Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Shooting in Sh*tty Light: The Top Ten Worst Photography Lighting Situations and How to Conquer Them

Top positive review

It's a great book and as I mentioned

Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2016

I was impressed with the tone of the book when the very first suggestion for shooting in Sh*tty Light was: "Don't shoot in Sh*tty Light." But it wasn't just a whimsical statement. It was encouragement to control time and location of venue to the extent that you might be able with some practical suggestions on how to do that. The following suggestions are clear, well-organized with examples for each. The only "knock" I have is that with printing it is sometimes difficult to see the subtle differences of white balance especially, but other characteristics as well. The gross problems show up very well. It's a great book and as I mentioned, organized well so that using it as a reference for situational circumstances post reading should be very helpful. Also, it teaches you what to look for and how to evaluate what you are looking at.

4 people found this helpful

Top critical review

Critical reviews›

Troy conley

Very basic book

Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2013

I bought this book hoping it would help me with a variety of types of shooting in poor light. I am primarily a wedding photographer and often struggle with getting the appropriate exposure for my brides and their gowns, particularly for bridal portraits. This book focuses exclusively on shooting only the faces of models. More than once it mentions wedding issues but never addresses any of the problems they bring up. When shooting a bridal portrait i cannot hold a reflector right in front of my bride to get her face perfect because I have to get the wedding gown as well. I wish all of my photography was just glamour "get the face right" shots. If you are a total beginner I guess this book may be helpful, but if you have shot anything at all there really isn't anything here. Most of this book is total common sense and it is so focused on just facial, or glamour stuff it won't help anyone but beginning glamour photographers.

3 people found this helpful

165 total ratings, 115 with reviews

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From the United States

Kir Mar

It's a great book and as I mentioned

Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2016

Verified Purchase

4 people found this helpful

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Papa Tone

Slightly Misleading. But only slightly.

Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2014

Verified Purchase

I want to list my criticisms first, just in case Linsey and Eric see this review, and can improve the 2nd edition of this veryy helpful tome:

1.) There's no information about how they shot the image on the cover of this book. If it's on the cover, I would imagine it's supposed to be the best-of-all-possible worlds example of how these techniques can be used. And it's nowhere. C'mon. Put it in there. Show us how it's done.

Secondly, and I'm guessing here because it's never addressed in the text, the authors never discuss what, if any, post processing has been performed on the images. Some of the images appear to have had some skin smoothing work...but I dunno. It would be good if the authors would talk about that aspect. Unless the authors are shooting JPEGs and putting them directly in the book, some work has to be done, and a beginner might not understand that and be confused as to why the results they're getting in-camera do not match what they're seeing on the page.

Positives:

Very easy to follow, and great techniques for beginners. Consider this book an introduction that will get you started in understanding light, and how to bounce it around using very simple, inexpensive tools. I definitely recommend this book, found it helpful, easy to follow, and well-written.

9 people found this helpful

Helpful

R Sherman

Better than I was expecting!

Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2012

Verified Purchase

While some of the reviews said that the information inside was just common sense basics, I decided to just buy it anyway and I'm glad I did. I'm new to flash and reflectors though I've used both before and read about their use in dozens of other books before this. What this book did differently that I loved so much was to actually SHOW the difference between slight tweaks in the set up. SHOWING what the portrait looked like with the reflector full on in the face from below and then again with the reflector feathering the light and higher up, etc. Each small tweak helped me really get a feel for a lot of the concepts that I'd read about before, but hadn't fully grasped or utilized myself. I think there's an ocean of difference between knowing about a concept and then being able to apply it. This book was definitely more about how to apply concepts in a practical way rather than an abstract overview of said concepts. Maybe that's why some people felt like there wasn't enough breadth in material, because it was more indepth in just a few topics. I have enough books that say things like "avoid harsh sunlight, find shade, and use a reflector if necessary" but the discussion usually stops there and they expect you to figure it out. And while you CAN definitely figure it out yourself, some of us have very limited shooting time and want to figure out as much as we can before we get out there with our model and the clock and battery ticking. This book actually goes into the specifics like you're actually out there shooting. Loved this book. Very useful.

30 people found this helpful

Helpful

G A Matt

Really clear, practical solutions to shooting in tough light conditions

Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2013

Verified Purchase

I really like this book. Mostly because it's not trying to be too clever and solve all your photography problems at the same time. It specifically targets difficult light conditions one at a time, and gives you simple step by step solutions to getting the best pictures. The guides aren't excessively wordy, and include photos clearly showing the problem case and the solution case.
I really couldn't be happier with this purchase, probably the best book I've seen for advancing photography technique

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Troy conley

Very basic book

Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2013

Verified Purchase

3 people found this helpful

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William H Pierson Jr

Outstanding resource for tricky lighting scenarios

Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2012

Verified Purchase

I had the pleasure of attending an off-camera flash workshop here in Florida with Erik as an instructor. He is very good at articulating excellent photography habits. This book further shows his ability to break complex things down to small, understandable bites to digest and understand. I would highly recommend physically trying each and every one of the scenarios and seeing the results. I always get nervous before a shoot because I always wonder what I'll have to work with in regards to light. I can see this book helping to calm my nerves, as I now have more options in my "photography toolbox" to solve common - and sometimes complex - lighting issues. I highly recommend this to any photographer, new or "seasoned," as I'm sure there are nuggets of info that anyone can use.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Quantum Anjel

Good book, a little basic for me

Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2018

Verified Purchase

Useful book for very beginning photogs. I guess I'm more of an intermediate novice, as I feel most of the things covered by the book I came upon elsewhere or discovered on my own. Still - very useful examples for those learning about light.
Not one I'm keeping in my library, but definitely passing it along to a fellow enthusiast.

Helpful

Sara TM

Fantastic photography gift

Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2023

Verified Purchase

My sister loves it and is a graduate in visual comms, photography. She loves it ❤️

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Donald D. Farra

Highly recommended

Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2018

Verified Purchase

This book is in my opinion a companion book to Lindsay's Creative 52" book, in that they go hand in hand to enable the artist to express their imagination by lowering their frustration levels. Until one masters the light creating images that have impact can be frustrating to say the least. So this book by Lindsay is like a good friend coming along side you to lend a helping hand. But like learning to drive a car, it is one thing to sit down and read this (and other books), it is quite another to get off the seat and do it. Only by doing will any of us learn and perfect our style.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Adam R.

Taught Me A lot

Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2013

Verified Purchase

I've been a professional photographer since 2007. Often I've struggled to make use of crappy light. This book taught me A LOT! My review is based on the hard copy of the book.

The pictures are great/highly professional. Every piece of specific gear used is spelled out in the back section of the book. I do wish they would have shown some close-up pictures of the light modifiers but that's OK.

I learned that having 2 assistants with me is a HUGE part of shooting in poopy light. Oh, and I need to get a bunch of accessories that I don't already own. If you want to step your game up this stuff is a must.

Besides shooting in poopy light I also picked up on some of the poses they used and compositions.

If you're just starting out shooting photography this book is a must-have. I bought another book on outdoor photography and this one blows it away. Get this one, a book on studio lighting, one on posing, one on directing subjects and one on composition...you're set. Except for the camera gear, of course!

5 people found this helpful

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