Lighting Books

I got this book based on the other reviews on this site. I thought it would be very in-depth and helpful, but it turned out to be quite boring in my opinion. The book is a compilation of photographs done by various photographers and their comments regarding the image. Some are helpful, while others are very ambiguous such as, "I wanted to make her look like she was flying because the couture dress she was wearing felt very airy" or something to that effect. Some pictures have diagrams, others don't. Basically the photographers said whatever they felt like saying about their image, which many times ended sounding like a lot of fashion photographer fluff.

If you want a more helpful and informative book of lighting diagrams with explanations then check out Photographing People: Portraits, Fashion, Glamour. It has WAY more examples and a larger variety as well.

Book very written and rich of information. The point of view of photographers professional helps us to comprise better like photographing in real situations and to organize the shooting session. Is little oriented above all that European: the dressed the deeply more complexes.

I personally feel that I got exactly what i expected.
A book with great full length up-to-date color images, diagrams so that you can see exactly how the lighting was set up, a paragraph explaining why the photographer was hired and what look the client wanted, how and why the photographer chose a certain location and the photographers own comments about the shoot. Oh, also you get to know the camera, film and settings that were used to capture the image.

I like this book because the photographs were actually good!
I felt i learned a bit about the photographer as one says that he never uses reflectors or flashes and how another confessing that it took 4 rolls of film to get the right shot for his portfolio.

Now you're not going to get a full history of the photographer or a step by step guide to shooting outdoor location shots but there is enough said about each picture to give you an better understanding about how it's done.

I look through this book 3-4 times a week and it delivers everytime.

I really liked this book. Each page shows you a great photograph, the brief, the location, composition and lighting description. There is a lot of creativity in each picture and there are a lot of cheap and simple but effective setups.

I gave this book only 4 stars because the only thing I miss is an extended description of the lighting techniques used in these pictures, since it only resumes to a couple of lines. The author don't teach you ilumination techniques by itself but she presents you a collection of mini interviews with the photographers in the structure of: brief, location, composition, lighting technique and a diagram. Some diagrams are missing and some are not so clear.

I think I've learned much more than outdoor lighting. The book gave me a source of inspiration, film techniques (there is no single digital shot in this book), composition sense (I'm not afraid of cutting out the faces anymore) and the conviction you don't have to spend thousand of dollars for a great lighting setup.

Why is it so hard to find good photography books? Why is it so difficult for good photographers to write them?

Fortunately among the mounds of photography books available, there are exceptions. Those rare, rare books that are worthy of your purchase, worth the time that you spend reading and yes, studying them.

Outdoor Lighting: Fashion & Glamour is such a book. While not new (copyright 2003), this is a photographer's book and as such, will age very well. It sticks to its' subject. Filled with breathtakingly beautiful images. Diagrams for every shot. THIS is how to write a photographic book.

What makes this such an exceptional book? Cathy Joseph dissects each and every image for us. She starts by giving you "The Brief", why the photograph was taken, how it was to be used and instructions given to the photographer. She then discusses the selection of the location, the composition and lighting and technique. Every photo has a fact file and a technical details box. A section at the end of the book gives contact information for eveyone of the wonderful photographers in the book. Webpages, phones, email addresses. Alas, she doesn't list her own contact information for those of us who are now her devoted fans.

This book is well worth your money, well worth studying the techniques listed. This book WILL make you a better photographer, and isn't that what these books are supposed to be about?

Bring us more like this, Cathy Joseph!

I bought this book, but there are no colour pics, only poor quality black and white images ( page 328 onwards ) All the other books i have seen have colour pics - why not this one ? - this is a rip off. And Amazon has no where to complain about this ... Greg, please help !

The Rendering with Radiance...Revised Edition ISBN is 0-9745381-0-8

As a contributor to the text, I am a bit biased, but I do think you will find the book's numerous chapters very helpful for folks of a wide range of skill levels. It is a great resource guide, reference book and tutorial. It includes the Radiance executables for a few Unix platforms on the CD-ROM! These alone will save you an hour or two. The book is well worth the money, but don't take my word for it.

The following review of "Rendering with Radiance" was published in the November 1998 issue of "Lighting Design + Application" magazine. It has been posted to AMAZON.COM by the author.

Ian Ashdown, P. Eng., LC byHeart Consultants Limited 620 Ballantree Road West Vancouver, BC Canada V7S 1W3 e-mail: byheart@acm.org

Lighting Design + Application contact:

Mark Newman, Editor Lighting Design + Application Illuminating Engineering Society of North America 120 Wall Street, 17th Floor New York, NY 10005 Tel: (212) 248-5000

Rendering with Radiance Greg Ward Larson and Rob Shakespeare ISBN 1-55860-499-5, Hard Cover 664 pages; 1998; Morgan Kaufmann Publishers

Many LD+A readers know Radiance as a lighting design and analysis program that was developed by Greg Ward (Larson) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Those who have investigated Radiance know that it is freely available, but usable only if you have a UNIX workstation and the patience to master more than 50 software tools. In ten years, it has attracted a coterie of fewer than 400 dedicated users.

Rendering with Radiance will undoubtedly change this. Originally conceived as a UNIX-style technical manual, the book is much more. It offers several tutorials, numerous application examples, and detailed discussions of the program's underlying mathematical algorithms. The accompanying CD-ROM includes example images, Radiance models and material libraries, reference manuals, and fully commented C source code for Radiance 3.1.

Despite first impressions, this book is not about computer graphics. The Radiance Lighting Simulation and Rendering System was created for advanced lighting designers and academic researchers, and more than half of the book is devoted to applying Radiance to real-world lighting problems. Ward Larson, Shakespeare and three contributing experts discuss luminaire modeling and lighting analysis, daylight simulation, animation, roadway lighting, theatre lighting, and exterior lighting. Even if you have committed yourself to using architectural visualization programs such as Lightscape and RadioRay, you will find an abundance of useful information in this book.

Radiance is the only software program that faithfully models the physical behavior of light, especially specular and semispecular reflections. It has a steep learning curve, but the quality of the architectural renderings it produces is unequalled by any commercial product. With Rendering with Radiance, we now have a user's manual that fully complements the capabilities of its namesake.

This truly is a remarkable book. Unlike most computer graphics texts, it presents lengthy discussions of IES photometric data files, luminance meters and spectrophotometers, the CIE overcast sky model, roadway light metrics, veiling luminance, spectral transmission data, and much more. The major algorithms used by Radiance are fully documented, including discussions of their limitations. There is more information in this book on lighting software use and design than can be found in all other books combined.

The major disadvantage of Radiance is that it was developed for UNIX workstations. In the past, this restricted the use of the program (really a set of UNIX tools) mostly to academic researchers. However, the freely-available and popular UNIX clone Linux now allows Radiance to be run with few difficulties on Windows and Macintosh computers.

Back by popular demand, Rendering with Radiance, Revised Edition is now available at a lower price. The authors have retained the publishing rights from Morgan Kaufman and are now self-publishing the book. It should be available through Amazon.com and others shortly. The new ISBN is 0-9745381-0-8. The revised edition corrects some typos, and eliminates the color plates and CD-ROM.

If you live in a 5 million dollar house, this is the book for you. If you have a 3000 sq foot cape cod, forget it. I purchased this book to learn how to light MY house. I don't have a 60 foot indoor pool, or a mountain top view of downtown LA. This book was of no use to me at all. I give it 2 stars because it has nice photos, of houses most of us will never see in person.

Simple... this book is extremely useful to me. You know I broguth a new house and it help me alot of design stuff... it saved us alot of design fee... worth to buy this boolk. Go ahead.

Wonderful photographs but otherwise a bit thin. This is a picture book mostly of California projects with some colder climate installations so these lush landscapes can only be envied by homeowners and gardeners outside the semi-tropics. DIYers will find this particular meal consists more of dessert than substantial fare. The clear intention of this book is as a feast for the eye and the few pages of technical information consist of an overview of techniques, common mistakes (with which I heartily concur), Q & A and a glossary. There is a helpful list of lighting designers (the first I've seen) limited mostly to the West Coast. There are plenty of good ideas here and most of the photograph captions contain a brief but useful description of how the lighting effects were achieved.

This book is filled with examples from around the world of magnificent homes that are enhanced by stunning outdoor lighting effects. It is as much a gallery of artistic lighting as it is a sourcebook for the designer or homeowner looking for ways to make their home stand out.

The book is broken into sections with a brief overview of each before the many photographic examples. These include transforming a home after dark with dramatic lighting effects, creating a moon lighting effect and my favorite section on lighting pools and fountains with some really fabulous designs. There are also sections on outdoor rooms, landscape lighting and some wonderful ideas on using the view in through a window as part of the exterior design and lighting plan.

Full color, full-page photos fill most of the book. Brief descriptions are provided in captions along with designer and photographer credits. There is contact information for these designers and photographers along with some lighting manufacturers in the back of the book. This is a design book, not a technical manual. Each caption tells the type of fixtures used but there is no information on wiring or installation.

A very useful chapter on common lighting mistakes along with frequently asked questions and a glossary conclude the book. Although most of the examples in this book are of homes well beyond average means, many of the ideas and principles presented can be adapted to enhance almost any dwelling. I found it quite inspirational and enjoyable.

This is the best book i've ever read on boiler. This book has been a great reference for me to pass my Steam Engineer examination. I passed the exam by only reading this book and without attending any course. Easy to understand and Kohan answers most common asked question in boiler exams and common doubt among boiler engineers. This book actually answared 90% of the questions that i have doubt in.
thank you kohan !

This book is an excellent learning tool for new boiler/plant operators. It gives a basic understanding of most aspects of Plant operation. Unfortunately, the generalized nature of the book doesn't lend itself to answer specific questions an inexperienced yet knowledgeable person might have. My point is, this book can give you an overview of everything you need to learn about operating a steam plant, but it won't be enough to prepare you for a tough licensing exam. As a guide and a place to start, this book is excellent and a must read for people wishing to enter the world of stationary engineering. Just remember you'll need more when you're done with this one.

I am currently studying for a New Zealand Boiler Attendants National Certifificate level 2 (for operating boilers up to 6MW)and have been operating for over 2 years. I wish I'd had this book before I sent my last 2 assignments in. I would thoroughly recommend this book for any operator.
Only negative I have is the lack of metric units, but that does'nt detract from the usefullnes of this book.

This book provides a good basic understanding of boiler operations on a wide variety of boilers. It is geared towards the novice operator or for as a learning guide. The depth is somewhat limited and is not supported by any theory. The author describes the overall process but does not get into optimizing the boiler, which every operator should do.

This reading is not meant to be entertaining or for light reading, but a study guide for the operator...

I was rather unimpressed with this book. It is more business 101 than anything specific to theatrical design.
You'd be better suited to reading business books than learning about business from this one.

A book for theatrical designers who refuse the idea that you are obligated to be a starving artist. Filled with the kind of information that design instructors in universities do not discuss in a meaningful way, it's a reality check, a roadmap, and an insightful analysis of how designers can claim their place as professionals. It touches on unions, the old boy's network, and academia, but perhaps the most useful information is in the organization of a practice and the "radical" notion that designing for entertainment encompasses many fulfilling paths in addition to theater.

The only thing that holds the book back from being five star is the lack of basic financial and legal guidelines outside of the status of your business as a legal entity. It seemed some basic, universal rules of thumb and some templates of basic forms could have been included with minimal research and without exposing the author to liability. It would have moved this book from "indispensable" to being "definitive."

This is an excellent book that everyone that is about to graduate or getting ready to needs to read. James L. Moody is an excellent writer, keeping the topics fresh and alive with his style, wit, and anecdotes.

This volume is packed with everything they forgot to tell us in design school. Moody deals with all sorts of things designers need to know aside from the art itself--from business cards to contracts and fees and taxes, all the while making sure we don't starve ourselves or upset anyone else. As a recent graduate from a design program, I was delighted to find this book. It has answered so many questions! I adore Moody's "get real" tone, firm and fun. Still, I can't help but feel that each subject is only touched upon, that there could be an entire book written for each chapter Moody presents. I would also love to see more--a LOT more--examples of the countless forms, contracts, etc., that Moody describes. Even as it is, this book is helpful for conquering that fear of the real world we face as we are handed our BFAs.

There are a number of "tricks" professional portrait photographers use minimize the visual imperfections of a client. While many of these tricks have been around for years, the author does a good job of presenting them with real-world examples.

To be blunt, the book deals mostly with women with weight issues, most of whom are posing for their senior portraits. Using subtractive lighting, posing and sometimes props, the author shows you ways to shave a few pounds off a photograph. However, don't expect to be able to completely undo years of cheese-fries. The results are subtle, not earth-shattering.

Overall, its a very useful guide for anyone wishing to make their subjects look a little better. Unfortunately, the other problem areas don't get nearly as much coverage as weight did, some only get a few paragraphs without photographic examples. Also, the author was politely vague when discussing individual photographs. Perhaps hiring some models specifically for this book would have allowed the author go into more detail without fear of offending his clients.

FYI this book is true to its title. It is a tad dated by now (12/05) and the newer edition by same author is "Corrective Lighting, Posing, And Retouching." Ive thumbed through it at the local B&N. Unless there is some specific reason you need this edition, pick up the newer title.

This is a very refreshing guide to portrait photography for its focus on the imperfections of people, and how to manage them in the studio. Many other books and articles on portraiture may address these issues partially, but still tend to have images of very thin models with perfect skin, hair and eyes. Many of the models in this book are attractive, but there's a reasonable diversity of subjects compared to other sources (with some caveats noted later in this review).

The author has a very conversational style, and this short 120 page book is probably best appreciated as a really strong lecture or set of short seminars on topics (lighting, posing, making the client feel comfortable) with lots of useful tidbits and examples. This is not a rigorous reference with lighting diagrams, explanations of the functions of various equipment and accessories, and a glossary of terms and index...this book doesn't have any of these for the novice.

That sounds like a criticism, but the author's breezy, non-academic style really works well to get certain key basics across, and it's very useful for both inexperienced and experienced photographers as a result. I found the book an excellent read, particularly the section on corrective posing, and specifically the focus on getting the most out of the eyes in a portrait. The lighting discussion is good as well, though the author jumps all around with various techniques and accessories he favors, and some areas don't have a lot of detail. But again, this book is strongest for posing and basic lighting in the service of making an imperfect subject look their best, rather than extensive details around equipment and technical explanations of lighting. His discussion of backgrounds, props, and the general benefit of foreground elements is valuable as well.

The author is also very entertaining when he talks about how to engage the client in a comfortable and professional manner, and avoiding all the cliches and rude manners of other photographers.

As another reviewer pointed out, the focus does seem to be on younger women who are heavier and who in general have hang-ups about different aspects of their appearance. It appears this is the case because the author feels these subjects are much more sensitive about their appearance, relative to men. It would have been nice to see a few more people of both genders across age groups, simply because the author is so good with his existing subjects, and more detail and a greater variety of subjects would have been even better.

A final small note: this is not the book to go to for any discussion of black and white portraiture. Black and white is relegated to a small sidebar, and the author sticks to C-41 film because of the expense of processing and printing other B&W films.

With all this said, I recommend this book very highly. I'm about to read it for a second time cover to cover, to review the numerous useful concepts he discusses for the wider range of portraits I'm going to be taking this summer. Few authors communicate in as straightforward, educational and as entertaining a manner as Jeff Smith does.

This book contains a lot of Photos example. The Author, Jeff Smith clearly explains about lighting and posing techniques. All the photo and the explanation are refers to senior portrait photo. If you want to learn more about photo in a group you must find another book

I enjoyed the passion expressed by Jones as wel as the detailed examples given in each chapter.

Received in record time and in great condition for a used book. In fact you couldn't tell that it was used at all.

my set design professor described this as the book to read when one is disillusioned with theater and need to restore faith, and I have to agree. It reminds us of the total art of theater, where poetry is expressed verbally, visually, and through the _presence_ of actors in a setting. It describes the curious not-reality that theater should create. It was written in 1941, so some of the references ring a little false and the language can wax florid, but the essence of what theater should be is described here.

OK, you can't rate this book on the level of literature, cuz it's not. From that point of view it's horrible. But you can rate it on what it might teach you if you let it "speak to you." This is a book that can easily be taken two ways. 1) An inspiring look at theater and at life, and 2) the cheesiest, corniest, campiest thing ever. I myself have wondered at times how I really feel about this book. I have had it read it throughout this past quarter for my Stagecraft class, and it can say a whole lot or it can say nothing, depending on how you read it. The author's absolute passion for all aspects of theater often comes across as wishy-washy, but if you set that aside, you might, if you love theater, find that you can relate to what he is saying. Or you might make fun of it incessantly! Which I have done a few times. But seriously, it's the kind of book that if you tell yourself you'll take a lot out of it, you will. And in several ways, I have.

Christine Dwyer Hickey's "Tatty" is a stirring novel. There is a sort of non-action throughout the novel, which can be perplexing; however, Dwyer Hickey's novel is still an astounding achievement. Much like Joyce in "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man," Dwyer Hickey is able to not only replicate the language, but the thought process of a child. This is the true power of the novel. The short work is completely believable and the voice never seems contrived, fake or insincere. Unlike "Angela's Ashes," this novel does not recount the events of a traumatic childhood in Ireland. The work, through Dwyer Hickey's masterful use of language and syntax, forces the reader to relive the events of a horrific childhood. The events themselves are unnerving enough, but the tone and the voice of the novel, at once innocent and broken, cuts like a razor through any sort of misguided conceptions of growing up in Ireland. This is not the Ireland of W.B. Yeats or "The Quiet Man," but is rather the Ireland of J.M. Synge and "Dubliners."

Despite its rich writing and superb capture of Dublin idiom, this book is ultimately quite disappointing. It tells the story of a dysfuctional family with two alcoholic parents from the perspective of one of the young daughters, Tatty. Each chapter brings us forward a year in Tatty's life. Much of the narrative rings true but it stretches credibility somewhat that from chapter one, and at a very early age, Tatty is focussed on alcohol as being the main underlying problem with her family. Surely such realisation would dawn more gradually. Throughout, I felt that the anti-alcohol message (and there can be no doubting that children and alcohol should never be mixed) was the book's raison d'etre and this engendered a somewhat self-consciously self-pitying attitude in Tatty's narrative. Unfortunately, the book wears its heart too much on its sleeve.

This is the description of a dysfunctional Irish family ruined by a number of difficult and emotional situations, seen through they eyes of one of their children, Tatty. Alcoholism plays a big part in this harrowing story and the seemingly detached tone with which Tatty describes her feelings and the events taking place, is quite heartbreaking.

I also think that the absence of speech/quotation marks during dialogues didn't tarnish in any way the fluency of the narrative. A very nice book.

I really liked this book. The writing was simple and straight-forward but wonderful. Dwyer Hickey makes Tatty, the character, come alive, and gives her a voice of her own. A voice that is childlike, but also one that hints at the damage beneath her youth.

The book tells the story of Tatty's dysfunctional family, her indifferent and occasionally violent parents, both with drink problems.
And that is what makes this a hard book to summarise and review. The narration is slightly strange, almost first person from Tatty's perspective, but not quite an "I" narrator. It almost reminded me of Jeffrey Eugenides's The Virgin Suicides, but that book left me cold and I didn't finish it, where as this one pulls you in to the story and into Tatty's life.

I am an aspiring D.P., interested in lighting and camera operation. This book gives a good insight to the relationship between D.P. and director. It does not give dull "how to set up lights," but provides some interesting information provided by some outstanding cinematographers, many are members of ASC. I found it to be an excellent read.

If you are looking for a good, instructional book on lighting setups and techniques...keep looking. This book may be useful to a seasoned director or gaffer, but is rather useless for beginners. This is essentially a book on interviews, and while has some techniques discussed throughout, is not presented in a way that would be useful for someone hoping to learn the finer details of lighting.

Kris Malkiewicz has assembled some of the finestcinematographers and gaffers in the world to create a must-have bookfor all aspiring and working Directors of Photography. This book is both technical and creative in description of design and technique. From Nestor Almendros, ASC to Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC and other contemporary greats in-between--the reader learns lighting of sets, close-ups, background plates and much more. Both soft-light and hard-light techniques are covered too. Reading the meter is discussed by Caleb Deshanel, ASC who states, "Basically I use the meter after I have finished lighting" to Malkiewicz who states, "a caucasian face has about 35 percent reflectance, but a black face reflects less than 16 percent." He goes on to explain the proper technique for exposing dissimilar facial colors with reflective metering. The late James Wong Howe, ASC and Jordan Cronenweth, ASC are quoted describing their day-for-night techniques. All in all this book covers the basics and beyond and has served me well as a reference book that I consult from time to time, and recommend to others.

I am a director and found this book to be really intersting. I really enjoyed hearing advice and techniques from a collection of accomplished cinematographers and gaffers. Too many books just merely point out that there are many ways to approach lighting a scene. This actually shows how different people choose to light particular scenes.

The only complaint that I have is that it is a bit out-dated. Personally, I use a lot of newer lighting equipment that was not mentioned (especially Kino Flo lights). Nevertheless, still probably the best lighting book I have encountered.

No surprise, it is easy to used as the desk reference like SMACNA " HVAC Systems Duct Design" & " HVAC Duct Construction Standards". It will not use impractical formula with no actual parameters given as contrast with others.

The most impressive issues in Chapter 1'General Principles of Ventilation' is " Blowing Versus Exhausting Figure 1-7", which let us clearly to know : Oh! why we need more carefully when considering /sizing the exhausting system.

This book also features with many simple to use illustrations and tables, which will not take you too much time to read it all.

I have to say, it is the most been referenced handbook in many other HVAC publications, because it also includes many industrial environment condition, as I said in the very beginning, if you are an HVAC engineer, you should have this one and review this one before your design work commencement.

No surprise, it is easy to used as the desk reference like SMACNA " HVAC Systems Duct Design" & " HVAC Duct Construction Standards". It will not use impractical formula with no actual parameters given as contrast with others.

The most impressive issues in Chapter 1'General Principles of Ventilation' is " Blowing Versus Exhausting Figure 1-7", which let us clearly to know : Oh! why we need more carefully when considering /sizing the exhausting system.

This book also features with many simple to use illustrations and tables, which will not take you too much time to read it all.

I have to say, it is the most been referenced handbook in many other HVAC publications, because it also includes many industrial environment condition, as I said in the very beginning, if you are an HVAC engineer, you should have this one and review this one before your design work commencement.

This book laid out clear, concise, technical information needed to engineer an industrial dust/fume collection system from the ground up. Anyone with a technical background can quickly come up to speed and create high performance ventilation system with this single source. The only negative feature (which kept me from giving the book 5 stars) is additional examples would of been of greater help for someone with limited experience in vent designs.

The Industrial Ventilation Manual will teach both the beginner and longtime veteran about moving air. Simple to understand, yet the mathematical calculations and charts are there for the hardcore designers. Kudos to the ACGIH (American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists). They have not rested on their laurels. They have continued to improve and add to this definitive guide on industrial ventilation.