Customer Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic tips and insights
Comment: This book is filled with superb tips on photography lighting, setup and so much more! Each two-page spread on a unique photo-shoot is written so that it makes sense and sticks.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Dozens of Photography Tips & Techniques
Comment: Novice to professionals will benefit from Joe McNally's experience as a photographer with Life, National Geographic, and Sports Illustrated. There are basic photographic tips for those that want to point and shoot with a little more flair. But more, there are very technical tips on how to use professional lighting systems to achieve very "unlit" natural results. This is by no means a dry step-by-step how-to book. It's written in a very conversational style: "oh, you want to know how I took that photo of Michelle (Pfeiffer), pull up a chair and let me tell you." It is an easy read, filled with humor and tales of a journeyman photographer. The first read took me just a couple days at a few pages a day. A few weeks has gone by and I realize that I want to commit many more of McNally's tips to memory, that will take me a couple more rereads. I'm looking forward to it. The book is 50% fantastic photos (of who's who in sports and pop culture) and 50% how to make these photos.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Looking into the mind and methods of a professional...
Comment: I'm in awe of people who can take great pictures with seemingly little effort. But in reality, those pictures are a combination of skill, knowledge, and not a small measure of luck. Joe McNally, a very well-known photographer who has shot for Time, National Geographic, and others, "converses" with the reader in The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world's top shooters. You'll find out how his mind works to control lighting and scene to make those famous images.
Contents:
Shoot What You Love; Keep Your Eye in the Camera; The Logic of Light; There's Always Something to Bounce Light Off Of; Joe's Lighting Tips; Joe's Camera Bag; Joe's Grip and Lighting Gear; The Barroom; Glossary; Index
This book was born from a workshop where McNally was presenting. He was sharing gems of experience, when it dawned on one of the attendees that capturing these nuggets of wisdom could be a perfect method for letting everyone get into the mind of a great photographer. The format of the book consists mostly of two page spreads. The right side shows the photo, and the left side is McNally sharing the story behind the image. Not only does he share what it took to get the picture, but he also gets into the technical aspects of how it was lit and shot. So much of what he does is based on lighting. Too much, too little, bouncing off items, focussed lighting, ambient, etc... When you get done, you'll never look at light in quite the same way again.
Will this book allow you to replicate the same types of shots that have made McNally famous? No. For one, he has hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment, and often has a budget to do things like renting elephants and hanging people from helicopters. My guess is that you don't have that working for you. Also, he doesn't use a "do this, then this, then this" approach. He does talk about the equipment and settings, the lighting and circumstances, but it's more as if you were sitting in a pub talking to a best mate. If you're not experienced on camera technology and terminology, you'll also miss a fair amount of the value. But if you've done some work and become more than just a tourist with a camera, this can take you up another level or two.
Or you can just look at the pictures and marvel that it's possible to do those kinds of things with a camera...
Customer Rating:
Summary: Best photo book in years
Comment: I read a ton of photography books. This is one of the best in the last several decades. Great personal stories and filled with incredibly useful information that's boiled down to useful little nuggets rather than running on for page after page of dribble.
As a professional photographer I only expect a single "aha" from any book I read. This had dozens! I'm so impressed I may attend one of his workshops.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A must read!
Comment: Inspiring!
Joe is one of my favorite photographers.In this book you are able to go into Joe's mindset when he shot the image. But not only that, but he shares with you what he learned as a photographer as well as a human being.
I love his philosophy on lighting and flash... he uses whatever light is available... be it flash or available light. Joe is very practical, down to earth and honest. Great Book!
It is formated into short two pages chapters, with charts, definition of terms, and the image itself. So it is an easy and enjoyable read,
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