Wednesday , April 24 2024
Setting up the right shot becomes easier when you can see exactly how it is done.

Book/Video Training Review: Photo Recipes: Live – Behind The Scenes (2) By Scott Kelby

If you are familiar with Scott Kelby’s series of books The Digital Photography Book as well as the second, and third volumes, then you know of the sections called Photo Recipes. It is in these sections that the author explains what it takes to get a particular type of shot. Last year the author did volume 1 of Photo Recipes: Live – Behind The Scenes , and now he has come out with part 2

Photo Recipes: Live – Behind The Scenes (2) , picks up where part one left off. Scott Kelby takes on more recipes to show you live exactly how to set them up and get the exact type of shot. This video is 2 hours in length and contains 13 different recipes. There is also an 85 page booklet that highlights what you learn in the video that you can use as a refresher.

Chapter 1, “Natural Light Shot,” seems like it would be simple to do, but there are things that you will learn in this session that will definitely make your shots come out much better. Chapter 2, “Lifestyle Portrait,” will show you how to take a shot that needs more than natural light as well as how to introduce a flash to give it additional direction and softness.

Chapter 3, “One-Light Setup,” now looks at a one-light strobe shot which adds a bit of dramatic light before bringing in a reflector for additional modification. They do several individual portraits as well as a portrait of a couple. Chapter 4, “Through the Window,” tackles a problem where the light coming through the window is very harsh and you want to turn it into soft even light.

Chapter 5, “Using a Beauty Dish,” is one of those fads that is currently in style. This lesson will explore this type of edgier lighting. Chapter 6, “Hard Light,” now puts the beauty dish on a male subject. Through the use of it and some honeycomb grids, you will see how to get a hard lighting effect.

Chapter 7, “Building a Reflective Shot,” will take the whole beauty dish concept up a notch. This time you will see how to use a second light for the subject, a third for the background, and a sheet of Plexiglas for the reflection. Chapter 8, “Spiderlites,” are lights that stay on all the time. This time you will see how to use this type of lighting system to light your subject.

Chapter 9, “Create Your Own Shade,” takes you outdoors and on location. This can sometimes cause a problem because of the sun. In this video you will see what to do when you are out in the bright sun and you have to create your own shade.

Chapter 10, “Direct Sunlight,” is about what to do when you are on location and have to deal with direct sun. This time instead of creating shade you will use the sun to create a soft box effect. Chapter 11, “Action Shot,” takes on creating the type of shot you would see in a sports catalog. You will use a three light setup to create an edgy action portrait.

Chapter 12, “Off-Camera Flash,” is really useful when you need to control the light. In this case you will see how to mimic the light at sunset at the beach. Chapter 13, “Dramatic Fashion Shot,” finishes up this series. Here you will work through a couple of different setups using one-light, two-lights, and then bring in a fan.

Photo Recipes: Live – Behind The Scenes (2) brings on more of the same high quality training that the prior title did. Again, by being live, it brings out a lot more detail and information than reading a book could. The videos are 5-10 minutes in length and come directly to the point.

Photo Recipes: Live – Behind The Scenes (2) is really for anyone at just about any level. Scott Kelby really takes you through the setup and acts as if you are right in the room. If you want to learn how to set things up to get the shot that you’re looking for, then I highly recommend Photo Recipes: Live – Behind The Scenes (2).

About T. Michael Testi

Photographer, writer, software engineer, educator, and maker of fine images.

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