Finally got around to finishing off this book on a flight the other day. Flights seem like the perfect time to concentrate on books – especially when you’re stuck in the middle seat of a night flight…
I read the first one (The Moment It Clicks) and loved it, so I figured that I’d pre-order this one as soon as Joe mentioned that it was available (on Joe McNally’s Blog). Small flash – in my case the 580EXII – is where I’m at at the moment (no $$$ Octabanks yet…) so it seemed a good fit for a read.
Quick summary is – Great Book. Even though a few of the stories and photos in the book have come from his previous blog posts / talks etc and seemed familiar, there was enough new material and extra detail to easily justify it. The Nikon thing is really pretty easy to get over too – he’s a Nikon fan, and he uses 100% Nikon as far as I can tell, so it’s fair enough that he talks in Nikonspeak. It’s the theories and methods (not necessarily which button to press) behind the images, and the anecdotes that he’s talking about which are the key to the images – and these translate to any camera system on the planet.
It’s also an excellent book if you want to be able to look at a picture, guess the lighting method(s) he used to take it, and then read on and see if things match up. The stories behind the photos are pretty amazing too. Gives a little hint into his particular brand of life-as-a-photographer.
Luckily I’m left-eyed too, so I’ll be making sure I take note of ‘Da Grip’ on page 41 – a ‘yeah, that makes sense’ way to make sure you hold the camera without camera shake. It’s amazing how many people you see using the ‘wobble’ technique instead.
Chapters like ‘How to Light an Elf’ and entries in the index like ‘childbirth’ or ‘creepy guy in the alley’ make the whole book into an informative and entertaining page-turner.
Check out my About Tim Grimshaw page for a ‘Book List’ with other photography book suggestions…
