You Are Going to Love This Lighting Book

Take a look at this image of the front cover of Fil Hunter and Robin Reid’s Focus On Lighting Photos book.  Guess what.  That photo was shot using only an on-camera flash!  I don’t know about you, but my first reaction was, “No way!”  Yet it was indeed shot that way, and the authors of this marvelous book walk you through the process of how it’s possible for you to do it too. Focus On Lighting Photos (FoLP) is filled with examples of how you can get great lighting shots, most set-ups using just a single camera flash.  Not only does it contain many do-it-yourself approaches to lighting, but you’ll be able to make many of the lighting tools needed at very little expense.

Fil Hunter is one of the coauthors of the international bestseller Light: Science and  Magic (LS&M), and Focus On Lighting Photos is a kind of Reader’s Digest version of that book.  Targeted more towards student and professional photographers, LS&M has an academic feel to it, while FoLP has a more engaging writing style.  It’s more like having a good friend walk you through the nuances of how to light just about anything.

Chapters in FoLP  describe how to light objects as varied as people, metal, and glass.  Other chapters cover such topics as “The Color of Light,” “Light and Shadow,” and “Motion.”  The chapter on portraiture lighting, in particular, is a good introduction to the subject, including all the basic techniques.  It discusses split, short and broad, hair, background, rim, and butterfly lighting, to mention a few. It even contains a section on how to light pets.

One section of note is the extensive glossary at the end of the book.  It’s a good collection of the most commonly used lighting terms and should prove helpful to newcomers to lighting.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book even though I already knew most of the material covered.  The authors provide readers with a rather complete education on how to do lighting and do it right, without breaking the bank.  They stick fairly well to their self-imposed rule of lighting with at most a single off-camera light, be it the sun, flash, or household lamp; and whenever they deviate from the rule, they explain how it can be done with a single light too.

Though Focus On Lighting Photos is not targeted at novice or professional photographers, I think it would make a great addition to any photographer’s library, and hard to pass up given how inexpensive it is on Amazon ($12.01 as of 12/13/2011).  There’s not a lot to risk at that price.

I hope you enjoy your copy as much as I did mine.

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Book Details

Title: Focus On Lighting Photos: Focus on the Fundamentals

Publisher: Focal Press

Authors: Fil Hunter, Robin Reid

ISBN-13: 978-0240817118

Length: 215 pages

Dimensions: 8.2 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches

Publication Date: 2011-07-04; 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.