[T]his is my second review of something that Wayne wrote, the first being Portrait Tips and techniques which I highly recommend. Jump in for the full review.
From the first review you know I really like Wayne’s work and this ebook is a gem like the first one. Even if it is specifically for natural light portraits, the good information found in the ebook can be applied on many types of photography like street, fashion and others.
What’s in it?
The ebook is 54 pages long and can be divided in 3 broad categories, selecting clothes and backgrounds, natural lighting and composition. Wayne told me that the ebook is more about planning a shoot, souped up with 20 case studies and indeed it is. It’s more hands-on and has that {come with me to a shoot and learn} attitude which makes it exiting.
The first part of the book talks about clothing selection and backgrounds, something that is easily overlooked nowadays. It teaches you how to select clothing colors so that they are a good match for the selected background, this is especially relevant to B&W folks for good contrast. You will be more aware of the colors of your subject vis-a-vis of their surrounding, so that you can have optimal files to toy around in PS or LR. After the colors comes how to select appropriate backgrounds for the shoot, and you will see with a handful of before and afters how to simplify your frames.
The second part of the book talks about lightning. It is very short but he pulls out a softbox for the last portrait. I am not a big fan of lit portraits but it shows you how a subtle extra kick makes the difference. There is not much here unfortunately, it would be better to get the first ebook along with this one.
The third and final section is about composition, it has some of the basics covered from the first ebook but with golden rectangle, triangle and others applied to some new photographs. The fact that the author reveals the foundations for his photographs is an opportunity to learn more about composition by seeing a pro portrait photographer do it. Some new content composition wise would be expression and mood, and how it relates to creating timeless portraits.
Overall the ebook has a clean design and is short and sweet.
Who is it for?
This book is directed towards learning photographers. But the principles are universal and can find applications everywhere, especially if you shoot B&W. Personally it thaught me to be more aware of the subject’s colors as they relate to the background in the streets. Even if you are a seasoned photographer you might get a couple of tips here and there. If you have children and a camera, get the ebook, there is nothing like getting timeless portraits of your own kids! I would get the first ebook first then get this one because this builds upon the previous one. You can get this one first but you would be missing some good foundations laid out in the first one.
Why get it?
I am 100% behind Wayne on his search for timelessness, it is also what keeps me going. This ebook and the previous one creates a unified whole on how to create a timeless portrait. It shows you everything that has to come down to create a photograph that could be taken 10 years ago. B&W is not instant timelessness, there is the simplicity of the frame, clothing choices, simple facial expression, etc and the ebooks guide you very well. Wayne has been doing this for more than 26 years (+20 years of being an enthusiast) and has made a market share for himself with timeless portraiture…… you bet you can learn a thing or to from his hard-earned lessons!
Where to get it?
Here, for 14.95. He also has a blog for photographers.
Verdict?
