Lighting for Portrait Photography

I finally got around to reading Steve Bavister's revised book on portrait photography.

Not far in to the book, he writes, "If you don't have much time then sophisticated lighting setups are obviously out - which is one of the reasons so many of the pictures in this book were taken using only one or two heads." and that is a distinct bonus for those learning lighting, especially for the beginners who may only be able to afford a single head and a couple of basic modifiers.

He lays the groundwork not only for lighting, but also what the other professionals such as make up artists, hair and clothes stylists bring to a shoot. The stuff that even if you're just a lone photographer, you need to be aware of because it will have an impact on the picture.

By page twenty, Steve has lain the groundwork for shoots and basic lighting tools.

The book doesn't go straight for flash but spends about forty pages looking at available light, taking the reader through using positioning and reflectors to make the best out of whatever natural light may be available.

A good portion of the book runs on one light only, all be it enhanced with reflectors in places. It does then finish off with some more complex multi-light set ups and throughout the book gives the final shot with an easy to understand diagram of where the model, camera and lights were positioned. A paragraph usually supports the shot giving basic details; it doesn't get overly technical.

For someone new to lighting, I give this book a four out of five. It gives good description and examples of how the resultant light looks. I feel it will give any new student of light a good foot up in understanding how to better light their subject for the effects they want.

It is not a passive book, however. There aren't any simple mathematics that can be lifted from the page here. It will require being actively aware of the visual learning that needs to happen, to benefit from this book.