Creating mouth-watering food images requires more than just a love of food and access to a kitchen. With the popularity of food blogs and photography how-tos, it’s tempting to think that anyone can photograph food, but it’s another thing entirely to shoot for a tight ad layout with the pressure of your client watching over your shoulder. Commercial food photographer Teri Campbell has been called a “lighting master,” and in this beautifully illustrated book, he not only shares his detailed lighting set-ups and shooting techniques for a wide range of food and drink shots, but also offers candid advice on how to set up a studio, use the right equipment, market your work, find clients, bid on assignments, hire food and prop stylists, and communicate effectively with everyone on the set. Campbell shares his expertise on dozens of commercial assignments–from shooting beignets on location in New Orleans, to creating perfect ice tea pours, to photographing beans on real flames in his studio. Learn how he creates dynamic compositions, uses studio strobes, and arranges light diffusers, reflectors, fill cards, and mirrors, to create the perfect capture. Campbell also discusses his post-processing techniques in Adobe Camera Raw and Adobe Photoshop to create images that are irresistible. This guide for intermediate and advanced users provides the insider details to help you expand your photography skills or turn your passion for food and images into a professional career.

This must-have book includes 135 detailed lighting diagrams and step-by-step discussions that teach readers how to most effectively light a wide array of products, interiors and models. Morrissey starts with a discussion on the types and characteristics of light photographers are likely to encounter on the job. Readers will also learn how to select and use cameras, electric flash units and modifiers to sculpt the light to suit their creative vision.

From lighting glass objects to photographing models indoors and out, this handbook demonstrates how to effectively use and control light using a variety of traditional and unconventional lighting equipment. Written by award-winning photographer Robert Morrissey for both the professional and the serious amateur photographer, this guide explains the different types of light and how to work with modifiers such as panels, umbrellas, grids, and mirrors. More than 100 detailed lighting diagrams help ensure proper placement and are useful while pitching ideas to clients. Money-saving equipment and accessory alternatives are discussed along with strategies for working through obstacles during a shoot, making this manual a must-have resource for success on every project. This revised edition includes incorporates new equipment references, while adding several up-to-date case studies.

Lighting is one of the most important aspects of any photograph. The best images create dimension and drama, which goes beyond formulas and lighting recipes. In Lighting for Photographers: An Introductory Guide to Professional Photography, commercial photographers and instructors Joe Lavine and Brad Bartholomew offer a unique philosophy of lighting, starting with an understanding of the characteristics of lighting to build great shots. Including interviews from professional photographers and illustrated with over 200 images, this book introduces basic photographic concepts and equipment needs, and takes the reader from the lighting process through to starting a successful career in photography both in the studio and on location. Readers will learn a comprehensive approach to lighting including what light does, composition, experimentation, practical tools and techniques, equipment, metering and histograms, and how to launch and grow their career. With downloadable instructor resources featuring discussion questions and quizzes, this fully updated edition is ideal for introductory level photography and lighting courses as well as the amateur photographer looking to apply the appropriate lighting to realize their conceptual and aesthetic goals.

Targeting new and experienced commercial photographers alike, this invaluable guide explores the different aspects and challenges of succeeding in the industry. Approaching the subject systematically, the topics begin with determining what kind of commercial photography to pursue and how to get the training needed to carve out a niche in the market. Continuing to delve further, the topics expand to marketing techniques, negotiation skills, estimating and charging for work, maximizing profits while minimizing expenses, and ethical business behavior. Armed with this information, commercial photographers who are developing or expanding their businesses will know how to evolve and grow during periods of both prosperity and recession.

When photographing people, you can have a great composition, perfect light, and the right camera settings, but if your subject doesn’t look right—if the pose is off—the shot will not be a keeper. Posing is truly a crucial skill that photographers need to have in order to create great photographs. If you’re looking to improve your ability to pose your subjects—whether they’re men, women, couples, or groups—best-selling author and photographer Lindsay Adler’s The Photographer’s Guide to Posing: Techniques to Flatter Everyone is the perfect resource for you. In the first half of The Photographer’s Guide to Posing, Lindsay discusses how the camera sees, and thus how camera angle, lens choice, and perspective all affect the appearance of your subject. Lindsay then covers things that ruin a pose—such as placement of the hands, and your subject’s expression and posture. Next, Lindsay dives into “posing essentials,” outlining her approach to start with a “base pose,” then build on that to create endless posing opportunities. She also discusses posing the face—with specific sections dedicated to the chin, jaw, eyes, and forehead—as well as posing hands. In the second half of the book, Lindsay dedicates entire chapters to posing specific subject matter: women, men, couples, curvy women, families and small groups, and large groups. In each chapter, Lindsay addresses that subject matter’s specific challenges, provides “go-to poses” you can always use, and covers how to train the eye to determine the best pose for your subject(s). Lindsay also teaches you how to analyze a pose so that you can create endless posing opportunities and continuously improve your work.

Outlining a theory that combines the refinement of traditional posing techniques with the more organic, spontaneous techniques of photojournalism, this creative and informative resource offers poses that rely on personality and interaction. These instructions from a veteran wedding photographer provide the skills needed to recognize what makes a great pose and how to subtly direct your clients to achieve the needed balance between looking great and looking comfortable. Ultimately, this grouping of modern and traditional shots offers answers to the complications faced when attempting to pose wedding parties quickly while keeping the natural look that all wedding couples desire.