Studio Photography and Lighting E-Book

Christian Hough

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

This book gives clear, practical advice on how to get creative with and achieve the best from your studio lighting. It explains and demonstrates basic and advanced techniques so you can fully understand how to light a subject and compose a great photograph. Explains lighting and camera techniques and the ideas behind them. Utilizes specific examples and diagrams to illustrate everything from portraits and art-nudes to still life photography. Provides valuable advice on all studio-related equipment and introduces the basics of RAW processing. A clear practical guide to learning about studio photography and working creatively with light to shoot great photographs. Aimed at all photographers - professional and amateur covering the full range - portrait, product advertising, glamour and fashion. Covers lighting and camera techniques and gives advice on all studio-related equipment. Superbly illustrated with 196 colour photographs. Christian Hough is a professional photographer experienced in polished commercial and fine-art nude photographs.

Leseprobe

Studio Photography and Lighting

Studio Photography and Lighting

Art and Techniques

Christian Hough

CROWOOD

First published in 2013 by

The Crowood Press Ltd

Ramsbury, Marlborough

Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

The e-book first published in 2013

© Christian Hough 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 84797 563 8

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank all of the models and creatives involved in making this book possible, and I am grateful to my fans and followers for their continued support, ideas and feedback.

In addition, I would particularly like to thank the following people and organizations for their on going assistance, support or contributions towards this book:

David Hollingsworth and Robert Cook at Bowens International Ltd: www.bowens.co.uk. Charles Woods at Cambo UK: www.cambo.co.uk.

Mark Witney and Paul Waterworth at Hasselblad UK: www.hasselblad.co.uk.

Hardy Haase at Flaghead Photographic Ltd: www.flaghead.co.uk.

Steven Davies and Joe Asai at Sony UK: www.sony.co.uk.

Beth Botterill at Lastolite UK: www.lastolite.com.

Jane Nicholson at Intro2020: www.intro2020.co.uk.

Paul Pell-Johnson at Linhof Studio: www.linhofstudio.com.

Siobhan Daly at Arri GB Limited: www.arri.de.

Jonathan Beer: www.jonathanbeer.co.uk.

CONTENTS

Preface

1 Equipment Advice

2 Basic Skills

3 Expanding Your Skills

4 Artistic Nude

5 Still Life Photography

6 Basic RAW Processing

Glossary

Index

Preface

If you want to get into studio photography and learn how to take great studio photographs this book will help you. The book is designed to assist those just starting out as well as established photographers who wish to develop their lighting skills and photographic repertoire. Within these pages, you will find the relevant technical and practical information needed to get you started and further develop your understanding of studio photography.

There are many different genres of photography, yet they all have one thing in common, which is to capture light. Understanding how to make the most of light is a prerequisite for any photographer at any level in the business, the studio being no exception. As you would expect, there are some advantages to working within the studio, in that you are working within a contained environment and have full control over the light. However, without the props and the natural background environment found on location, the studio can at times seem quite sterile, and you will inevitably need to work harder and more creatively to make the most of the shoot. This is why your understanding and application of studio lighting and photography is important.

If there is one thing that I have learned from my experience of tuition, demonstrations and writing magazine features it is that photographers want clear practical advice. Having spoken to photographers at all levels, I am convinced that the majority are hungry for a combination of fresh lighting ideas, the concepts behind those ideas and a greater understanding of studio terminology. Many have searched the internet and books at length without being able to find all of the necessary information in a single cohesive format, which is why I decided to write this book. No remonstrations or internet forum arguing over the smallest points; just clear and open advice that combines the lighting and photographic techniques delivered in many of my demonstrations. Rest assured, this is a pixel-peeper free zone!

The advice is intended to help you understand how to get the best from your equipment and studio lighting, regardless of brand. Specific lighting examples have been set out in such a way as to enable you to understand how to light a subject, showing why it has been lit in a particular way and what type of equipment has been used. The techniques will also touch on common lighting mishaps and ways in which you can overcome them. You should find that they gradually increase in complexity as you progress your way through the book, yet remain sufficiently varied to enable you to steadily develop different ideas and apply the new skills you have mastered. Although the primary focus is on lighting techniques, other aspects of studio photography - such as equipment right through to the basics of RAW processing - are also covered. Understanding these areas helps raise both awareness and expectations.

Everybody enjoys a good photograph, and I truly believe that photography is accessible and that everybody can do it. It is one of the few skills that can be studied at leisure. Although there are rules for good lighting, rules are also there to be broken, so it remains important to strike a balance between technique and creativity. Eventually, as your confidence and technical ability increase, you will begin to stamp your own personality onto your photographs. Master the techniques within these pages, build and experiment with them to create something new and different. This is what will make you a confident and well-versed photographer.

Time to get shooting!