Quote:
Originally Posted by dorbata
My prayers are with your mom.
Is there a book that anyone can refer me so I can read more about lights. I do have my heart set on Hensel, even before I created this thread.
Thanks
|
The first two books you should get are Matters of Light and Depth and Light: Science and Magic. Read them each twice. L:S&M you may have to read three times. LOL! But if you use it as a text book, you will start to get somewhere. You may also consider John Child's Studio Photography, also a text book style book and a good one to work through. After you've read those get the book Film Art, An Introduction. This is for first year Film Majors (cinema) but will give you a good foundation in what dramatic lighting and shadow should look like and why it is used.
Once you get through these you should start to have a foundation on how light works. You can then look at some of the lighting cookbooks that are out there and there are tons of them. My favorites are the ones put out by Rotovision.
Regarding glamour books. I have them all. All of them. Every one. I like Rolandos there are one or two others, tops, that I think are decent. The rest all suck. Totally. In fact, I'm utterly amazed that these guys have written books. I actually sat down with a publisher of some of them and told them why. They laughed and said that guys just want to see naked chicks and this is an excuse. Nice.... Someday I'll write my own and someone else will tell me it sucks, but till then, I'd save your money. You'd be better off buying all of the hardcover Playboy books and a notepad and studying the images you see in great detail.
Now, on to learning how to control your fancy new lights. I've posted this before and am cutting and pasting it in here, so if it sounds a little weird, like I was actually talking to someone else, well, I was - but the principals are sound:
Don't start learning to light with a softbox. Start with one strobe, a BUNCH of c-stands, a diffusion panel (or three of various sizes, you can make them yourself), flags, whiteboard, reflectors, wooden clothespins, an assortment of gels, gaffer tape and a roll of cinefoil. With this set of basic tools you can do almost anything. No, you cannot achieve a playboy look with it, or other complex lighting setups, but you can do far more than you would imagine.
The reason I recommend this is that starting with a softbox does almost nothing to teach you about controlling light. Sure, you might learn how to use the softbox, where to place it, the inverse square law, how to feather it. But you are not really learning about controlling light, you are learning about controlling a softbox.
If you were to buy the materials I suggested you could build your own softbox in about fifteen minutes. You can diffuse light, bounce it, cut it snoot it, shape it, redirect it.... You get the idea. Other routes will have you taking better pictures faster. Mine will leave you a bit frustrated at first. But if you are someone who enjoys experimenting and mastering a craft, it is the only way to go. I guarantee you, if you work this through and learn to "see" light and make it succumb to your will, you can do anything...