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Minimalist Lighting: Professional Techniques for Location Photography | 
 enlarge | Author: Kirk Tuck
Publisher: Amherst Media, Inc.
Category: Book
List Price: $34.95
Buy New: $22.57
You Save: $12.38 (35%)
New (6) Used (1) from $22.57
Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 2339
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 128
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.4
ISBN: 1584282304
Dewey Decimal Number: 771
EAN: 9781584282303
ASIN: 1584282304
Publication Date: May 1, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Packed with incredible images and step-by-step techniques, this book is a must have for commercial, wedding, and portrait photographers working on location who want to maximize their time behind the camera and minimize their time spent hauling cumbersome lighting equipment. The tips show how to select easily portable and versatile equipment for location shoots, cutting down on the packing and porting of expensive equipment. With techniques and information on the latest technology—including battery-powered flashes and accessories—this reference shows photographers how to work with smaller and lighter-weight lighting equipment without sacrificing quality. Whether shooting portraits, landscapes, or interiors, whether indoors or out, photographers will embrace the portable approach offered in this valuable resource.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Fun, brochure-like read, but more complete info is free elsewhere. This would be nowhere NEAR adequate for Nikon iTTL users. May 13, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Conrad Obregon and others have written what I think are spot-on critical reviews of this book.
Obregon writes: "...unanswered questions were more difficult. What mode should one shoot in for best results? Why did the author use manual flash adjustments rather then TTL (through-the-lens)? How did he decide which flashes to put on which channels?"
I share that impression exactly: Almost all of the info about 'expensive portable' lighting in this book is available on the strobist website _Minimalist Lighting_ does not provide enough details to be used as a reference guide. Just for example, in the schematics of how he set up multiple flashes for shoots, no arrow is used to indicate which direction the light is being directed -- bounced of the back wall? side wall? directly at the model?
With so little detail, it seemed like a blend of an interview (a nice interview -- with an enthusiastic, principled photographer who wants you to check out some cool gear and gadgets...) and a brochure for his narrow, repetitive, highly competent approach to corporate / PR portraiture.
Finally, it's not really minimalist. He's recommending expensive gear, which is unnecessary if you use Nikon's iTTL system -- the iTTL system involves free built-in infrared remote control system -- yes, your Nikon DSLR and flash units have this functionality built in already -- and which sidesteps all the add-on wireless radio frequency tranceivers, the need for manual adjustment of each flash unit, etc.
If you, like me, prefer relying on that much simpler and less expensive wireless option (all you need is a couple SB-600's, one SB-800, and some odds-and-ends...) then this is NOT the book to help you get started.
Instead, there's terrific a book that spells out the Nikon system's details perfectly. It's a self-published PDF book called "Using The Nikon Creative Lighting System" by Mike Hagen. Brilliantly clear step-by-step "how-to". It explains things like why to use slow rear sync instead of front sync, how to program master/remote 'banks', and shows the results with copious illustrations -- and well-labeled schematics! If you're a Nikon-only person, and can only have one initial book on ultra-portable lighting, Hagen's book will get you started much more clearly and stepwise than will this one. It's well worth its weight in bandwidth. Hagen's book moved me 'to the next level' with the iTTL system in a way this book can't.
The author of _Minimalist Lighting_ appended a complaint to Conrad Obregon's review. The author called Obregon naive for expecting more than a single style to be demonstrated in any how-to lighting book, since 'real' photographers don't use more than a single style. I have three responses to that. First, he's simply incorrect about the best photography texts: They demonstrate the full range of lighting techniques. Second, if you aren't personally competent in more than one style yourself, you can get a co-author. Third, a *limited* range is one thing, but this photographer uses, basically, *no* range at all. All of his photos look the same to me. Very good corporate / PR portraits, but that's all. (You know, the annual photos taken at our kid's elementary school are quite competent. But I sure wouldn't want to read a whole book based on that photographer's approach to those nearly identical cookie-cutter photos.) What about freezing motion? Night photography? Etc.
BOTTOM LINE: If you've got a ton of money, I'd definitely add this to your lighting book collection. Why not? Nice pictures. Cool equipment overview. Great pep talk.
But if you're saving your dollars for equipment, and want to buy as few books as possible, I'd rely on the Strobist website plus -- for Nikon iTTL fans who don't want the expense or manual constraints of outboard radio frequency tranceivers -- the Hagen e-book.
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P.S. Full disclosure: I have absolutely zero connection with any of the books, websites, or other products I've mentioned in this review. Except as a consumer!
 Fantastic Strobist Style Lighting Book May 6, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
A book based on the Strobist practices of lighting professionally with strobes on location.
I am 3/4 the way through this book and am loving it. He really breaks it down and explains everything well.
What I like the best is that he tells you what strobes, reflectors, scrims, etc he used for each shot as well as a drawn out diagram explaining placement and power settings.
It is really helpful to me as a newbie to lighting and I am enjoying it more than McNally's book , simply based on the teaching aspect of it.
Mimalist Lighting - Just what the Chiropractor Ordered! May 6, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
If you are looking for a book on super trendy hard lit portable flash photography this book is probably not what you are looking for, but if you are looking to to make bankable portraits without breaking your back or the bank than Kirk Tucks Minimalist Lighting is just the book for you.
The first 88 pages are dedicated to giving you a solid understanding of how to incorporate these little Hot Shoe wonders into your shooting workflow by getting them off of the camera and getting them into a softbox, shooting through a light panel and all sorts of other small flash trickery. Other topics include chapters on A History of Photographic Lighting, Accessories, Modifiers and even a very thorough chapter on powering your portable flashes.
The balance of the book is filled out with Case Studies of Kirks work over the years. Each page showcasing a different client and how the shot was achieved. Each study is complete with lighting diagram. This is the stuff I really love and I'm hoping Kirk's follow up effort to Minimalist Lighting includes many more of these Case Studies.
My only real critique of Minimalist Lighting is that being a Canon Shooter, I wish the Canon Speedlite system was better represented. Kirk is a Nikon and Fuji shooter and most of the examples, including an entire section on using Nikon SB 600 and 800 flashes in remote mode were illustrated using the Nikon system. I wish there would have been comparable section showcasing Canon gear. Though not a deal breaker for me since both systems are very similar, it just would have been a nicety for beginners just starting out with Canon equipment.
All in all I think "Minimalist Lighting - Professional Techniques for Location Photography" is a great addition to every photographers bookshelf, either seasoned shooter who wants to learn how to lighten their load while still capturing top quality images or the Weekend Warrior, who is just getting into lighting and doesn't have a 5k dollar budget for a traditional strobe lighting setup. I'm already looking forward to Kirks next book!
Cris Mitchell
Publisher
ProPhotoResource.com
Should have been called "Portable Lighting" May 5, 2008
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
I really wanted to like this book. It has a very good mix of background material and informative case studies. However, the very first case study uses FIVE STROBES and two softboxes, triggered wirelessly. Certainly, the kit's small enough to carried by a single person, but it's also several thousand dollars of lighting gear that can hardly be called minimalist. Other case study examples are similar.
Intriguing and Practical May 5, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
As the title suggests, the scope of this book is how to produce images without the burdensome lighting equipment and without sacrificing quality. The concept in itself drew me into this book as I found it hard to put down. Kirk Tuck always kept my interest as the ability and advantage of creating more with less is revealed. Advancements in camera technology and the clever use of flashes are two such examples of how this is achieved. An equipment overview, lighting set ups, techniques and case studies make this a well rounded book.
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