Master Lighting Guide for Wedding Photographers

by Bill Hurter

Master the demanding lighting needs for weddings of any variety with this comprehensive guide from an industry expert. All the basics are covered, including how to choose and use the right equipment, how to control light and shadow while outdoors, how to utilize ambient room light and natural light, and how to ensure the best color balance for each image. Technical tips from 40 top wedding photographers cover such specifics as producing window-light images and using such tools as scrims, umbrellas, and gobos. With the right lighting know-how, a photographer can capture with ease the candid looks and pure emotions of the wedding party.

Genres: Photography

125 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Candice · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this book to bone up on any tips, techniques, and technical help I could find for shooting a wedding, something I've never done but will be this summer for a friend's wedding. I wanted something focused specifically on lighting and photography gear and how to best use them, not on posing, composition, creative tips, or camera settings, and this book did provide some of everything. And while there was a lot of information, it was really dense, jargony, and hard to follow at times. Plus, it assumed you use a ton of lights on location and shoot only high-end, fancy weddings...which is probably true for many professional wedding photographers, but it struck me as being rather snooty and pigeon-holed.

I waded through the book and did finish the whole thing, but I was scratching my head by the end and trying to figure out if it was helpful and worth keeping, or if I should return it to the bookstore since I was still within the 14-day returns policy. I happened to pull out my copies of The Digital Photography Book, Volume 1 and Volume 2, both by Scott Kelby, and reread both of them right after finishing Master Lighting Guide...and I was astounded how much more useful and absorbable the information was in Scott Kelby's books instead. Between the wedding and general portrait chapters in both of Kelby's books, he said almost exactly the same thing as in this book--just in a less dense, less weighty, and less technical (and more useful) format.

It was the death blow to Master Lighting Guide. It's official: it's going back to the bookstore. I'm sure it will have plenty of great, useful information for many professional wedding photographers, but it wasn't the right one for me, and I'm a pretty advanced enthusiast. And for $34.95, I can find other photography books that I'd rather keep on my bookshelves....

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

surprisingly good.

[Deon Bester · Rating 5 out of 5]

another must have book, with tools to help in your trade!