What book or books are the Bible on Lighting ?

[Lyons33]

Anyone here do a lot of headshots/portraiture? Would love some recommendations on books , resources in general on mastering light from indoors using off camera flash as well as outdoors .
Any help would be greatly appreciated . Absolutely love this forum as Steve and everyone here are always so helpful . Lighting diagrams ? etc .

 

[fcotterill]

Joe McNally has written a couple of books as well as his blog. He describes his technique in great detail

https://portfolio.joemcnally.com/p/books

 

[Palouse]

Neil van Niekirk has 3-4 very good books on the subject:

book: Off-Camera Flash Photography - Tangents

Info about my other books on photography 1. On-Camera Flash Photography – (out of print) 2. Off-Camera Flash Photography 3. Direction & Quality of Light 4. Lighting & Design for Portrait Photography 5. On-Camera Flash Photography (revised edition) Also check out my list of recommended books on...

neilvn.com

 

[Whiskeyman]

Years ago, when our local photographer's guild was still a thing, Roberto Valenzuela's "Picture Perfect Lighting" was a common reference after one of the members shared a copy at one meeting. It became a "quite borrowed and bought" book. Rocky Nook is, or was, the publisher, and it is still available in print.

His book "Picture Perfect Posing" is another reference that the guild members liked to reference for tecniques and guidance.

 

[Viathelens]

Several years back I went to one of those very large presentations, me and 500 others, with Joe McNally presenting. I was amazed at what he did with light. I'd highly recommend anything he puts out on lighting.

 

[Robert Ardinger]

"Light ― Science & Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting, 6th Edition" is a very good place to start. It is more of a comprehensive review rather than a strict "recipe" book but very accessible.

 

[Winston Churchill (Sir)]

Frank Doorhof

homepage1 - Frank Doorhof

frankdoorhof.com

Creative Live

CreativeLive: Do what you love.

Online classes in photography, art, design, craft & DIY, marketing, business, and entrepreneurship. Available on-demand 24-7.

www.creativelive.com

Both quite current and definitely recommended

 

[philippe]

Deleted

 

[tclune]

While it is on lighting generally rather than head shots as such, I second the choice of Light - Science and Magic. More specific to head shots, both Photographing Headshots and The Dramatic Portrait are worth the read.
For web sites, I would suggest both Neil van Niekerk's Tangents and Jane Allan's Lens Lounge. Ms Allan is especially strong on posing issues, which may not be of interest to you. FWIW

 

[Nimi]

Anyone here do a lot of headshots/portraiture? Would love some recommendations on books , resources in general on mastering light from indoors using off camera flash as well as outdoors .
Any help would be greatly appreciated . Absolutely love this forum as Steve and everyone here are always so helpful . Lighting diagrams ? etc .

My favorite is Phil Sharp. He has a masterclass on Mzed as well as a book.

Phil Sharp - Photographer

www.philsharp-photo.com

 

[Ltgk20]

I liked Light, Science, Magic and for websites, Strobist is among the best. As stated above, both of these resources are about understanding flash/strobe light and are not specific to portraiture, but once understood, the application is straightforward.

 

[DougC]

Joe McNally’s books are excellent.

 

[dabhand16]

Are you using speedlights or studio strobes? David Hobby AKA Strobist is now not being updated due to him taking on projects but the resource is still there:

Strobist

strobist.blogspot.com

He is a speedlight user but light is light and the only difference is that studio strobes are more powerful and can light a bigger area. For headshots 2 or 3 flashguns will be fine.

Gavin Hoey has done a lot on Adorama TV on youTube too.

To start with I'd do it indoors where you can control the lighting and won't get mixed lighting giving you WB nightmares. If you want consistent results don't use TTL. Fully manual and NO auto ISO. Use your base ISO. Set the key light first by using trial and error or quicker use a flash meter. Then turn that light off and set the fill light Common flash ratio is 2:1 but you can do as you like. For headshots I'd advoid dramaic lighting. If there is poor seperation between the subject and background the 3rd light can either point to the BG from behind the subject or point toward the subject back pf the head for rim light. The exposure you end up with will wprk while the lights are the same distance from the subject. a new set up will need another round of key light/fill light/BG light. To measure the power of the light hold the flash meter close to the subject and pointing towards the light you are setting. only do one light at a time. When all the lights are set do one more meter from the sublect to the camera position. This will likely be about + 0.5 of a stop and this is the aperture you set. Keep the shutter speed a bit below the max sync speed I use 1/160 to 1/200

If you want soft light use big double diffused sofboxes as close as possible to your subject and use low power. If you want hard light try no softboxes and the lights further away.

I could go on but this is a big subject in itself.

These are not headshots but show different lighting:

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[Griffym]

Neil van Niekirk has 3-4 very good books on the subject:

book: Off-Camera Flash Photography - Tangents

Info about my other books on photography 1. On-Camera Flash Photography – (out of print) 2. Off-Camera Flash Photography 3. Direction & Quality of Light 4. Lighting & Design for Portrait Photography 5. On-Camera Flash Photography (revised edition) Also check out my list of recommended books on...

neilvn.com

Neil van Niekirk has 3-4 very good books on the subject:

book: Off-Camera Flash Photography - Tangents

Info about my other books on photography 1. On-Camera Flash Photography – (out of print) 2. Off-Camera Flash Photography 3. Direction & Quality of Light 4. Lighting & Design for Portrait Photography 5. On-Camera Flash Photography (revised edition) Also check out my list of recommended books on...

neilvn.com

Really? I have that book. The problem is how dull and lifeless (and dated) his photos are.
The diagrams are barely adequate and not especially helpful.
I got so much more from https://visualeducation.com/

Karl Taylor has so much to show about lighting. Highly recommended. Worth every penny.

 

[Mike]

"Light ― Science & Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting, 6th Edition" is a very good place to start.

This was a required textbook at Ohio Institute of Photography when I took courses there in the early 1990s. It was the lighting fundamentals text, and I am glad to see it being maintained with revised editions. I suspect it was used by many traditional schools before internet-based education became popular.

I have also studied David Hobby’s “Lighting in Layers,” and Joe McNally’s “The Language of Light.” Both are excellent.

 

[Calson]

Neil's books are designed to produce results with a minimum of equipment and space. He has photographed weddings for a living and so there is a practical aspect to his approach. A lot has changed in recent years with the LED cold lights that are available and make it much easier to see how adjustments alter the rendition of the subject. A more recent book that covers them would be a good addendum to one of Neil's books.

There should be many used books available so you can save so money as you add them to your studio.