By 

Conrad J. Obregon (New York, NY USA) –

  

  

  

I would guess that every photographer has tried to take a picture of someone out-of-doors and has been disappointed with the result. Douglas Allen Box provides a good, serviceable manual that should improve the quality of the average photographer’s portraits.

The author’s approach is to present a portrait and then explain the photographic considerations that went into it. Usually he provides an overhead diagram showing the relationship of camera, subject and light. With each picture a short description of lighting, photography and background is usually included. Some portraits have been selected because they presented special situations or techniques. For these, besides the trio mentioned, he offers a short discussion of the problem and how he solved it. For example a portrait featuring “head tilt” discussed what Box calls the C pose and the relationship of a tilted head to lighting.

When you’ve finished this book you will know how to look for that soft, indirect lighting that usually makes for attractive portraits. That may not sound like much, but it is probably the most important single factor for a good portrait. You will also have encountered a number of tips that will make your portraits better looking that you might not encounter elsewhere. For example, I had never read that having people in a group portrait dress in similar clothing would create of feeling of unity. And yet putting both members of a couple in white shirts and khaki pants can achieve that goal.

I have some nits to pick with the author. Box is a medium format guy and doesn’t mention auto-exposure. Since most photographers are now using 35mm cameras with auto exposure, a little tailoring could have helped, but this shortcoming is not fatal. And he preserves a few photography myths, like the suggestion that a longer focal length lens creates a shorter depth of field. Optical science is clear that for the same image size on a negative, the only way to change the depth of field around a subject is by changing aperture.

Reading this book and following the author’s advice will not make you into a Karsh or Avedon. Not only did those photographers create their portraits in the studio with special lights, but they also had some of the most photogenic faces in the world to work with, as well as a degree of talent that was (and is) exceptional. This book is aimed at the majority of us who will take our cameras outdoors to photograph friends and family and who will be happy if the result is a picture that will lead others to say “Doesn’t Jim (or Jane) look great in this picture.

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