Can you recommend a good studio lighting book?

The one that I always here of is "light it, shoot it, retouch it" by Scott Kelby.
 
stupar said:
The one that I always here of is "light it, shoot it, retouch it" by Scott Kelby.
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I bought it in the advice in here a year or so ago. To be honest I think its quite limited. It basically takes 10-12 different Kelby shots and gives you the lighting diagrams, equipment list and a little narrative on how they were shot. It spends more time on the retouching to be honest and the shots are mainly all fashion and or editorial kind of shots. It certainly wont give any kind if grounding in studio lighting but would work as a reference guide if you liked some of the images in there and wanted to look to create something similar. Its a very visual book with not a great deal of text. I picked it up, read it in about an hour or two but very rarely picked it up since to be honest.
 
Light: Science & Magic. It's basically a book on lighting physics in non-physicists language, and is brilliant.
 
Garry Edwards said:
Light: Science & Magic. It's basically a book on lighting physics in non-physicists language, and is brilliant.
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If you read this book and understand it (and I agree it is written to help you understand it) you will have the knowledge to understand many other books because one thing I have found is that no other lighting book is written by somebody that really understands light, what they usually understand is what they have done.

Mike
 
Garry Edwards said:
Light: Science & Magic. It's basically a book on lighting physics in non-physicists language, and is brilliant.
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Whenever I've asked Garry a question about lighting (or firearms for that matter), I am amazed at the detail of his answers! On that basis, I've just ordered the book. If it needs translation, I'll be picking Garry's brain!

Cheers.

Dav
 
FlyTVR said:
Whenever I've asked Garry a question about lighting (or firearms for that matter), I am amazed at the detail of his answers! On that basis, I've just ordered the book. If it needs translation, I'll be picking Garry's brain!

Cheers.

Dav
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What this man said.......Amazon calling!!
 
Jan K. said:
If you go to the Amazon page, there's a "look inside" option: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Light-Science-Magic-Introduction-Photographic/dp/0240812255 Another vote for that one!
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Another +1. I usually download the free chapter via kindle store before taking the plunge.

There's three lighting books I have found the most use :

Light science magic
The Speedlighters hand book
Hot shoe diaries

All 3 contributed a lot to my learning in very different ways but LSM gives you the fundamentals that other books build upon. I was kind of hoping that this thread may have thrown up another gem. I'm considering the K Grey suggestion next.
 
the_local_jacko said:
Another +1. I usually download the free chapter via kindle store before taking the plunge.

There's three lighting books I have found the most use :

Light science magic
The Speedlighters hand book
Hot shoe diaries

All 3 contributed a lot to my learning in very different ways but LSM gives you the fundamentals that other books build upon. I was kind of hoping that this thread may have thrown up another gem. I'm considering the K Grey suggestion next.
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I already have The speedlighters hand book and found it a great book!

Would you say Hot Shoe Diaries would be a good choice to go alongside it then?
 
ajax_andy said:
I already have The speedlighters hand book and found it a great book!

Would you say Hot Shoe Diaries would be a good choice to go alongside it then?
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Its less of a lighting guide and more a collection of experiences shared by Joe McNally. He basically talks generally about his approach to speed lighting, equipment etc then looks through a selection of his shots (mainly documentary and editorial shots) and talks you through the approach and thought process behind them. Its an interesting read. Not really a guide or tutorial as such however and as the title suggests its a more diary of events. I'd say LSM sounds more suited to what your looking for but HSD is certainly worth a read at some point.
 
Hot Shoe Diaries is a good read but not necessarily a guide or how to (something that he states very clearly in the first chapter :lol: ) it is what it says, a diary of some of his shoots. That doesn't mean it's not a captivating read as i had a very hard time putting it down :lol: i learnt alot more from the Speedliters handbook it has to be said.

Looks like i'll be picking up afew more books after reading this thread :lol:
 
ajax_andy said:
Ahh ok I'll probs give HSD a miss for now then... basically I'm going to be teaching photography 2 days a week and suddenly thought "I don't know much about studio lighting!!!" so need something that's going to talk me through basic set ups and the like.
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LSM is the closest thing I've seen to a text book for lighting so sounds ideal for you.
 
That will do me:thumbs:, I think it's time I got this book and see if what I have learned the hard way, makes any more sense or was all wrong.
 
You should work on commission Garry....just got mine to the iPad. Wish I'd had this sooner!


S
 
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