Capturing Light: The Heart of Photography

When I initially read the book I was new to photography. At that point, the books seemed tedious in its detail. Later, when I had a greater interest in lighting - I can appreciate how great the book is. It is dense with insight and endless observations. Concepts are well illustrated with both images and great diagrams. Going by the number of reviews at least - this books is greatly under-rated. This books reminds me of Color and Light by James Gurner, which is considered a classic on lighting with respect to painting in its systematic approach and detailed nature. For example, both discuss the way that shadows lose their sharpness as there distance from their source increases, and both cover the effects of direct sunlight vs light diffused through sky and clouds, how that affects color of the sky and shade, atmospheric effects,and how that plays out in various settings with different configurations of shade, direct light, and reflected light.The section on 'Axial Lighting' covers much of what Roberto Valenzuela does in the bulk of Picture Perfect Lighting (another great book). Beyond that Freeman covers around some 50 other lighting conditions.Some of the pictures are stunning. Wat Maha Leap (page 92) and High Court Judge (page 14) being among my favorites. Though much of the pictures seem unremarkable and dated. At this point I realize the images were selected for how well they illustrated specific lighting concepts and it is no small task to do that for hundreds of concepts. That said - I think that is what is keeping the books from being more appreciated, and it is certainly a big part of what turned me off when I first read it. I.e. I was drawn to books with much more stunning and contemporary photography, but far less insightful texts. Without knowing any better, I judged the quality of the book by the quality of the images. I think this book could reach the status of classic if in future editions the samples were drawn from many photographers rather than a single one.Another limitation is the examples in the books are weighted heavily toward landscape shots. I wish there was a book that was similarly comprehensive and insightful that addressed portrait photography as well.

I have been doing photography for a long time and have taken (expensive) workshops at some well known photo schools. I have gotten as much out of this book as from some of those workshops that cost $500 or more. Mr. Freeman shows an example of a lighting situation, writes about how he chose to deal with it and shows us the photo he took. He also shows photos he took which were not selected as "the best" and explains why. He deals with lots of lighting situations, not just "perfect" light and explains how good images can be made, even when one does not have time to wait for lovely morning or evening light, or the sky is overcast or a number of other situations which people generally consider problems. I also appreciate that Mr. Freeman is able to put the styles and photographs into the larger context of the "photography world" explaining why certain styles are popular, or where they are frequently used. He offers ideas for breaking out of the usual lighting approaches and making a good photo with what you have in front of you. Some of the things I have already done, by luck or accident, but it is nice to bring some mindfulness and thought to the process, rather than just stumbling on a scene "that looks cool". It was interesting to be able to see the thought process of a professional and what went into making the images. I highly recommend this book. I'm not a fan of hyperbole generally but I truly think this book could change the way you make pictures by opening up new possibilities and ways of thinking about light as much or more than an expensive (and who knows what you will get) workshop.

Michael Freeman is certainly a master photographer and terrific teacher. I learned a lot from this book, which discusses each type of natural light in detail. I must say the photographs in my Kindle version seemed skimpy and low-resolution, even when I enlarged them

I've just started to read this book and can tell you that it is a very slow read. Freeman condenses so much into each sentence that you really must think about light: how it looks and feels and affects your subject. You are able to see how very differently you can craft your photograph depending upon when and how you take it and where you place your main subject. Something that I'm really enjoying about the book is how it has changed my feelings about light: I used to think that there was "bad" light, but now I know that every type of light has the ability to say something important about my subject if I am willing to explore it's possibilities. This book will definitely change you--I can think of no higher praise.

If you want to learn photography this book is essential. I have an entire collection of books by this author... but this one in particular is special. It helps us to visually see different light. 'How do you see the light?' The biggest part of photography is not your expensive lenses or big bags of gear. It's seeing and recognizing and using light. It doesn't really matter your brand of camera. If you know light you are way ahead of others in the photography world. This book is more or less an illustrated guide to different light (and how to use those different conditions) to create certain effects or feel to your images. It's a must have for anyone wanting to learn photography or improve their photography.

Interesting book. Only the photographs in kindle version are at a very low resolution, I can't really enjoy them. And it's a book about photography! Although I give 4 stars, cause in kindle I only paid sth like 4€, and I'm very grateful! I couldn't bought the paper one. Very beautiful and interesting and passionate book ! :)

Está todo muy bien explicado. Es preciso, ameno e interesante. Es una pena que haya que leerlo en un monitor (no lo había en papel) para no perderse el colorido de las imágenes.

I bought this book as a paperback and was very disappointed because the 'arty' design included very tiny smaller than bible size text which I couldn't read. However, as a Kindle book that problem is solved. This book must be the definitive work on lighting. Fascinating. Advanced. Detailed. Authoritive. Inspiring. And more.

Incredible guide that will expand your understanding of light and how to capture it.

The book addresses numerous light situations with precise and concise language, and it is illustrated with many photos and diagrams.