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Sketching Light: An Illustrated Tour of the Possibilities of Flash
Following up on the great success of The Moment It Clicks and The Hot Shoe Big Light from Small Flashes, legendary magazine photographer Joe McNally takes us on another memorable ride with Sketching Light, another trip into the land of light--but this time running the gamut from small flash to big flash, and everywhere in between.
Of course, Joe includes coverage of Nikon Speedlights, but he also covers big flash, as well as "in-between" lights as the Elinchrom Quadra. The exploration of new technology, as well as the explanation of older technology. No matter what equipment Joe uses and discusses, the most important element of Joe's instruction is that it is straightforward, complete, and honest. No secrets are held back, and the principles he talks about apply generally to the shaping and quality of light, not just to an individual model or brand of flash.
He tells readers what works and what doesn't via his let's-see-what-happens approach, he shows how he sets up his shots with plentiful sketches and behind-the-scenes production shots, and he does it all with the intelligence, clarity, and wisdom that can only come from shooting in the field for 30 years for the likes of National Geographic, Time, Life, and Sports Illustrated --not to mention the wit and humor of a clearly warped (if gifted) mind.
Of course, Joe includes coverage of Nikon Speedlights, but he also covers big flash, as well as "in-between" lights as the Elinchrom Quadra. The exploration of new technology, as well as the explanation of older technology. No matter what equipment Joe uses and discusses, the most important element of Joe's instruction is that it is straightforward, complete, and honest. No secrets are held back, and the principles he talks about apply generally to the shaping and quality of light, not just to an individual model or brand of flash.
He tells readers what works and what doesn't via his let's-see-what-happens approach, he shows how he sets up his shots with plentiful sketches and behind-the-scenes production shots, and he does it all with the intelligence, clarity, and wisdom that can only come from shooting in the field for 30 years for the likes of National Geographic, Time, Life, and Sports Illustrated --not to mention the wit and humor of a clearly warped (if gifted) mind.
- GenresPhotographyNonfiction
417 pages, Paperback
First published March 31, 2011
39 people are currently reading
211 people want to read
About the author
Joe McNally
50 books53 followersAn accomplished and widely-respected photographer, Joe McNally got his start as a newspaper photographer in New York, eventually becoming a staff photographer for Time magazine and a frequent contributor to National Geographic, Sports Illustrated, and numerous other publications.
Particularly noted for his portraits, McNally teaches numerous workshops throughout the year.
See McNally's own website or his biography at National Geographic's site for more.
Particularly noted for his portraits, McNally teaches numerous workshops throughout the year.
See McNally's own website or his biography at National Geographic's site for more.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 30, 2016
I look forward to reading anything that Joe McNally writes. I read his blog posts, his hard books and the one ebook he has produced. I enjoy his humor. I enjoy his description of people and what draws him into a photo of them. I always learn about using light to create a photo that tells a story and, hopefully, evokes a reaction. This book is different from his others. Still lots of detail about lights and arranging them. Still lots of napkin drawn lighting diagrams. Still lots of humor. The difference seems to be that there is more narrative about his thoughts leading to the completion of the photos. The challenges. The failures. The solutions. Joe has a great command of photographic history and leans heavily on his experience. He has earned the right to access locations and people that the rest of us will likely never have. His description of his undersstanding and respect for people in front of his camera is compelling. The story of shooting three people tied to 9/11 took me two days to read. Emotions ran pretty high. He follows photo subjects over time and reconnects with them. He discusses trust between himself and the subjects of a photo. Huge lesson for me. It's hard to really describe why this book feels different to me. If you are not interested in photographing people and creating light in the process then this book is not for you. If you want to learn about relating to people standing in front of your camera and how to think about light to make them tell their story then this could be a great book to read. For me, McNally once more did not disappoint.
November 1, 2018
"Non ho trovato un paesaggio che non potesse diventare più interessante con una persona davanti".
Dire che ho adorato questo volume è dire poco circa la reale portata del mio entusiasmo. Finalmente un manuale completo, che insegna davvero qualcosa, e in questo caso non solo tecnicismi e impostazioni, ma anche un vero e proprio modo di esperire la fotografia, odiarla, amarla, e poi semplicemente comprenderla per ciò che è: una storia da vivere e raccontare.
Il contrappeso ideale a una valanga di dati tecnici è lo stile così piacevolmente ironico di McNally. Credo che sia uno di quei rari casi in cui se avessi la possibilità di incontrare l'autore avrei l'assoluta certezza che diventerebbe uno dei miei migliori amici nel giro di pochi istanti. Ed è la sensazione che accompagna un po' tutto il libro: chiacchierare con un'anima affine di una delle passioni (per non dire lavoro) più importante della tua vita.
Inutile dire che ho sottolineato quasi tutto, preso una valanga di appunti e riempito la mia pagina FB di citazioni firmate J. McNally. Forse è altrettanto inutile specificare che ho già pronto un carrello IBS con tutta la sua bibliografia. Va da sé che, qualora non si fosse capito, lo stra-consiglio a chiunque sia dotato di una buona base tecnica e voglia portare le proprie fotografie a un livello superiore.
Dire che ho adorato questo volume è dire poco circa la reale portata del mio entusiasmo. Finalmente un manuale completo, che insegna davvero qualcosa, e in questo caso non solo tecnicismi e impostazioni, ma anche un vero e proprio modo di esperire la fotografia, odiarla, amarla, e poi semplicemente comprenderla per ciò che è: una storia da vivere e raccontare.
Il contrappeso ideale a una valanga di dati tecnici è lo stile così piacevolmente ironico di McNally. Credo che sia uno di quei rari casi in cui se avessi la possibilità di incontrare l'autore avrei l'assoluta certezza che diventerebbe uno dei miei migliori amici nel giro di pochi istanti. Ed è la sensazione che accompagna un po' tutto il libro: chiacchierare con un'anima affine di una delle passioni (per non dire lavoro) più importante della tua vita.
Inutile dire che ho sottolineato quasi tutto, preso una valanga di appunti e riempito la mia pagina FB di citazioni firmate J. McNally. Forse è altrettanto inutile specificare che ho già pronto un carrello IBS con tutta la sua bibliografia. Va da sé che, qualora non si fosse capito, lo stra-consiglio a chiunque sia dotato di una buona base tecnica e voglia portare le proprie fotografie a un livello superiore.
November 18, 2019
An absolute must read for any photographer wanting to grow beyond “I’m a natural light photographer”. Joe is funny and so knowledgeable. Can’t wait to read another one by McNally.
February 21, 2013
I compare this book to last one of Joe, and unfortunately it is much worst.
Beginning is great. We have main flash modifiers showed in easy way, each alone to know effect of them. After that we have interesting stories about some pictures with drawings of light placements, reasons of such choices and quite interesting and funny digressions time to time.
It starts to get bad somewhere in the middle.
There we have long chapters about how it was before digital photography age, what problems photographer had, and also how hard is to be photographer also now. About not getting job, resigning from some because of some other plans, about not getting money for assistant. It is all good to know, but this book was supposed to be about flashes. While in this chapters we have 5 pages of this moral, private digressions with two or three sentences about photo and light.
I feel as author has nothing more to say but need to fill another half. Or maybe he was tired of writing only about the light all the time and needed to show opinions about other topic. But it wasn't good for the book.
All in all I for sure learned a lot from it and first part was real pleasure to read. After that unfortunately it was much harder but still we can get something from it.
Beginning is great. We have main flash modifiers showed in easy way, each alone to know effect of them. After that we have interesting stories about some pictures with drawings of light placements, reasons of such choices and quite interesting and funny digressions time to time.
It starts to get bad somewhere in the middle.
There we have long chapters about how it was before digital photography age, what problems photographer had, and also how hard is to be photographer also now. About not getting job, resigning from some because of some other plans, about not getting money for assistant. It is all good to know, but this book was supposed to be about flashes. While in this chapters we have 5 pages of this moral, private digressions with two or three sentences about photo and light.
I feel as author has nothing more to say but need to fill another half. Or maybe he was tired of writing only about the light all the time and needed to show opinions about other topic. But it wasn't good for the book.
All in all I for sure learned a lot from it and first part was real pleasure to read. After that unfortunately it was much harder but still we can get something from it.
April 9, 2015
I am just getting started on this book. I belong to a photography book club and this book is our current book. I plan to stick with it and finish this but I have to say, I do not like the prose style that Joe McNally uses here. Also having trouble identifying which of the photos in each chapter are being referred to in the text. There are no captions or index of photos and so the reader is left with guessing which photo is which. I must say, some of the results that McNally described, I have trouble seeing in the photos given. I will post more when I get further along and when I finish.
-Update-
So I gave up on this book. Joe McNally is a well known and respected professional photographer with a lot of experience. But as I stated above, I do not care for his prose style. Given his experience and fame and seeing examples of his work I believe he has something important to say about photography but gleaning it from this book is quite difficult. Perhaps others can get something from this book. It was too difficult for me.
-Update-
So I gave up on this book. Joe McNally is a well known and respected professional photographer with a lot of experience. But as I stated above, I do not care for his prose style. Given his experience and fame and seeing examples of his work I believe he has something important to say about photography but gleaning it from this book is quite difficult. Perhaps others can get something from this book. It was too difficult for me.
March 23, 2014
A very enjoyable and educational read. The book is loaded with beautiful pictures, beautifully lit, and Joe McNally explains the details of how it was set up as well as the thought process that went into the shot. In between some of the photos he shares experiences as a professional photographer as well.
February 10, 2012
Not perhaps quite as good as the Hot Shoe Diaries, or The Moment it Clicks from a writing point of view (McNally is trying too hard in this book), it more than makes up for that with its technical detail. Insight into the strobe work of a genius is brilliant for any-one interested in photography.
March 1, 2012
Wow. Will reread, and will buy more of McNally 's books in print for my shelf.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews