Professional Portraiture

I was truly surprised and impressed when I picked up this book, not expecting much initially with so many guides to portraiture available in book and magazine form, let alone all the free resources on the Internet. But the portraits here are very strong, though it should be noted that the focus is on Caucasian families, couples and small children. There is a sense of dynamism to all the images and the lighting is especially dramatic for some of the outdoor shots, yet the subjects and equipment used are not exotic at all...the author takes pains to make the reader believe they can take these shots effectively as well.The style is conversational: Williams introduces a few basic concepts, but this is not structured as a how-to, but more in the style of "think about these things, and here are some ideas". There is structure to the discussion, as Williams talks about makeup, hairstyles, backgrounds, features, equipment, preparing the client etc. But it all feels like you can adapt any or all of her tips to produce similarly dynamic photographs...the author's tips and approaches do not feel constraining or rigid at all.The book is light on detailed descriptions of technique and lighting, but like the best speakers and authors on the subject, Williams manages to make the reader understand and believe that technique and equipment are secondary to a creative approach and a strong rapport with the client. For each picture, there are details of the camera, lens, and film used, along with exposure information. There are also a few scattered lighting diagrams, but these are minimal. Going from cover to cover, William's pet approaches become very clear: 35mm and Neopan 1600 for the B & W portraits, medium format (either a Mamiya or Hasselblad) and Provia 400 cross processed for the color. There is a pronounced tilt to the majority of the images, to provide a sense of motion and dynamism. Because of these choices, there are definite elements of style that may not suit everyone, notably high contrast and saturation, full body or three-quarters style portraits (rather than standard head and shoulders stuff), and a (slight) tendency toward high key images. As I favor this look personally, I have no issues, and in fact am delighted with most of what she's done in this book.Others have commented on the lack of detail around her techniques (particularly the cross-processing, though there's a brief description of why she does it in small print on page 21 that's easy to miss), but the sense she provides is that the technical issues can be effectively managed by a good lab; however, those who want more detail will be disappointed. Unlike many other portraiture books, there is little formal studio photography here...the emphasis is on outdoor and environmental portraiture. Even the studio settings feature mildly tricked up backgrounds for greater interest, though little in the way of foreground objects (as these would probably mess up the perspective create

It's the best book I have found on portraits yet... I have learnt a lot just by looking at the poses. She makes regular people looks like models. But most important, all the photos have a feel of personality... unlike many photographs I have seen before that basically put people into poses. She also make use of cross-processing extensively, even in family portraits, which is very special and the effect is so good that I started experimenting myself. It brings my photography to a new level.On the down side.. it's a bit thin on techniques, esp on the cross-processing techniques, which is hard to find even on the web. The cross-processing film she uses (Provia 400) is not in production anymore (Provia 400F is totally different)... So it would be nice to know what film she is current using, etc. (Her new book (Weddings), which I just got today, does have 1 page on cross-processing techniques but is still very little information)

Of course, like so many other books on photography, I bought this one because I liked the photographs in it. I was pleased with the way Williams explained the way she approaches her business. While she didn't go into great detail, you get the idea behind what she does and can use the information to make it fit into your own needs. The emphasis isn't on equipment or photographic techniques, like so many of the other books and magazine articles out there. Instead, she focuses on the style and approach behind being a successful portrait photographer. Truely a unique book, full of beautiful images and wonderful ideas!! Definately a must for those tired of the standard photography books!!