PhotographySilo.com
PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS | BEGINNER PHOTOGRAPHY | STOCKPILE OF ALL THINGS PHOTOGRAPHY

 
 


Stuff

June 13, 2010

BOOK REVIEW: Now I can photograph products the RIGHT way!

More articles by »
Written by: Lawrence


BOOK: Still Life and Special Effects Photography: A Guide to Professional Lighting Techniques, Second Edition

RATING: 5 stars

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: One weekend, I was hungry for a new photography book. So i trekked to Borders in search for a new photography lighting book. During my search, I came across many books but only one stood out at this particular Borders location. The book was about Still Life photography. Like many RotoVision published books, I was hooked due to the lighting diagrams and easy to read explanations. Before quickly browsing this book at the bookstore, I thought i knew how to shoot products. Boy was i wrong. I was quickly amazed on the product shots showcased in this book and instructions on how to achieve these images. My favorite images of the book are on page 18-19 (Gas Grip and Wrench) page 28-29 (Poison) page 30-31 (The Elegance of Music) page 38-39 (Fuller) page 63-65 (Mysterious Ball) page 128-129 (Photocopier) page 148-149 (Lost Property) page 164-165 (Nostalgia) page 210-212 (RAF Radar Operator) page 264=265 (Dog on the wall)

PROS:
- Clearly written lighting instructions
Easy to read lighting diagrams
Good range of images to learn from easy to complex lighting diagrams.

CONS: None!

CONCLUSION: As i’ve stated earlier, I thought my present knowledge of product photography before reading this book was sufficient. I was wrong. After reading this book and plans to use Still Life and Special Effects Photography as a reference book for my product photography shoots, I am sure my stock image sales of products will skyrocket. I will also apply the techniques i’ve learned in this book for my commercial photography with models interacting with products.






About the Author

Lawrence
As a weekend photographer, I found myself with limited time and limited resources in terms of expanding my photographic ability due to my career. Like many weekend photography warriors, there are only 2 hours on the weekdays and maybe 8 hours or so total on the weekend to learn and grow. These time constraints is what motivated me into creating this online photography resource. I needed a photography hub where all the information I referred to is stored in one easy to navigate online location. I see this more of my online repository of photography information gathered through time. I am very proud of the success of my blog offering of "Photographer Interview Series". You will read in-depth interviews from the photography world's famous photographers. Names like David Tejada, Nick Onken, Michael Grecco and David Bean to name a few. The interview series has also expanded to include weekend photographers and now wedding photographers with the similar goal of learning from each other. My goal is to evolve this site to be the premier go to resource for photographer interviews and equipment reviews.




0 Comments


Be the first to comment!


You must be logged in to post a comment.