Secrets of Great Portrait Photography: Photographs of the Famous and Infamous

Secrets of Great Portrait Photography: Photographs of the Famous and Infamous

Released September 2012
Publisher(s): New Riders
ISBN: 9780132867733

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Book description

In this sexy, bold book, Pulitzer-Prize winning photographer Brian Smith tells the stories behind the photos and lessons learned in 30 years of photographing celebrities and people from all walks of life. Smith’s long list of famous and infamous subjects includes pro basketball players Dwayne Wade and Shaquille O’Neal; billionaires Bill Gates, Richard Branson, and Donald Trump; tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams; actors Anne Hathaway, Antonio Banderas, Christopher Walken, Taye Diggs, Jane Krakowski, and William H. Macy; and many more.

You’ll get the inside scoop on what goes on at a celebrity photo shoot in this gorgeous guide to making professional portraits. Smith has mastered how to make a meaningful portrait on a magazine’s budget and on a celebrity’s schedule, which can sometimes be 15 minutes or less. Smith reveals his tips on connecting with people, finding the perfect location, telling a great story through portraiture, getting the ideal pose, capturing emotion and gestures, arranging unique group shots, and lighting the scene just right. You might not be photographing the rich and famous, but after reading Smith’s tell-all guide, you’ll know how to give everyone who makes their way in front of your camera the star treatment.

Table of contents

  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Dedication Page
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. About the Author
  6. Contents
  7. About This Book
  8. Chapter 1. Connect with your Subject
    1. Shoot 50 Strangers
    2. Art & Soul
    3. Do Your Homework
    4. Leave ’Em Laughing
    5. Stay In Touch
    6. Hone Your People Skills
    7. Give Everyone Their 15 Minutes
  9. Chapter 2. Find the Place
    1. Put a Little Muscle Into It
    2. Location, Location, Location
    3. Mix It Up
    4. Capture the Moment
    5. If You’ve Got It...
    6. Set the Stage
    7. Save the Day
    8. Organize the Chaos
    9. Make It Mean Something
    10. Match Your Place and Subject
    11. Make a Grand Entrance
    12. Go with Your Gut
  10. Chapter 3. Find the Angle
    1. Make ’Em Feel Like a Billion
    2. Shoot for the Ceiling
    3. Bring Them Down to Your Level
    4. Look Up to a Hero
    5. Find a Fresh Angle
    6. Lean Into It
    7. Near and Far
    8. Go Wide
  11. Chapter 4. Tell the Story
    1. Cover Every Angle
    2. How You Get Paid
    3. Always Be Closing
    4. Get Out of the Office
    5. Document Their Day
    6. Shooting on Set
    7. Shooting off Set
    8. Shoot One for Yourself
    9. Shoot a Concept
    10. Weird Science
    11. Fly Sci
    12. Cover a Grand Entrance
    13. Portraits Without a Person
  12. Chapter 5. Sweat the Small Stuff
    1. Who You Don’t See In the Photo
    2. Everyone Loves TLC
    3. Dress to Match
    4. Run With a Heavenly Idea
    5. Ditch the Mug Shot
    6. Make It Shine
    7. A Room of Their Own
    8. Driven to Succeed
    9. Confessions of a Stylist
  13. Chapter 6. Don’t Mess With A Good Thing
    1. When Subject Knows Best
    2. Catch the Big Fish
    3. Light to Let Them Move
    4. The More the Merrier
    5. Pay Attention
  14. Chapter 7. Pose Gesture Emotion
    1. Reveal Hidden Moments
    2. The Eyes Have It
    3. Use Peer Pressure to Get Your Way
    4. Give Them a Hand
    5. Let ’Em Relax
    6. Give Them Support
    7. Seize the Moment
    8. Keep It Real
    9. Strike a Pose
  15. Chapter 8. Less Is More
    1. Pare Down the Color
    2. Blend the Light
    3. Pick a Color
    4. Make the Hair Apparent
    5. Seek the Symbolic
    6. Bring Back the Classics
    7. A Great Face Says It All
    8. Unclutter Your Mind
    9. Clean Out the Clutter
  16. Chapter 9. See the Light
    1. Sunlight on a Stick
    2. Hard Light
    3. Soft Light
    4. Backlight
    5. Ring Flash
    6. Light for Drama
    7. Mix Strobe and Tungsten Light
    8. Blend Daylight and Strobe
    9. Blend Strobe at Dusk
    10. All the Light That’s Available
    11. Light for Mood
    12. Light for a Better Reality
    13. Shoot into the Sun
    14. Great Light Is Where You Find It
  17. Chapter 10. Group Portraits Without Formality
    1. Put Them to Work
    2. Create a Cooler Reality
    3. Find Real Heroes
    4. Look Up to Them
    5. Follow the Leader
  18. Chapter 11. Create the Look
    1. Give Each Story a Look
    2. Hypersaturate
    3. Cook Your Own
    4. Burn and Dodge
    5. Bring Back Classic Hollywood Glamour
    6. Create a Digital Daguerreotype
    7. Putting It all Together
  19. Chapter 12. Lights Camera Lens
    1. Lighting Gear Used In this Book
    2. What’s In the Bag?
    3. Large Format View
    4. Large Format Reflex
    5. Medium Format Film
    6. Medium Format Digital
    7. DSLR
    8. Mirrorless Compact
    9. Point-N-Shoot
    10. Plastic Cameras
    11. Favorite Portrait Lens
    12. Portrait Lenses
  20. Assignments
    1. One Lens One Week
    2. One Light One Week
    3. Shoot 50 Strangers
    4. Shoot Your Friends
    5. See the Other Side
    6. Get Out the Plastic
  21. Q+A
  22. Index
  23. Add Page

Product information

  • Title: Secrets of Great Portrait Photography: Photographs of the Famous and Infamous
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: September 2012
  • Publisher(s): New Riders
  • ISBN: 9780132867733