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Two Great New Photography E-Books

New E-BooksI know many of you love photography e-books because they are:

(a) Inexpensive,
(b) Easy to refer back to any time,
(c) Portable on all your devices, and
(d) Did I mention inexpensive?

Well, while I was busy finishing my Event Photography course, two of my favorite photography teachers put out great new e-books that I am long overdue in bringing to your attention.

Let’s look at each separately.

Location Flash by Jimmy D

 

Location Flash by Jimmy D

Here’s what I love about this book:

1) It covers a little bit of everything. If you’re just starting out and want an overview of the different kind of lighting tools, lighting modifiers, and lighting strategies for outdoor portraits, you’ll find it all here. From small speedlites to big studio strobes, from reflectors to umbrellas to softboxes to ring flash, you’ll get a little sample of everything Jimmy D uses to create portraits.

I can’t tell you how much I would have liked to have this overview, all in one place, when I was starting to light portraits.

2) Lots of great example photos using people who are not models. (Sure, some of them are models, because Jimmy shoots models for a living. But here he also uses his kids, nieces, nephews, and other “real people” for subjects — just like you do).

3) Jimmy speaks from experience. This guy has been shooting people professionally for decades. It’s all he does. Portraits, glamour, fashion. Jimmy has made a lifelong career of lighting people to make pictures. When he tells you how to light people outdoors, he knows what he’s talking about.

4) It’s a great supplement to my Flash Portrait course and my Event Photography course. If you own either of those courses, you’ll love the way this book extends and enhances your knowledge of outdoor people lighting.

5) Did I mention it’s only ten bucks? That’s less than a movie ticket. Even if you learn only one thing, at that price, it’s worth it. I learned several new things, and I got some really good forehead-slap “oh yeah!” reminders on a dozen more things I had forgotten.

You can buy it here and download it right now:
Location Flash by Jimmy D – Just $9.95

 

Successful Photo Shoots by Ed Verosky

Successful Photo Shoots by Ed Verosky

This is a very different kind of book from anything Verosky has offered in the past.

Rather than detailed instruction in gear or techniques, this book looks at the complete, overall process of a photo shoot with a model.

If you’re considering shooting models, especially glamour and boudoir photography you’ll learn exactly:

  • What happens in a typical photo shoot
  • What camera, lens, and lights to use at each step
  • When and why to change lenses
  • What camera settings to use
  • How to keep the shoot flowing
  • How to maintain rapport with the model
  • How to recover from mistakes
  • How to get back on track when the shoot goes off the rails
  • How Ed edits his photos in Lightroom to get the finished look

Here’s what I love about this book:

1) Ed shows you four different complete photo shoots, from beginning to end. You can see the process happen again and again in different variations.

2) Ed actually tells you word-for-word what he says to the model at every step. Literal spoken dialog. And what he’s thinking. At every step. This is great.

3) Ed shows you his missteps and bad photos as well as the good ones. Then he shows you how he selects and edits the keepers to create the final photos. It’s comforting to know that even the pros take a lot of mediocre shots, and that it’s a process of refinement, selection, and editing that gives the great end result.

4) This vicarious experience, repeated again and again, really builds your confidence as if you were there. If you’re nervous about shooting models, after going through all these shoots step by step, you’ll feel almost as if you had these shooting experiences yourself. What a huge confidence boost!

Warning: These are bouidor/glamour shots, so there is some mild nudity here. But it’s artistic (and I think you’ll enjoy Ed’s choice of models). If nudity turns you off, don’t buy this one.

I think this “complete photo shoot” concept was a brilliant idea on Ed’s part. In fact, the only thing better would be to see it all as a video series, but as videos it would cost $200 instead of $10. So. Love the e-book!

And of course, I got you a discount! Normally $15, you can get it for $10 if you use the coupon code SAVE5. Because I love you, man.

Successful Photo Shoots by Ed Verosky for just $10 with discount code

For me, e-books like these provide a ridiculous amount of value for the price.

I mean, I spent more than that on lunch today! And these books represent decades of experience by top photographers who are also great teachers.

At this price, it’s a no-brainer choice for me, little treasures of photography info you can refer back to any time. I just gobble these up.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Happy Shooting!

–Phil

 

P.S. And what’s also great is that if you buy these Ed and Jimmy will share a bit of the proceeds to help me keep making free tutorials for you.

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One Comment

  1. Glen Hogard says:

    Thanks, Phil, It’s hard to get my attention even for things I know I want/need. I appreciate the power of linking with colleagues. We rise and fall together, don’t we?

    g

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