Creative Lighting: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques

You may have heard it said that the last thing fish would discover is water, simply because they are always surrounded by it.  Similarly, humans tend to notice only what is new or uncommon, not what is common. 

It’s therefore not surprising that beginners in photography can be perplexed by the emphasis of seasoned photographers on “seeing the light.”  You may have even wondered what the expression meant when you first encountered it.  After all, what is there to “see”?  Isn’t light just light?  Well, yes, on the most fundamental level, light is just photons.  But to a photographer, “seeing the light” is about much more than that.  It’s also about properties such as the quantity, quality, color, and direction of the light.  It’s about how the same object can look utterly different based solely upon altering these properties.  It’s about seeing the world around you with the eyes of an artist, not a physicist, and that’s why Harold Davis’ book Creative Lighting: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques is important.  It opens the eyes of the “fish” (you) to a part of the world you may not have really seen before, and the book makes the “seeing” less challenging.  Harold Davis takes you by the hand and shows you how to interpret, choose, and manipulate light in ways guaranteed to improve your “seeing” and your photography.

There are five main sections to the book: “Seeing the Light,” “Exposure and Lighting,” “Working with Ambient Light,” “Lighting in the Studio,” and “Lighting in the Digital Darkroom.”  These sections are further subdivided into topics of a few pages each, where each topic nicely encapsulates some important tip, technique, or general truth about lighting.  If you’d like to see the breakdown of sections and topics, then check out the Table of Contents.  The Index is also a great way to see just how much this book covers.

My Opinion

If you’re starting out in photography and looking to build a library, I can’t think of a better set of books to collect than Harold Davis’ creative photography series.  Why?  Because the quality, depth, and breadth of photographic areas covered will provide you with a well-rounded, low-cost education.  The books in the series I’ve read so far are all well-written and beautifully illustrated.  Although the titles may say “Tips and Techniques,” the books go beyond that to instruct, inform, and inspire.  The one great advantage of the series is Harold Davis himself.  With Harold as the sole author, you’re guaranteed consistent quality, great photos, and sound advice.

Just to be clear, this book will not teach you absolutely everything about lighting.  It targets a wide audience of readers and therefore doesn’t go into great technical detail on each topic, nor should it.  If you want to learn greater technical detail of lighting, then I’d suggest getting Light: Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting, although this particular book is not meant for those relatively new to photography.

I strongly recommend Creative Lighting for all photographers and especially for beginners. It’d be a good choice for photographers of all but the most advanced skill levels.  And if you don’t want to take my word for it, check out the customer reviews on Amazon.com.  As of June 15, 2011, there were 17 reviews; 16 gave the book a 5-star rating, and 1 gave it a 4-star rating. Most authors would kill for ratings like that.

To wrap up this review, a quote from Harold himself:

“My hope in Creative Lighting is to be your companion and guide by providing inspiration, ideas, and techniques as we work together to create photos that are masterfully lit—enjoy!”

Enjoy I did.

Book Details

Title: Creative Lighting: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Author: Harold Davis

ISBN-13: 978-0470878231

Length: 256 pages

Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.8 inches

Publication Date: 2011-03-15; 1 edition

Format: Paperback

Full Disclosure: I received this book as a review copy from the publisher. This never influences my opinion or review of a book. If I find deficiencies with either the book’s content or its manufacturing, I will say so.