Light, vibrant and malleable, is the greatest tool at the disposal of portrait photographers. In this acclaimed book—with over 50,000 copies in print—Christopher Grey walks you through studio portrait lighting from start to finish. Dozens of image sequences and before/after pairings show you precisely how each change of light position and modifier affects the look of the lighting on the subject. From classic portrait lighting patterns to unexpected but powerful looks, Grey teaches you everything you need to know to control light effectively. Armed with these powerful skills, you’ll be able to create portraits that are more flattering, more marketable, and more creative.

Effective commercial portraiture is heavily reliant on clean, crisp lighting looks that emphasize color, contrast, contours, and texture to allow viewers of magazines, newspapers, television, and movies to view a product or model/celebrity in a precise and predetermined way that suits the overall marketing campaign and leaves viewers with a specific, conscripted feeling about the product /person being shown. Crafting this type of polished lighting requires absolute proficiency with the tools of the trade, from flash, to beauty lights, to softboxes, to gobos and gels. It also requires thinking outside the box to create lighting with a “hook”—a certain quality that binds the look to the brand identity and can be carried out repeatedly across several advertising campaigns. Whether you are producing album cover art, lingerie shoots for an intimates catalog, or production stills for television shows or movies, Jennifer Emery will give you the technical and creative skill set you need to thrive artistically, work efficiently with models and set designers, and win repeat clients. Beginning with essential strategies for finding and casting talent, paying/trading with that talent, and creating an open dialogue throughout the directorial stages, Jennifer builds a solid foundation from which the artistic concept can spring forth. In the following chapters, she presents text and images that will instruct readers on creating numerous looks/projects, including: (1) Beauty lighting for beauty/cosmetics ads (2) High-Key Lighting for a magazine cover shoot, (3) Lighting groups for a movie/TV poster, (4) Sculpting light for boudoir/lingerie/swimsuit/nude photograph, (5) Working with speedlights/flash for editorial fashion and lifestyle shoots, and (6) Lighting exterior locations for high fashion and fashion editorial work. Armed with these skills, photographers will be able to approach any commercial lighting job with a repertoire of skills, an ability to overcome challenges, and the confidence needed to nail the shot every time.

In Run and Gun: One-Light Solutions for Commercial and Portrait Photographers, photographer Nick Fancher discusses more than 20 one-light photo scenarios and setups for both portraits and product/commercial work, showing finished images as well lighting diagrams as he discusses each photograph. This ebook was written for the photographer who has just picked up a flash and has the ability to trigger it from somewhere other than the top of their camera. It does not cover the buttons and dials of your camera or flash, but instead Nick quickly and efficiently discusses different kinds of photographs you can accomplish with your newly acquired flash–images such as a portraits and product shots created with soft light, hard light, with a colored (gelled) fill light, and much more. Additionally, he covers using your flash to overpower the sun, as well as how to creatively use a slower shutter speed to create powerful aesthetic effects in your images. Finally, Nick shares a series of product shots he created as a self-assignment to further develop his own lighting, editing, and styling skills. After reading and working through Run and Gun, you'll be armed with ideas and techniques to head out and create similar images with your newly acquired flash.