Digital Photography Expert: Portrait Photography: The Definitive Guide for Serious Digital Photographers

This is a very excellent book if you're just getting started taking portraits. The graphics and illustrations are excellent. Highly recommended.

It's no secret that I am a fan of the Lark Book's Digital Photography series. This is the third book in my library and the second one that I've reviewed for AAUG. The title of this book is a little deceiving. When we think of portrait photography, most of us think of a messy little room with a cranky old photographer or a makeshift studio with toys and stuffed animals and a woman with fake cheerfulness trying to get your munchkin to smile. In the introduction, Michael Frreeman explains that portrait photography is expanded to mean the relationship between the photgrapher and the subject who is saying, "This is who I am, and this is what I look like." Portrait photography encompasses everything that is involved in capturing the essence of the moment so it is preserved forever. The one constant is that portrait photography includes a subject which is almost always people, and, in some instances, a pet. "Portrait Photography" is divided into three chapters: People Posed, Daily Life and Events and Occasions. Within each chapter are topics that include photo composition tips, equipment and software, post-production techniques and special projects. Each topic is usually a two-page spread which features two or more digital photographs. The main text explains how to create the best possible photograph. Then there is a checklist or hints and tips about the topic to assist the reader. The tips are concise and very helpful. I was thinking of a way to create little laminated cheat sheets that I could slip into my camera bag so I could pull it out for reference at the right time. The captions that accompany each photograph carefully explains both the composition and the background of the shot. To add a depth of realism, a few photographs are a little lacking in quality by being a bit blurry or washed out. I didn't see it as a fault but rather it helped reconfirm for me that not every photo is perfect and even the experts are human. Every photo in this book is almost an essay in itself: beautifully composed and full of life and meaning. I believe the author, Michael Freeman took most, if not all, of the photos and he is a phenomenal artist. One of my favorite topics appeared at the end of the book and it is on picture essays. Freeman provides three good examples. The picture essay is a series of photographs that tell a story and it could be about an event or a series of pictures that tell a story. It reminded me of the Life and Look magazines I remember when I was a child that had beautiful photographs about people or events. Freeman's examples gave me inspiration and guidance to create an effective photo essay myself. The one striking feature of all Lark Books is the quality of their products. From the accurately produced photographs, to the attractive page layout, to the heavyweight glossy paper, Lark Books are a notch above most other books. The quality of the photographs almost matches expensive coffee table photo books. If yo