Mastering the Model Shoot: Everything a Photographer Needs to Know Before, During, and After the Shoot

by Frank Doorhof

For the first time ever, world-famous photographer and fashion lighting instructor Frank Doorhof takes you behind the scenes to reveal every step of his model-photography workflow–the same workflow that has made him a hero to photographers around the world thanks to his practical, budget conscious, no-nonsense approach. In this groundbreaking book, Frank starts right at the beginning with how to find models, find great locations, work with backgrounds (you’ll be amazed at his tricks for creating stunning backgrounds for just a few bucks), and work by yourself or with a team (stylist, hair stylist, and makeup artist) to create an image that will get your photography noticed. Then, it’s on to an in-depth look at the lighting setups and looks that made Frank famous (complete with diagrams and detailed explanations). You’ll see how Frank lights his images (you’ll be shocked at how simple most of his lighting setups are and you’ll be able to create these same setups yourself), plus he covers the critical little stuff nobody else is talking about, how to calibrate your monitor (and why it’s so important); how to use a color target to nail your color every single time; and why (and how) to use a light meter to get consistent, reproducible lighting each and every shoot. Frank also shares his own retouching techniques through step-by-step tutorials, and he takes you from start to finish through a number of different looks so you can see exactly how it’s done, and recreate these same looks yourself. If you’ve ever wished there was one book that covers it all, the whole process of photographing models from start to finish, not leaving anything out, then this is the book for you.  

Genres: Photography

359 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 29, 2013

Reviews

[J.S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished the exploratory read and would say that this would be a good book to come back to as needed when working as a studio photographer. This might seem contradictory, but the most important lesson I learned from this book is that it's more important to develop your own techniques rather then reproduce someone else's look. That would seem like common sense, but new students of photography or any art spend a lot of time trying to deconstruct and copy an other's look. If they would just put that effort in creating something new, you would advance faster.
JS

[Alastair Arthur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent advice with practical examples and a lot of sample images to illustrate each point. Some of the technical explanation is overly complicated but overall very good from a very accomplished and experienced photographer.

[Dougie W · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the book. I am a visual guy, I would have loved more illustrations on the concepts of light and the mechanisms of the cameras, lens, post. I plan to read a second time, to gain more great content and understanding.

[Aprilthoughts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best photography book in my library. Period.