in downtown, etc. where most of us like to take pictures.
5/ With #4, I am not happy that this book is all about for Pro. making money on Portrait photography and not suggest a word so. As an serious amateur, I don't get much. I guess it's only for a small group of readers who share the same background with the author; otherwise, it's not that helpful.

Finally, I suggest you understand yourself and what you're looking for before buying it. If it's for amateur learning, forget about it. Find another one. I hope nobody repeats my mistakes. But if you're on the way having a new studio, I think it's quite useful, maybe, in some way.

Good luck.

Rating:
Summary: Even better than first edition
Review: I read the first edition of this book and would have given it a 5, but the second edition is even better. Most of the images in this edition are in color (most of the first edition were in black and white), so you can see better what he is trying to teach you, and there are many new images. The text also is updated with a discussion of digital. It is a book for the working professional, or one who aspires to be, but it also has many helpful information for the amateur who just wants to take better portraits outdoors. The only quibble with this book is that Smith specializes in the senior (high school) portrait market and all the pictures are of teen agers, mostly young women. One would like to see a little more variety in the people photographed.

Rating:
Summary: Already outdated, impractical, hardly worth it
Review: The author lets you know right away how much he hates digital and loves film. So for those of us who shoot digital there is nothing in this book to help us exploit its powers and advantages over film. (Maybe it's because this book is copyright 2002 and digital "back then" wasn't nearly as good and as cost-effective as it is now.) He also brings a truckload of big equipment with him INCLUDING A GENERATOR to power it all, when he does an on-location shoot. For me, that would mean a truck and a crew and hours of set-up. Maybe if I can charge $1500 and spend all day doing one senior photo session, but otherwise a lot of his suggestions are impractical.
His photographs in the book are 100% female, teens-thru-30's. (I guess males and children don't have outdoor portraits taken.) What is worse, I really don't like much of the photos in the book! The lighting is so artificial and unnatural looking that I find it almost distracting in many of his images. Some almost look like they were shot against a green screen with the background dropped in later. (I know they weren't, but the lighting and the shadows don't match the background...so to me they're so contrived that they almost look fake.)
So many Amherst publications are packed with terrific images that I can't wait to try to imitate in my own work. I was so disappointed that I could find only 2 or 3 images in this entire book I'd even want to try to emulate.
The only saving grace is that these Amherst books are so inexpensive. For 20 bucks I found a few tips that I can use making it probably worth it. But great it ain't. Overall, I was very, very disappointed. Jeff needs to embrace digital, give up on film, get rid of that generator and make his outdoor workflow more practical and his images more natural looking. These are my recommendations for a 3rd edition.

Rating:
Summary: AN ESSENTIAL LEARNING TOOL FOR ALL PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHERS
Review: This book has given me the inspiration and the knowledge that I have been searching for. Jeff Smith's step by step introduction to Outdoor Portrait Photograpy has instilled me with great confidence in starting my own part-time business which will for sure lead to full time.

This book shows detailed beautiful photographs and explains with many visual illustrations how the shots were captured. Jeff Smith's artistic eye sets him apart from most of the other Portrait Photographers I have met over the last 15 years.So many important business tips are given by the author, that makes this book a must. The knowledge you gain way out weighs the small amount you need to invest to have this great Book.

Rating:
Summary: AN ESSENTIAL LEARNING TOOL FOR ALL PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHERS
Review: This book has given me the inspiration and the knowledge that I have been searching for. Jeff Smith's step by step introduction to Outdoor Portrait Photograpy has instilled me with great confidence in starting my own part-time business which will for sure lead to full time.

This book shows detailed beautiful photographs and explains with many visual illustrations how the shots were captured. Jeff Smith's artistic eye sets him apart from most of the other Portrait Photographers I have met over the last 15 years.So many important business tips are given by the author, that makes this book a must. The knowledge you gain way out weighs the small amount you need to invest to have this great Book.

Rating:
Summary: This book sucks unless you're a senior portrait professional
Review: This book sucks unless your a professional senior portrait photographer that likes cheesy barnyard senior portraits. I'm not kidding! If you're a serious amateur and want to learn the techniques of natural light portraiture follow the recommendations of others and buy "Professional Secrets of Natural Light Portrait Photography" by Douglas Allen Box like I did. You won't regret it.

Rating:
Summary: The Pro's Pro for Outdoor Portraiture
Review: This is really a good book for anyone who wants to elevate their outdoor protraiture to a professional level. Smith is certainly one of the best in the business, and isn't afraid to tell you how he does it.

If your a hobbyist, look more towards Douglas Allen Box's book. But if you really want to know how to take great looking portraits anytime during the day, here's your bible.

This guy is just flat good. He goes in depth into natural refelctors, and outdoor flash photography. He even talks about trick shots like "dragging the shutter", and how to make the background go dark in the middle of the day.

He's such a perfectionist that he says he really doesn't ever find any shot that he doesn't see room for improvement in the lighting, and then goes ahead and makes those improvements. He really smashes the idea that outdoor photography is about using existing light. He's always adding and removing. The pro's pro.