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Light: Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting
This highly respected text, now in paperback, has been thoroughly updated and revised. It introduces a logical theory of photographic lighting --- one that teaches beginning photographers to predict results before setting up lights. This is not primarily a how-to book with only set examples for photographers to follow. Rather, Science and Magic provides the reader with a comprehensive theory of the nature and principles of light to allow individual photographers to use lighting to express their own creativity. Numerous photographs and illustrations provide clear examples of the theories delineated within the text, while sidebars highlight special lighting questions.
Although styles of photographic lighting continue to change, Science and Magic does not go out of fashion because it is not based on style; rather it is based on the behavior of light. These principles will not change until fundamental physics does.
Although styles of photographic lighting continue to change, Science and Magic does not go out of fashion because it is not based on style; rather it is based on the behavior of light. These principles will not change until fundamental physics does.
Paperback
First published February 26, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
August 26, 2012
When looking for books on photographic techniques I ran into a bit of a problem.. many of them were heavily focused on 'so, you want to take pictures of half naked young girls, well here is how!'. Very few books focused on anything other then 'how to make skin look good'. I was VERY happy to find this book.
This book spends most of its time going over fundamentals. Rather then give recipes for various shoots, it attempts to teach you the underlying mechanisms of lighting so you can build your own setups. The authors encourage you to take their examples and recreate them (and post them to their flicker group), which I admit I did not do but I liked the idea.
For examples they used a wide variety of photographic fields... people, landscapes, product, so it really did not pigeonhole into a single type which really helped get across the whole 'fundamentals' aspect. They kept a good balance between humor and seriousness, and I think on the whole worked very well.
It is a book I highly recommend to anyone who wants to really learn about and understand lighting. However if what one wants is a quick set of patterns they can use and get on to other things, this really is not the book for them. This is for people who want to play with lighting, at least in part, for they joy of itself.
This book spends most of its time going over fundamentals. Rather then give recipes for various shoots, it attempts to teach you the underlying mechanisms of lighting so you can build your own setups. The authors encourage you to take their examples and recreate them (and post them to their flicker group), which I admit I did not do but I liked the idea.
For examples they used a wide variety of photographic fields... people, landscapes, product, so it really did not pigeonhole into a single type which really helped get across the whole 'fundamentals' aspect. They kept a good balance between humor and seriousness, and I think on the whole worked very well.
It is a book I highly recommend to anyone who wants to really learn about and understand lighting. However if what one wants is a quick set of patterns they can use and get on to other things, this really is not the book for them. This is for people who want to play with lighting, at least in part, for they joy of itself.
January 11, 2008
This is the best book I've ever read on photographic lighting. It reads like a college textbook, and I believe it is used for this purpose.
Many lighting books are "light" on theory (sorry, couldn't resist ...), leaving the photographer without an understanding of why to do things a certain way.
The authors spend a great deal of time explaining the various types of reflections and their characteristics, emphasizing the key point that most photographs are images of reflected light.
Anyone who reads "Light: Science and Magic" will gain, as the authors state, a set of tools and ideas that may be applied to various situations in the future.
Many lighting books are "light" on theory (sorry, couldn't resist ...), leaving the photographer without an understanding of why to do things a certain way.
The authors spend a great deal of time explaining the various types of reflections and their characteristics, emphasizing the key point that most photographs are images of reflected light.
Anyone who reads "Light: Science and Magic" will gain, as the authors state, a set of tools and ideas that may be applied to various situations in the future.
Read
January 25, 2014the magical book I've ever read , I've extremely understood the reflections and how to manage them an much more , I suggest everybody wanting to go further into the matter of light and not just taking snaps , to everyone who wants to turn his journey into a melt of science and fun, it teaches you how to have fun in a scientific way.
June 28, 2008
The greatest book on light and photography I've ever seen. An excellent guide for anyone interested in controlled light photography and very handy for anyone who's interested in photography in general.
July 18, 2016
A thought provoking book that talks in simple terms about light and how to work with it. Literally a revelation. I will be writing about it soon on my website. More to the point it has inspired me to learn more, practice more and understand the more I know the more I need to learn.
January 28, 2009
This is more for Photographers than anything. Amazing book about what it all goes over.
August 14, 2023
Great book
The main point of lighting, boiled down to a single idea, is the family of angles created by reflection - and this book covers the topic in great depth. The authors provide a wide range of practical advice for handling a range of the challenging photo scenarios. The book also covers a wide range of information such that I imagine everyone can learn something.
I really enjoyed it, despite being a "text-book" I read it's 300 pages in under a week, so it's fairly easy reading material. One complaint I have is I found some of the diagrams to be a little confusing - some images are drawn or seem to be drawn in a top down perspective while other objects in the same diagram seem to be from a different perspective. It's possible I misunderstood what the diagram was trying to depict, so the fault may be my own. Nevertheless it wasn't such a significant issue to dock a star from the rating. I found the book to be incredibly informative with both the theory and concepts behind the techniques and great practical information for executing the techniques themselves. Hard to imagine a better book exists about lighting in photography - Light science and magic sets the bar sufficiently high.
The main point of lighting, boiled down to a single idea, is the family of angles created by reflection - and this book covers the topic in great depth. The authors provide a wide range of practical advice for handling a range of the challenging photo scenarios. The book also covers a wide range of information such that I imagine everyone can learn something.
I really enjoyed it, despite being a "text-book" I read it's 300 pages in under a week, so it's fairly easy reading material. One complaint I have is I found some of the diagrams to be a little confusing - some images are drawn or seem to be drawn in a top down perspective while other objects in the same diagram seem to be from a different perspective. It's possible I misunderstood what the diagram was trying to depict, so the fault may be my own. Nevertheless it wasn't such a significant issue to dock a star from the rating. I found the book to be incredibly informative with both the theory and concepts behind the techniques and great practical information for executing the techniques themselves. Hard to imagine a better book exists about lighting in photography - Light science and magic sets the bar sufficiently high.
May 30, 2021
The beginners sometimes go astray in the world filled to the gunwales with latest equipment and technologies and what they neglect is the fact that Photography is substantially all about Light & Lighting. This is one book that will give you a profound insight into the fundamentals of Light irrespective of what gears you use and what genre you chose to practice and will help you gain mastery over lighting skills especially if you are keen into specialising in controlled light photography. Along with some critical insight into relevant theory material with enough examples, it also encourages you to practice lighting only to bring out your own outstanding images. Call it a textbook or a manual, it’s a must have book for all photographers.
December 31, 2016
Excellent book on light and how it works. This is universal... it's applied physics. From this solid foundation the authors show how to light various common photographic situations.
This first edition from 1990 doesn't cover more recent developments such as digital cameras... and only briefly touches on colour film. That said - it does this concisely and does discuss colour correction of lights and lens. There were quite a few annoying editorial errors (references to wrong figures, etc.) but I assume these have been addressed in later editions. The fifth edition was published in 2015 and is on my to-read list already. It has 100 more pages of detail plus an extra co-author!
This first edition from 1990 doesn't cover more recent developments such as digital cameras... and only briefly touches on colour film. That said - it does this concisely and does discuss colour correction of lights and lens. There were quite a few annoying editorial errors (references to wrong figures, etc.) but I assume these have been addressed in later editions. The fifth edition was published in 2015 and is on my to-read list already. It has 100 more pages of detail plus an extra co-author!
May 18, 2018
This book distills everything you need to know about photographic lighting into just over 300 pages. Through repetition of key principles, and the gradual layering of more details into the example scenes at a pace that we can all cope with, it is easy to follow and full of tricks. Through clear diagrams and text, I found myself enjoying the discussion of different surfaces and how they reflect light, how small and large lights create different kinds of shadows, on to how to make perfect copies using some basic principles.
Overall an excellent book, accessible for its teaching of fundamentals that every photographer should know, while providing a path to more advanced learning.
Overall an excellent book, accessible for its teaching of fundamentals that every photographer should know, while providing a path to more advanced learning.
February 21, 2011
Best book on lighting I've seen. Based around the physics of light (but don't let that put you off)and how light behaves on different surfaces. It demonstrates how to light a series of different objects including glass and metal. After reading the chapter on glass I immediately set about experimenting and produced the best pictures I've ever taken of shiny transparent things. The style is simple and written in the style of a simple textbook. A joy to read with plenty of simple diagrams. If you use studio lights then this book is a must for your bookshelves.
December 2, 2014
This is the most comprehensive book I ever read on the subject of light, how it works upon surfaces and how surfaces and textures respond back at it.
It can be a little overwhelming at first but it is worth it after a while. It might be specially important if you're a photographer who mainly works in a controled environment (such as studio) and wants to better understand how to control the lights upon their photography.
It's a great book even if you're not into photography and just have a deep interest in understand the science of lighting and reflections.
It can be a little overwhelming at first but it is worth it after a while. It might be specially important if you're a photographer who mainly works in a controled environment (such as studio) and wants to better understand how to control the lights upon their photography.
It's a great book even if you're not into photography and just have a deep interest in understand the science of lighting and reflections.
Want to read
January 12, 2012Two philosophies broken for this book so far: I spent 40 bucks, on a book with an ATROCIOUSLY UGLY cover, which I picked it up in a CHAIN BOOKSTORE one bored afternoon. Nuts. I couldn't put it back down again and just abandon it there, like a mill puppy in a pet store -- it looked so ridiculously useful and accessibly written. "I will make your life so much better!" it promised with its weird bouncing silver balls and custard colored font. This is probably true. Guys I'm psyched.
February 28, 2013
This is the best text I have found so far on photographic lighting. This is the type of book that you read through once to determine where everything is and then pull off the shelf from time to time to help you solve problems. It covers how light behaves and why. It gives you the tools to solve lighting problems and analyze what is happening in a photograph from a lighting perspective. Great book. I recommend it to anyone that is remotely serious about their photography.
December 3, 2010
this is THE book on lighting for photography. way more than i could ever even care to know. but so interesting and well done. extremely technical but explained thoughtfully and perfectly. great diagrams etc too. i like physics and such though -- so maybe i'm biased to the mathematical/technical stuff.
September 7, 2012
Every year or so I reread this book to refresh my memory. It's a fantastic, no-bullshit book that will teach you how to work with light.
The authors expect you to understand the basics of photography and don't spend time coddling you. Try to replicate their examples as you go through each chapter and it *will* make you a much better photographer.
The authors expect you to understand the basics of photography and don't spend time coddling you. Try to replicate their examples as you go through each chapter and it *will* make you a much better photographer.
November 5, 2015
Love this book!
It has all the basics and advanced techniques explained in way that everybody will understand that.
I wasn't aware of many issues before reading it. Definitely regret not reading it earlier. Now I plan to read again some more advanced book as now I understand more.
If you like step by step, technical, explanations it is in your best interst to read this as soon as possible!
It has all the basics and advanced techniques explained in way that everybody will understand that.
I wasn't aware of many issues before reading it. Definitely regret not reading it earlier. Now I plan to read again some more advanced book as now I understand more.
If you like step by step, technical, explanations it is in your best interst to read this as soon as possible!
February 17, 2013
This was a fantastic book covering how to use light in photography effectively. It covered still life and model shots as well as tough lighting challenges like glass and metal objects. Great book for any photographer trying to enhance their lighting skills. Of great use were setup diagrams coupled with resulting shots that very clearly illustrated how to achieve a given effect.
September 9, 2013
If you want to become a photographer, this is the book for you. It teaches about light which is the biggest element in making a great photograph. After learning, one should use this knowledge to build upon the examples in the book. In the long run, this can be a great reference book too. If you're a photographer, just get this one. Blindfolded!
October 2, 2009
Take a look at the sections on lighting metallic and glass objects and you'll see why this book is such a classic! The section on using guide numbers to calculate exposures for strobe lights is also fantastic!
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February 20, 2009I'm trying to work my way through this (I'm on chapter four), but this technical side of things is just too... technical for my taste I guess. I'm not sure what this says about my photography potential.
November 14, 2014
An excellent primer on the use of photographic studio lighting. Though much of the information is now out of date due to the proliferation of digital photography, the basics are still just as valid as they were when the book was first published.
August 13, 2016
I like the b0ok's approach to light.
To be honest it is not always easy, and I'll have to come back on some chapters, but really it explains things much deeper than "use this lens with this settings".
To be honest it is not always easy, and I'll have to come back on some chapters, but really it explains things much deeper than "use this lens with this settings".
March 11, 2018
I would not be the photographer I am without this book. This is the literal bible for anything lighting related. If you are serious about your photography, get this book, read, it study, and study it constantly.
July 10, 2018
Great primer on the subtle techniques and theory for controlling lighting to get better photographs. Can be used as a textbook or lab book to practice the techniques or a handy reference for common situations.
December 1, 2018
Fantastic treatment of how to get the perfect lighting for your shot. Starts from first principles (diffusion, direct reflection, polarized reflection) and goes through sample setups for different subjects (metal, glass, white on white, ...)
April 5, 2020
An excellent primer on photographic lighting for all sorts of subjects from product photography to portraits to landscapes. I'm drawn towards instructional books like these, which seek to explore topics by starting from the fundamentals and building upon them.
December 24, 2020
This is the definitive guide to light and as a photographer it helped me to see and understand light in new ways. Definitely recommend it for natural light, or studio light photographers wanting to understand the science behind the magic of light!
September 19, 2009
I learned a lot of new things that may help with my photography. There was a lot of information though so will have to reread parts as I apply the techniques but definitely worth reading.
February 20, 2010
Amazing book. Explains a lot of the physics of light in terms human can understand with practical exmaples of all of the theory. Very useful if you're interested in lighting for photography.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews