The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world's top shooters

by Joe McNally

book data

80 ratings, 4.28 average rating, 25 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		52%
4		26%
3		17%
2		3%
1		0%

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published

February 2nd 2008 by New Riders Press

binding

Paperback, 272 pages

isbn

0321544080 (isbn13: 9780321544087)

description

THE FIRST BOOK WITH ONE FOOT ON THE COFFEE TABLE, AND ONE FOOT IN THE
CLASSROOM
Joe McNally, one of the world’s top pro digital photographers, whose cel...more

[close] THE FIRST BOOK WITH ONE FOOT ON THE COFFEE TABLE, AND ONE FOOT IN THE
CLASSROOM
Joe McNally, one of the world’s top pro digital photographers, whose celebrated work has graced the pages of Sports Illustrated, Time, and National Geographic (to name a few), breaks new ground by doing something no photography book has ever done—blending the rich, stunning images and elegant layout of a coffee-table book with the invaluable training, no-nonsense insights, and photography secrets usually found only in those rare, best-of-breed educational books.

When Joe’s not on assignment for the biggest-name magazines and Fortune 500 clients, he’s in the classroom teaching location lighting, environmental portraiture, and how to “get the shot” at workshops around the world. These on-location workshops are usually reserved for a handful of photographers each year, but now you can learn the same techniques that Joe shares in his seminars and lectures in a book that brings Joe’s sessions to life.

What makes the book so unique is the “triangle of learning” where (1) Joe distills the concept down to one brief sentence. It usually starts with something like, “An editor at National Geographic once told me…” and then he shares one of those hard-earned tricks of the trade that you only get from spending a lifetime behind the lens. Then, (2) on the facing page is one of Joe’s brilliant images that perfectly illustrates the technique (you’ll recognize many of his photos from magazine covers). And (3) you get the inside story of how that shot was taken, including which equipment he used (lens, f/stop, lighting, accessories, etc.), along with the challenges that type of project brings, and how to set up a shot like that of your own.

This book also gives you something more. It inspires. It challenges. It informs. But perhaps most importantly, it will help you understand photography and the art of making great photos at a level you never thought possible. This book is packed with those “Ah ha!” moments—those clever insights that make it all come together for you. It brings you that wonderful moment when it suddenly all makes sense—that “moment it clicks.”

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 164)

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12/21/08

fbuser571838037 rated it:

bookshelves: photography-books

Read in April, 2008

recommends it for: photographers

This book became one of my favorite all time photography books from the moment I picked it up!

Joe McNally is truly a legend. This book showcases some of his greatest work, and on the page opposite each photo he tells a story to go with it. He also gives the most basic description of the technical side of the lighting.

If you are looking for highly technical step by step detailed instructions on how to reproduce each photo,this book is not for you. You have to have a firm g...more

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05/24/09

Dan rated it:

bookshelves: photography-technique

Read in January, 2009

Joe McNally can rent an elephant to use as a prop. He can dangle his model from a helicopter over the Hollywood while he photographs her from a similar acrobat's rig. So what does he have to say that has relevance in my simple world of photography? Plenty!

His advice is divided between the technical and the mental. The technical advice is easy to understand (though it might take considerable practice to apply it well). The mental advice is directed at helping the reader avoid narrow r...more

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04/29/08

Joshua rated it:

Fantastic and powerful read. Page after page of approachable information about great photos and how they were gotten -- which turns out to be (duh!) as much philosophy and personal skills as lighting and ISO. It transformed the way I look at my camera and the opportunities I will create behind and in front of it.

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02/07/08

Andie rated it:

bookshelves: photography

Read in March, 2008

Learning the stories behind the photographs always makes me enjoy the image more. The book takes you there...also it give great advice to photographers (new and old....some of us forget and need reminders!)

Joe McNally reminds you photography is hard work but a lot of fun too!

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01/20/09

Vicster rated it:

Read in January, 2009

Joe McNally makes great photography accessible to aspiring professional photographers (or serious amateurs).

Every page is filled with great anecdotes of a successful career, as well as a paragraph or two of "how I did it" to accompany the photographs. For all of the times I've looked at a great image and figured it was far too complicated for me to imitate (armed with just my camera and, when I'm lucky, an external flash unit), McNally shows that it can be done AND that it...more

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08/06/08

Jeremy rated it:

recommends it for: Photographers

Joe McNally is one of my favorite photographers. He’s shot covers for National Geographic, Newsweek, Time and Life Magazine. Though you may not recognize the name, I’m sure you’ve seen some of his photographs. He famously took the world’s largest polaroid camera to Ground Zero and took photographs of many people involved in 9/11(Click on Special Projects). One of my favorites is the picture he took of a lightbulb being changed at the top of the Empire State Building.

The Moment It Clicks ...more Joe McNally is one of my favorite photographers. He’s shot covers for National Geographic, Newsweek, Time and Life Magazine. Though you may not recognize the name, I’m sure you’ve seen some of his photographs. He famously took the world’s largest polaroid camera to Ground Zero and took photographs of many people involved in 9/11(Click on Special Projects). One of my favorites is the picture he took of a lightbulb being changed at the top of the Empire State Building.

The Moment It Clicks is described as a book that shows you how Joe McNally created some of the amazing shot. So I thought I was getting diagrams and lists of equipment used and way I could try to re-create the techniques he used. I was dissapointed to find that it’s nothing like that. The book is great, but I guess my expectations were a little too high.

moment.jpg

Instead the book takes a small idea that seems simple, and runs with it. In seminars, McNally is know for throwing things out like “be a pest”, “bring a chainsaw” and ‘put the light in an unusual place”. So he took all these and made them into chapters. He talk about a tree not looking right for a shot, so he made adjustment to it with a chainsaw. Each small story is accompanies by the photo so you can get an idea why something was difficult, and what he had to do to accomplish it.

Some of the stories are pretty amazing, he’ll do almost anything to get a good photograph. Each problem that he’s confronted with is shown, along with the solution that he was eventually able to come up with. Each one involves ways to use light, how to get into difficult position and how to help the person you’re photographing do what you want them to. Some of the solutions are so simple that you would easily be able to add them to photographs you take every day (like hanging a white bedsheet over a window that has sunlight pouring in to create a huge lightbox)

He seems to know how to do everything, it’s very inspirational as someone that’s trying to become a better photographer. So even though the book wasn’t what I was expecting, it’s a great book to learn from and get inspired by.(less)

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02/06/08

Billrogers rated it:

bookshelves: photography

Read in February, 2008

recommended to Billrogers by: www.strobist.com
recommends it for: Photographers

I recommend The Moment It Clicks to serious amateur photographers and to professional shooters. It is an excellent first effort for Joe McNally. Nevertheless, it does have several flaws.

Scott Kelby is listed as the Editor of this book, and his fingerprints are all over it. If you are familiar with Kelby's books on Adobe® Photoshop®, you will instantly recognize his influence on the layout of this book.

The Moment It Clicks is divided into four chapters, but these chapte...more I recommend The Moment It Clicks to serious amateur photographers and to professional shooters. It is an excellent first effort for Joe McNally. Nevertheless, it does have several flaws.

Scott Kelby is listed as the Editor of this book, and his fingerprints are all over it. If you are familiar with Kelby's books on Adobe® Photoshop®, you will instantly recognize his influence on the layout of this book.

The Moment It Clicks is divided into four chapters, but these chapter divisions are mostly irrelevant. The book is really organized around two-page topical presentations which, in my opinion, for adult learners, are superior to traditional chapter divisions. An typical two-page "mini-chapter" is entitled Put The Light In An Unusual Place, wherein McNally briefly describes his experience while shooting Larry Tisch in Tisch's limo, includes the photo, and concludes with a summary of how he lighted the photo.

This organizational structure is Kelby's biggest contribution to this book. McNally's ideas, suggestions, and reminiscences are well-expressed in this structure, making The Moment It Clicks a worthwhile addition to a photographic library.

However, I detect Scott Kelby's bizarre sense of humor and sloppy editing in this book. I'm sure I'll be accused of nit-picking; after all, Kelby's books are best-sellers, so who am I to criticize his writing?

Near the front of the book is a page titled "Da Premise." I'm sorry, but I don't get the joke. Nothing else on the page is written in pseudo-ebonics, so why is the title expressed this way? This type of humor is vintage Kelby.

There are several editing oversights. For instance, in the mini-chapter on Ken Kesey, McNally refers to a "tai stick." The correct term is "Thai stick," so called because it was developed in Thailand. McNally overworks the phrase "I kid you not" by including it at least three times in the text, finishing with "I shit you not." Finally, in a book aimed at an adult audience, is it really necessary to spell minor obscenities using punctuation marks, such as @$$ for ass?

It's simple - Joe McNally is a perfectionist about his photographs. I'm a perfectionist about writing. If McNally is a typical photographer, he can't spell "cat" if you spot him the 'k' and the 'a'. That's what editors are for.(less)

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03/29/09

Allisonperkel rated it:

bookshelves: non-fiction, photography

Read in March, 2009

I'm torn about this book - the photos are good and the descriptions of the thought process behind the works can be enlightening however there is a certain shallowness to the descriptions that leaves me wanting more than just the few tips sandwiched between the stories.

If you already know to look round, take in the details and know that the small stuff matters this book is a good review. If you don't know to do that, this book will help reinforce the message

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12/25/08

Elizabeth rated it:

bookshelves: 2008, photography

Read in December, 2008

I got this for Christmas from my husband and read the entire thing that day. Joe McNally is a master and this book is one of my favorite photography books so far. I know that I'll read this over and over again, picking different sections to focus on, etc. I really appreciate that Joe provides a story behind some of his most famous photographs. I also love that he tells us how the photos were made focusing on specific lighting techniques.

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06/15/09

Mark rated it:

Read in April, 2009

A fun book by one of the top professionals in the business, Joe McNally. It's a review of lots of different shots with personal comments about what can be learned from the different experiences. Not really a "How To" book, but interesting, nonetheless, especially for this amateur photographer.

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04/29/09

Cynthia rated it:

Read in January, 2008

For someone who is trying to think outside the box in regards to portrait photography, this is a fabulous book. Plus, Joe is a wonderful writer--he doesn't seem to have a serious bone in his body! Which makes for very fun reading, at the same time you are learning a lot.

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03/30/09

Leone rated it:

bookshelves: photography

I was a little disappointed in this book. I had expected it to be more instructive. It is a collection of wonderful photos and anecdotes that are very entertaining. If you approach the book as that it is very successful, but I believe there are other more instructive books on various techniques in photography.

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06/22/09

Anthony rated it:

Read in February, 2009

Joe knows! He's been there and done that and now he shares the stories. Not a comprehensive how-to but great little insights in Joe's entertaining and irreverent style.

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02/16/09

Angie rated it:

Read in March, 2009

I LOVED this book. Makes you feel like you're following him around on assignments, getting the behind the scenes pass, learning the methods of a pro. Some of it was still over my head, but it made me want to learn more about photography, especially lighting, which Joe rocks at!

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01/03/09

Katie rated it:

Read in January, 2009

What an incredible book! I loved looking at the photographs but I enjoyed the story behind each one even more. I'm just an amateur so a lot of the setups are way beyond my skill and equipment level, but I felt like I learnd a lot that will help me become a better photographer.

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01/14/09

Rajesh is currently reading it

bookshelves: currently-reading

Wonderful book about how photographs are taken by a PRO.

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11/09/08

Katelyn rated it:

Read in November, 2008

Interesting photo book. The photos were really fun to look at, and I enjoyed reading about the authors experiences while shooting them. As a learning book, a lot of what he talked about is not possible for me to do right now, due to lacking the equipment he suggests. Also, towards the end of the book he randomly started throwing in some unneccessary foul language that kind of caught me off guard.

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03/18/08

Tamara rated it:

bookshelves: fun-non-fiction

Read in March, 2008

The cover picture for this is probably my least favorite one from the collection. But there are some amazing pics in here, and some great anecdotal stories to go with them. Like the pic taken of the photographer's daughter after she got a black eye coming up from the bottom of a pool and the one of "the Napalm girl" with her newborn in her arms.

Definitely worth flipping through.

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08/05/08

Steve M rated it:

bookshelves: non-fiction, photography

An incredibly educational book created by one of the better freelance photographers working today. Filled with technical and artistic advice, as well as peppered with hilarious anecdotes, Mcnally does an amazing job of bringing you into his world regardless of your skill.

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05/25/08

Nordia rated it:

Take a bunch of great photos by an awesome photographer, add some behind the scenes anecdotes behind the shot, and just a dash of tech "how to" (and I do mean "dash") and overall it's a damn good photography book. Part coffee table, part instructional.

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