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Picture Perfect Lighting: An Innovative Lighting System for Photographing People

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Description

Roberto Valenzuela is a photographer and educator who has a talent for identifying areas where photographers regularly hit roadblocks and a passion for developing clear and concise systems that allow photographers to break through those barriers and become better, more confident practitioners of their craft. His two previous books, Picture Perfect Practice and Picture Perfect Posing, shattered the mold of instructional photography books as they empowered readers to advance their composition and posing skills. Picture Perfect Lighting, the third book in the Picture Perfect series, brings that same spirit and approach to teaching lighting. With it, Roberto empowers photographers to embrace lighting as a source of creativity and expression in service of their vision for the image. In Picture Perfect Lighting, Roberto has created a truly original system for understanding and controlling light in photography. After discussing the universal nature of light, Roberto introduces the five key behaviors of light, which are essential to understand in order to improve your knowledge of light. With those behaviors established, Roberto introduces his concept of “circumstantial light,” an ingenious way of examining and breaking down the light around you in any given situation. Providing a detailed analysis of circumstantial light, Roberto develops the top ten circumstantial light elements you need to know in order to fully harness the power of the light around you to create an image that is true to your vision. But how will you know if the circumstantial light is enough? The final piece of the Picture Perfect Lighting system is Roberto’s “lighting benchmark test,” a brilliant method for determining the quality of the light in any given situation. It is with the lighting benchmark test that you will determine if and when you need to use “helper light,” the light that is needed or manipulated in order to “help” the circumstantial light so that your vision comes to life. Helper light is created with diffusers, reflectors, flashes, strobes, and light modifiers. Picture Perfect Lighting covers all of this in depth. Don’t limit yourself to using only one kind of light, and don’t depend on Photoshop actions and plug-ins to create the “wow” factor in your images. That is the job of light. With Picture Perfect Lighting by your side, you will learn to master light. With that mastery, you will finally have the ability to create that true “wow” factor in camera—and in your photographs. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Rocky Nook


Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 15, 2016


Edition ‏ : ‎ 1st


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 360 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1937538753


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 50


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.25 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8 x 0.5 x 10 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #761,533 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #35 in Flash Photography #91 in Photography Lighting (Books) #579 in Photography Reference (Books)


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • This is not just another pretty picture book!
Format: Paperback
On the premise that good light is the most important element for a photographer, Roberto’s Valenzuela’s photographic philosophy is based on three ideas: A photographer must understand good light’s behavior, recognize its appearance, and keep his/her camera’s ISO as low as possible when capturing it. In his book, Valenzuela has distilled his philosophy into three concepts that define every shooting decision he makes. They are The Five Behaviors of Light, The Ten Circumstantial Light Elements, and Benchmark Settings. These three concepts create a system that any photographer can apply to any portrait scenario under any lighting conditions. In the many color photo examples, detailed with explanation about how these concepts are applied, the results speak for themselves. His photos are remarkable. Valenzuela demonstrates his techniques under natural and flash lighting, and provides a number of practice exercises to help you build your shooting skills and your attention to good light. His writing style is concise, friendly, and in each chapter he focuses precisely on the lesson being taught. Unlike some other authors, Valenzuela doesn’t waste your time with name-dropping or self-promotion. Every page is written for the reader’s benefit. Picture Perfect Lighting is not just another book with a photographer’s pretty pictures and his/her camera settings written in the captions. This book provides a simple system that gives consistent results. It’s a great foundation upon which beginning photographers can build their own unique style, or experienced amateurs can use to reinvent their work. Kindle owners, or those who have downloaded either the desktop or mobile Kindle App, will get the best deal on price. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2016 by Amazon Customer
    • Spice it Up.
Format: Paperback
This book is a must read for any photographers who want to take their skill set to the next level. There is a ton of information regarding circumstantial (ambient) light and how it can be used and manipulated to give your pictures the wow factor. As Valenzuela says, this is how we can separate ourselves from the average, no better than anyone else kind of photographer, and become that photographer that everyone wants to hire; one that can command the price needed to be a successful, full time photographer. He also spends quite a bit of the book talking about "helper" light. He writes in depth about the proper use of reflectors, giving suggestions about types and brands of reflectors that will do a good job. He also gives a lot of good information about the use of flash, explaining the differences between TTL and manual flash, high speed sync and first and second curtain flash. There is a lot of knowledge to be gained by the careful and thorough study of this book. There are many books about lighting out there but this book along with the books written by Neil van Niekerk should be at the top of any serious photographer's reading list. If you're looking to add a little hot sauce to your photography, buy this book. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2016 by Imanikonguy
    • A delightful experience
Format: Kindle
Based on my experience with previous Picture Perfect series books, I didn't hesitate to buy this book once it became available, and I have to say I'm very pleased that it exceeded my expectations. I devoured the book in a couple of days, since it is not only so didactic, but entertaining and so easy to read. It leads you from the basics of light, with some subtle but comprehensive technical explanations, to the advanced concepts of artificial lighting, all with sample pictures, clear explanations and an approach that shows you how you can turn real life situations in great opportunities to take wonderful pictures. I've read now the book for a couple of times, and it has really changed my appreciation of photography in terms of lighting. It is amazing. Definitely worth every page. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2016 by floshton
    • Four Stars
Format: Paperback
good book to read on lighting your subject.
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2016 by Terriss H. Brown
    • The portrait photographer's lighting bible!
Format: Kindle
At last! Here's the missing lighting bible. Most books on lighting provide an introductory chapter on the science and behavior of light and then provide nothing more than a set of recipes that the reader can follow by rote, thereby producing yet more "pro-photographers" who have no, or only a superficial understanding of what they are doing. This book is very different. It provides a treasure trove of information that if studied will allow you to really grasp the mastery of light you need to become a serious photographer. Filled with practical examples of the thinking and planning that the author employs when deciding where to place his portrait subject in a scene, this book provides a rare insight into the intricacies of judgement that produce great portraits. To get the best out of this book you will need to study and practice the suggested steps over an extended period of time. If you are prepared to put in the effort this is the best book available for giving you an in depth understanding of mastering light. If all you are looking for a is casual read, you may certainly gain some superficial insight into the complexities of working with light but will miss out on the in- depth understanding you can gain by really working through this material. As a photographer and educator I can highly recommend this book! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2016 by Ian M
    • Roberto Valenzuela: A True Magician of Light
Format: Paperback
Roberto Valenzuela is to photography what the Masked Magician is to illusion. When in the presence of a stage magician performing tricks, it can be very mind boggling when attempting to comprehend exactly how what one has seen materialize could actually occur in spite of one’s understanding of the laws of physics. So too is the case when viewing photographs created by today’s top photographers of which Mr. Valenzuela is no exception. “How did he do that?” or “How big was the crew?” or even “How much did the lights for that shot cost?” are common thoughts when viewing such photographs. In “Picture Perfect Lighting: An Innovative Lighting System for Photographing People” any cloud of mystery that may have existed is lifted, and the “secrets” are revealed. Over the course of 333+ pages, Mr. Valenzuela reveals several core truths. Not only does he prove that a large crew is NOT needed, nor the most expensive DSLR on the market, or even the most high end lighting equipment, he shows that anyone with a passion for practicing their photographic skills coupled with knowledge of the behavior of light can create professional quality photographs. Early on, he takes the reader through the five behaviors of light with an intuitive explanation of each and easily understood examples. He moves on to explain the process he uses to scout locations with nothing more than a camera and knowledge of light through a system called the “circumstantial light elements.” Through the many behind-the-scenes examples shown in the book and the insistence of the author, it becomes very clear that the quality of the light, not the aesthetics of the location are what make a photograph beautiful. About halfway through the book, he starts to introduce light modifiers and different techniques readers can use to boost the light in their photos. Objects such as reflectors and speed lights are introduced in light of what he calls the “lighting benchmark test.” The basic idea of this philosophy is, in the paraphrased words of the author, “adjusting the light to your camera’s settings, not the other way around.” He first takes the reader through multiple examples of locations that either pass or fail this test with detailed explanations as to why. However, when the natural light is too weak, something more is needed to help boost the light as opposed to raising the camera’s ISO in order to maintain the cleanest possible files. Mr. Valenzuela offers many tips and tricks beyond the conventional for introducing each modifier into the scene. There is even an entire chapter devoted to becoming familiar with one’s flash unit(s) through hands on exercises that readers can practice over and over again. The book concludes with several examples of photographs and why each one is successful. By the time the reader gets to this chapter, all of the previous principles taught in the book will have become so ingrained that he or she will be able to recognize why each location has elicited such beautiful light, hence a successful photograph. Such as in the case of the Masked Magician revealing the secrets of his illusions with relatively simple explanations, the reader of this book will no longer be left asking themselves “how?” but rather, “why didn’t I think of that?” ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2016 by Adam
    • Great book!
Format: Kindle
Excellent book with tons of practical information as well as practical application! Well worth the purchase and effort to learn its principles!
Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2025 by C
    • A must for understanding lighting in photography
Format: Paperback
I found the book presented the information very well - I read straight through over a few days, then went back through several areas to review. Roberto does a fantastic job explaining the properties of light and how light interacts with whatever it touches. His use of diagrams and example photos really get the points across. I also noticed he repeats some of the main points throughout the book (intentionally I believe) to emphasize the importance of key principles or steps. I found that useful actually. You will not be bogged down with complicated technical information or explanation. He explains many lighting principles in great depth that other photography lighting books may just touch on, but may not quite fully explain or emphasize. If you really want to understand how to really use light (flash or natural), I think this book does that and more. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2017 by Pixelmover

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