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Picture Perfect Lighting: An Innovative Lighting System for Photographing People
Roberto Valenzuela is a photographer and educator who has a talent for identifying areas where photographers regularly hit roadblocks and a passion for developing clear and concise systems that allow photographers to break through those barriers and become better, more confident practitioners of their craft. His two previous books, Picture Perfect Practice and Picture Perfect Posing , shattered the mold of instructional photography books as they empowered readers to advance their composition and posing skills. Picture Perfect Lighting , the third book in the Picture Perfect series, brings that same spirit and approach to teaching lighting. With it, Roberto empowers photographers to embrace lighting as a source of creativity and expression in service of their vision for the image.
In Picture Perfect Lighting , Roberto has created a truly original system for understanding and controlling light in photography. After discussing the universal nature of light, Roberto introduces the five key behaviors of light, which are essential to understand in order to improve your knowledge of light. With those behaviors established, Roberto introduces his concept of “circumstantial light,” an ingenious way of examining and breaking down the light around you in any given situation. Providing a detailed analysis of circumstantial light, Roberto develops the top ten circumstantial light elements you need to know in order to fully harness the power of the light around you to create an image that is true to your vision.
But how will you know if the circumstantial light is enough? The final piece of the Picture Perfect Lighting system is Roberto’s “lighting benchmark test,” a brilliant method for determining the quality of the light in any given situation. It is with the lighting benchmark test that you will determine if and when you need to use “helper light,” the light that is needed or manipulated in order to “help” the circumstantial light so that your vision comes to life. Helper light is created with diffusers, reflectors, flashes, strobes, and light modifiers. Picture Perfect Lighting covers all of this in depth.
Don’t limit yourself to using only one kind of light, and don’t depend on Photoshop actions and plug-ins to create the “wow” factor in your images. That is the job of light. With Picture Perfect Lighting by your side, you will learn to master light. With that mastery, you will finally have the ability to create that true “wow” factor in camera—and in your photographs.
In Picture Perfect Lighting , Roberto has created a truly original system for understanding and controlling light in photography. After discussing the universal nature of light, Roberto introduces the five key behaviors of light, which are essential to understand in order to improve your knowledge of light. With those behaviors established, Roberto introduces his concept of “circumstantial light,” an ingenious way of examining and breaking down the light around you in any given situation. Providing a detailed analysis of circumstantial light, Roberto develops the top ten circumstantial light elements you need to know in order to fully harness the power of the light around you to create an image that is true to your vision.
But how will you know if the circumstantial light is enough? The final piece of the Picture Perfect Lighting system is Roberto’s “lighting benchmark test,” a brilliant method for determining the quality of the light in any given situation. It is with the lighting benchmark test that you will determine if and when you need to use “helper light,” the light that is needed or manipulated in order to “help” the circumstantial light so that your vision comes to life. Helper light is created with diffusers, reflectors, flashes, strobes, and light modifiers. Picture Perfect Lighting covers all of this in depth.
Don’t limit yourself to using only one kind of light, and don’t depend on Photoshop actions and plug-ins to create the “wow” factor in your images. That is the job of light. With Picture Perfect Lighting by your side, you will learn to master light. With that mastery, you will finally have the ability to create that true “wow” factor in camera—and in your photographs.
- GenresPhotographyNonfiction
360 pages, Paperback
First published February 28, 2016
69 people are currently reading
179 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 13, 2016
"Most Enlightening Lighting Book"
As a retired clinical researcher with several years’ experience as a news and events photographer, I’ve spent decades honing my skills in diverse genres. Most of my work can be categorized “Photography as Documentary. I have almost no exposure to studio lighting, but my interest has grown in the past year. I was first attracted to Picture Perfect Lighting, frankly, by its stunning cover. But several pages into the book, I realized I had stumbled on something much more than the gorgeous cover photo. I was hooked before I finished the author’s introduction.
Picture Perfect Lighting, an instructional book, is written crisply and concisely, but at the same time, is so open and friendly that I found myself hanging on every word. Rather than a “how to” book, for me it was as if a window had been thrown open, and a new day had dawned on my photography. Because Roberto Valenzuela’s system for lighting people was so new and compelling to me, I believe I’m the ideal avid consumer of his system and his books.
Valenzuela’s background is unique with talents not limited to photography. Surprisingly he began his career in Economics and Marketing as an educator. His career then hop-scotched to classical guitar performance, and then he discovered photography. Today he is enjoying major success as a Beverly Hills photographer, author, and much sought-after photography instructor and lecturer worldwide. You can learn about his background on his website: robertovalenzuela.com.
Picture Perfect Lighting (PPL) is the final book in Mr. Valenzuela’s trilogy of photography books that include Picture Perfect Practice (2012) and Picture Perfect Posing (2014).
“PPL” explains, describes, and illustrates the system he developed that took his own photography to a level that stands him apart from other photographers: His subjects are invariably enhanced by beautiful lighting.
Roberto’s goal with this book was to describe his techniques with clear language omitting highly technical descriptions of the physics of light. Goal reached! Roberto tells us that his own photography career began to skyrocket once he had developed his system. Now his readers and students can benefit in a similar way
The majority of the book deals with using a “bare” camera; i.e. without the aid of added lighting equipment that he’s dubbed, “light helpers” and without bumping up the camera’s ISO setting to high levels. Roberto emphasizes that “There is a misleading association between expensive lights and great photographs.”
In the last quarter of the book Roberto discusses the use of light helpers such as flash, strobes, speed lights, reflectors, and diffusers. There’s a section on working with flash, both on- and off-camera, for times when “Circumstantial Light Elements” (CLE’s) are not quite enough to light the subject beautifully.
Valenzuela’s system is built on three parts that he has designated as the following:
• The Five Behaviors of Light
• The Top Ten Circumstantial Light Elements (CLE’s)
• The Lighting Benchmark Test
Although he explained and illustrated the five light behaviors that most experienced photographers already know, a person just starting out with a camera will get a major head start after reading and rereading that section of the book.
The second part of the system, for me, is the most scintillating part. Throughout the book Roberto declares how much fun it is to use elements in the environment to create beautifully lit portraits, without the aid of added light. Roberto describes, explains, and illustrates what he coined as “circumstantial light elements” (CLE’s) such as smooth white walls, light gray pavement, dark pavement, green foliage, shadow lines, clean shade, headlights passing by, and so many others. He takes the reader through each concept (with diagrams), illustrations of the “behind the scene” setups, and finally the finished photographs. The illustrations are outstanding and their descriptions are clear yet succinct.
Learning how to use CLE’s was what excited me to the point that I just couldn’t wait to get out and practice.
The Lighting Benchmark Test is basically a chart that Roberto developed that provides camera setting suggestions for every photographic environment. It’s a superb tool for those of us just getting into the system, but with practice the information should become second nature to us.
Roberto’s writing style is original--simple, yet vibrant. I see him as the Ernest Hemingway of photography books. By strongly slashing out unneeded words in our compositions, my freshman English professor strongly encouraged us to write with what he called “epigrammatic lucidity.” I’ve striven to reach that goal for the last 45 years, but Roberto Valenzuela hit the mark as a young man.
There were a couple of points that I found to be distracting and I hope they might be addressed in the next edition of the book. I have the paperback version so I’m not sure if the hard-cover version is the same. But these are the issues that affected readability for me:
• The descriptions of the embedded figures are frequently not on the same or opposing page as the figure. So it is difficult to study the illustration while reading the text.
• In the section that teaches the basics of using flash, the example images are too small to read the button labels without getting frustrated.
• And this is entirely subjective, but I’d like to see the word “plethora” disappear in the next edition. It’s a word that has been overused and made passé in recent years.
Closing Remark
Picture Perfect Lighting, by Roberto Valenzuela, is the best and most enjoyable, informational and instructional tool I’ve ever experienced. I savored every word, illustration, and description and inhaled the information as though it were a fine fragrance.
Reading the book will be a uniquely wonderful experience for any photographer—experienced, novice, or anywhere in between-- who wants to gain a fresh new perspective on creating beautifully lit portraits.
Now that you are excited and you can’t wait to try out your new-found knowledge, take your bare camera and your friends and family, and practice, practice, practice. Roberto Valenzuela, in Picture Perfect Lighting says: “Without proper practice, you will be practicing in front of your clients.”
Once you’ve had that enlightened experience, why not send a thank you note to the author!
There are many quotable quotes by Roberto in the book, but was my favorite:
“I have seized the light. I have arrested its flight” (Louis Daguerre)
As a retired clinical researcher with several years’ experience as a news and events photographer, I’ve spent decades honing my skills in diverse genres. Most of my work can be categorized “Photography as Documentary. I have almost no exposure to studio lighting, but my interest has grown in the past year. I was first attracted to Picture Perfect Lighting, frankly, by its stunning cover. But several pages into the book, I realized I had stumbled on something much more than the gorgeous cover photo. I was hooked before I finished the author’s introduction.
Picture Perfect Lighting, an instructional book, is written crisply and concisely, but at the same time, is so open and friendly that I found myself hanging on every word. Rather than a “how to” book, for me it was as if a window had been thrown open, and a new day had dawned on my photography. Because Roberto Valenzuela’s system for lighting people was so new and compelling to me, I believe I’m the ideal avid consumer of his system and his books.
Valenzuela’s background is unique with talents not limited to photography. Surprisingly he began his career in Economics and Marketing as an educator. His career then hop-scotched to classical guitar performance, and then he discovered photography. Today he is enjoying major success as a Beverly Hills photographer, author, and much sought-after photography instructor and lecturer worldwide. You can learn about his background on his website: robertovalenzuela.com.
Picture Perfect Lighting (PPL) is the final book in Mr. Valenzuela’s trilogy of photography books that include Picture Perfect Practice (2012) and Picture Perfect Posing (2014).
“PPL” explains, describes, and illustrates the system he developed that took his own photography to a level that stands him apart from other photographers: His subjects are invariably enhanced by beautiful lighting.
Roberto’s goal with this book was to describe his techniques with clear language omitting highly technical descriptions of the physics of light. Goal reached! Roberto tells us that his own photography career began to skyrocket once he had developed his system. Now his readers and students can benefit in a similar way
The majority of the book deals with using a “bare” camera; i.e. without the aid of added lighting equipment that he’s dubbed, “light helpers” and without bumping up the camera’s ISO setting to high levels. Roberto emphasizes that “There is a misleading association between expensive lights and great photographs.”
In the last quarter of the book Roberto discusses the use of light helpers such as flash, strobes, speed lights, reflectors, and diffusers. There’s a section on working with flash, both on- and off-camera, for times when “Circumstantial Light Elements” (CLE’s) are not quite enough to light the subject beautifully.
Valenzuela’s system is built on three parts that he has designated as the following:
• The Five Behaviors of Light
• The Top Ten Circumstantial Light Elements (CLE’s)
• The Lighting Benchmark Test
Although he explained and illustrated the five light behaviors that most experienced photographers already know, a person just starting out with a camera will get a major head start after reading and rereading that section of the book.
The second part of the system, for me, is the most scintillating part. Throughout the book Roberto declares how much fun it is to use elements in the environment to create beautifully lit portraits, without the aid of added light. Roberto describes, explains, and illustrates what he coined as “circumstantial light elements” (CLE’s) such as smooth white walls, light gray pavement, dark pavement, green foliage, shadow lines, clean shade, headlights passing by, and so many others. He takes the reader through each concept (with diagrams), illustrations of the “behind the scene” setups, and finally the finished photographs. The illustrations are outstanding and their descriptions are clear yet succinct.
Learning how to use CLE’s was what excited me to the point that I just couldn’t wait to get out and practice.
The Lighting Benchmark Test is basically a chart that Roberto developed that provides camera setting suggestions for every photographic environment. It’s a superb tool for those of us just getting into the system, but with practice the information should become second nature to us.
Roberto’s writing style is original--simple, yet vibrant. I see him as the Ernest Hemingway of photography books. By strongly slashing out unneeded words in our compositions, my freshman English professor strongly encouraged us to write with what he called “epigrammatic lucidity.” I’ve striven to reach that goal for the last 45 years, but Roberto Valenzuela hit the mark as a young man.
There were a couple of points that I found to be distracting and I hope they might be addressed in the next edition of the book. I have the paperback version so I’m not sure if the hard-cover version is the same. But these are the issues that affected readability for me:
• The descriptions of the embedded figures are frequently not on the same or opposing page as the figure. So it is difficult to study the illustration while reading the text.
• In the section that teaches the basics of using flash, the example images are too small to read the button labels without getting frustrated.
• And this is entirely subjective, but I’d like to see the word “plethora” disappear in the next edition. It’s a word that has been overused and made passé in recent years.
Closing Remark
Picture Perfect Lighting, by Roberto Valenzuela, is the best and most enjoyable, informational and instructional tool I’ve ever experienced. I savored every word, illustration, and description and inhaled the information as though it were a fine fragrance.
Reading the book will be a uniquely wonderful experience for any photographer—experienced, novice, or anywhere in between-- who wants to gain a fresh new perspective on creating beautifully lit portraits.
Now that you are excited and you can’t wait to try out your new-found knowledge, take your bare camera and your friends and family, and practice, practice, practice. Roberto Valenzuela, in Picture Perfect Lighting says: “Without proper practice, you will be practicing in front of your clients.”
Once you’ve had that enlightened experience, why not send a thank you note to the author!
There are many quotable quotes by Roberto in the book, but was my favorite:
“I have seized the light. I have arrested its flight” (Louis Daguerre)
June 7, 2016
I have watched several of Roberto Valenzeula’s classes on Creative Live and I have his first book, Picture Perfect Practice. Somehow I missed his second book, Picture Perfect Posing, but it’s on it’s way to me even as I type this!
Roberto never ceases to amaze me with his work ethic and his attention to detail. Those characteristics shine through in this book as he takes you step by step on how to master light. After reading the first 3 chapters, I purchased a Moleskin notebook, just for taking notes and working my way through this book. It’s that good.
The book is divided into 5 parts as he guides you through The Building Blocks of Light to finally, Executing Your Lighting Vision.
Part One is titled the Building Blocks of Light and covers how light works and the five key behaviors of light.
Part Two is titled Circumstantial Light. He offers 10 circumstantial light elements and teaches you how to analyze each location using the 10 elements. This chapter alone was huge to me. I now look at all locations through these elements.
Part Three is titled The Lighting Benchmark Test and Helper Light. A lot of good information on using reflectors.
Part Four is Helper Light: Flash Techniques – where he covers the ins and outs of using flash. Everything from the difference between manual and E-TTL to using groups and channels.
Part Five is Executing Your Lighting Vision. This chapter is filled with a series of case studies using different techniques to create your vision.
Roberto explains everything in easy to understand language and then shows you exactly what he is talking about with clearly labeled photos. He even shows some of his early work in photography, pointing out the mistakes that he made. Picture Perfect Lighting is perfect for the beginner through advanced, there is something for everyone in this book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book.
Roberto never ceases to amaze me with his work ethic and his attention to detail. Those characteristics shine through in this book as he takes you step by step on how to master light. After reading the first 3 chapters, I purchased a Moleskin notebook, just for taking notes and working my way through this book. It’s that good.
The book is divided into 5 parts as he guides you through The Building Blocks of Light to finally, Executing Your Lighting Vision.
Part One is titled the Building Blocks of Light and covers how light works and the five key behaviors of light.
Part Two is titled Circumstantial Light. He offers 10 circumstantial light elements and teaches you how to analyze each location using the 10 elements. This chapter alone was huge to me. I now look at all locations through these elements.
Part Three is titled The Lighting Benchmark Test and Helper Light. A lot of good information on using reflectors.
Part Four is Helper Light: Flash Techniques – where he covers the ins and outs of using flash. Everything from the difference between manual and E-TTL to using groups and channels.
Part Five is Executing Your Lighting Vision. This chapter is filled with a series of case studies using different techniques to create your vision.
Roberto explains everything in easy to understand language and then shows you exactly what he is talking about with clearly labeled photos. He even shows some of his early work in photography, pointing out the mistakes that he made. Picture Perfect Lighting is perfect for the beginner through advanced, there is something for everyone in this book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book.
March 19, 2016
I absolutely love every page of this book so far. Not only does Roberto know light, he knows teaching. He provides concrete lessons on finding beautiful light anywhere. He gives names to abstract light concepts, some of which I knew but I had no words for. He uses real life examples in breaking down how to see, manage and anticipate light based on its behavior and interaction with the physical world. Ultimately, it will pump up consistency and confidence in photographer. Best photo book I've read in a long time.
March 18, 2016
This book takes a great approach to lighting. It helps you see & use the environment to your advantage. And it encourages using lighting tools to bring up the light in a photograph, rather than compensating with high ISO settings.
December 25, 2016
This is an excellent book, and very well written.
What I like is the organised nature of the book, where he has started with basic principles, and then moved on to how to analyse a situation, place and light.
This is excellent, especially for a person like me who does primarily landscape photography and has started doing a fair amount of portrait photography.
This book is superb, as it allows a photographer to look at light from the perspective of people. Thus, you move away from the 'traditional', and stereotyped way of looking at locations.
There is an excellent section on flash photography, and is the perfect way to get into flash.
Super book, and is highly recommended.
What I like is the organised nature of the book, where he has started with basic principles, and then moved on to how to analyse a situation, place and light.
This is excellent, especially for a person like me who does primarily landscape photography and has started doing a fair amount of portrait photography.
This book is superb, as it allows a photographer to look at light from the perspective of people. Thus, you move away from the 'traditional', and stereotyped way of looking at locations.
There is an excellent section on flash photography, and is the perfect way to get into flash.
Super book, and is highly recommended.
January 16, 2020
El libro de iluminación que todo fotografo debería leer
October 18, 2017
Roberto is such a great teacher. This book was great!
Roberto is such a great teacher and really cares about the industry. This book was great! I highly recommended it.
Roberto is such a great teacher and really cares about the industry. This book was great! I highly recommended it.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews