Monte Zucker's Portrait Photography Handbook

I don't understand the low reviews and I wonder if their authors even read this book or just skimmed it. Unlike other portrait books, Monte starts out with the basics and builds from there, with many examples of posing and lighting. It's true that he recommends two basic poses, but goes on to show how head on, 2/3 and profile shots can be taken from those poses with the same lighting. He also favors short lighting almost exclusively, but for the most part that is because it best flatters his subjects. He recognizes that portrait photography is about satisfying your subject first, not making some avant garde statement. He explains how to set up 2/3 and profile shots. He explains the necessity of examining your subject and finding out what they want before you start shooting. This lets you determine what the subject wants, how you want to shoot and which side of the face to favor. He doesn't even get into discussing lighting equipment and camera equipment until near the end. He does discuss environmental portraits as well as studio portraits and shows various one light, two light, three light, four light setups. I have three other portrait and lighting books and this is the one I come back to most often for simple concise guidance. Before you go off to "find your style," master these techniques first and you will at least have a solid basis for determining if "your style" is superior.

I have only gone through this book once and even that was very brief, but I found it very helpful and the tips he made are short and to the point. I was impressed at how the posing of the subject is explained right down to where the eyes should be positioned. I always thought that the eyes should be looking at the camera lens when taking a straight on shot. Monte covers even the clothes and their relation to the background. How he would check with the subject a day or so before the shoot to suggest what would work and what would not. My only problem with the book is that he didn't go into lighting as much as I would have liked, although there are plenty of books out there on that and perhaps that was not what was needed in this book. He also used a digital camera so one of the benefits of them is that you can check the lighting with the camera and if it isn't to your liking, just move the lights and take a few more test shots. It is hard to beat his photos for jumping off the page and making you feel that the subjects are right there. I highly recommend this book and feel there is enough info for you to take great portrait shots if you follow his advice. This was his last work before his death and it is a great contribution to those of us that wish to do portrait photography for business or just fun.

The FIRST photography book you should purchase if you want to create timeless portraits that capture and preserve the soul of the people you photograph! Monte Zucker is one of the great masters to portrait photography as Ansel Adams is to landscape photography. If you learn the principles he teaches very clearly, directly, and succinctly in this book, your portraits will appreciate to a higher level than you ever thought you were capable of. He explains lighting equipment and techniques. He gets into a great deal of detail on how to pose subjects to make them look their best, flattering their positive features while minimizing features they don't want to show off. There are tons of pictures in the book demonstrating the techniques he writes about, along with portraits showing the results. This book should be in every photographer's library as their BIBLE on how to create great portraits, even if they only rarely shoot people. Mr. Zucker was awesome at what he did and this book is his legacy...showing anyone what they need to know to photograph people.

I wanted a book on detailed posing techniques and lighting- this book did NOT disappoint. It is filled with lots of details to fine-tune posing for portraits- more that just "put hands here and feet there", but details such as eye size, noses, facial analysis, etc. It also discusses hair/make-up, clothing, patterns, preparation for the session, backgrounds, etc. There is a lot of attention to lighting techniques and equipment, window lighting, outdoors, composition. etc. Most is directed towards single subject, but it also has a fair amount of group/family portraits. If you're looking for a great book on detailed posing and lighting, this is it. With Monte Zucker's name on it, I expected a good book, but this one exceeded my expectations.

Monte Zucker was an award-winning photographer, and you will learn some things from this book if you're just starting out. Unfortunately, it's just not detailed enough for me. He covers so many subjects that he really can't take the time to truly explain any of them. This book needed to be about three times as long to be helpful. Each chapter feels like it was hacked by an editor to get the book down to size, leaving out some key information. For example, this book seems aimed at beginners, but he often uses terminology that no beginner would know, and doesn't bother to explain what those words mean. I know what a "gobo" is, but I doubt a true beginner would. I really hate to criticize a book by someone who has won such prestigious awards as Mr. Zucker, but I really didn't get much out of it. I was hoping for some truly inspirational knowledge, but instead I got just some basic info and a few nice portraits.

Having studied with Monte, I looked forward to the release of this book. His philosophy and approach to taking portraits are nicely summarized. Samples of his work are also provided. Monte had the touch and the formula. By incorporating his formula into our work, we can also improve our portraits. Most of his images are not overworked in Photoshop. They are just posed and lit properly. His subjects are always presented in a way that tells something about them, and also pleases the viewer. Monte was solid in fundamentals, and he left them for us in this book.

I have read many books and DVD tutorials teaching portrait photography. This book provides the best information among all the others that I have read before. It teaches the principle of WHY and WHAT make an outstanding and beautiful portraiture. As oppose to most photographic teaching materials in the market which teach HOW instead of WHY, the Monte Zucker's Portrait Photography Handbook opens up my path to become a better hobbyist photographer in portrait photography . All the sample pictures in this book are absolutely beautiful, the posing, lighting, style are well worth my time for careful study. The only reason I do not give this book 5 star rating, is that it over states several brand names photo equipments. The truth is the photo equipments market is changing rapidly. There are many better and reasonably priced equipments coming into the market every day. The author should not have suggested or implied some brand name equipments would produce better pictures. It is the skill of the photographers produce beautiful portraiture, not brand name equipments. I definitely recommend this book to all who are serious about portrait photography.

Mr. Zucker tells you things about taking portraits that no one else has taken the time to put in writing. I couldn't be happier with a portrait handbook and I've read a few. Very easy to understand and well written. This book not only walks you through the portrait process but also gives you some very helpful tips on running your own portrait business along with some of the best portrait examples. Some great insights and wonderful portraits. I recommend to anyone (beginner and experienced) in the portrait profession to get your hands on this book and read it cover to cover. I know I'll be keeping my copy to re-read and refer back to.

This is a great book for budding portrait photographers. It gives clear examples in print and diagram Each lighting set-upshows an easy to understand diagram and the finished picture is then shown. It is a great book.

This 2008 edition might seem outdated in 2016 yet the techniques and approaches presented in the classic manual are in use by amateur and professional photographers alike. These techniques are the foundations to revert back to at all times to ensure you get the shot. Practice them regularly with your lighting setup to maintain your confidence.

Fand ich sehr gut. Nette Ideen, Grundregeln… jedem, der malen oder fotografieren lernen möchte würde ich es ans Herz legen

I am sure that Monte Zucker was a good photographer. The book was thorough, but outdated. I would not recommend it.

I bought this because I saw his video presentation which is one of the best. This is another good book with nice pictures and good descriptions. I am not rating 5 stars because I expect too much.