The Dramatic Portrait: The Art of Crafting Light and Shadow

For fans of Chris Knight, this book is a wonderful look into his workflow and sources of inspiration that he pulls for for his own work.The book goes into lightning techniques and some post processing, but I most enjoyed the addition of a brief history of portraiture and the portrayal of the human form throughout the more significant art movements. I took an Art History class in college so the opening chapter of the book was a nice refresher.I wouldn't call the book revolutionary by any means, but Chris' approach to lighting principles, post production, and developing a 'style' is very easy to understand and can take your portrait photography to the next level.You can find video interviews and classes he's taught (BH Photo Video) while promoting this book, but having the book on hand is a nice reference. Highly recommended.

Non fiction doesn't have to be boring. I feel like the author would be lots of fun after a few drinks at a party.The beginning of the book is a quick art history lesson interspersed with bits of humor and a few pop culture references. It was entertaining and informative.The latter part of the book goes into detail about the the effects of lighting changes, with images depicting the changing light, along with descriptions of how it is achieved.It would be a good book to keep handy when setting up studio lighting, as a reference.If you want a crash course in art history as it relates to portrait photography, this book is a good choice.

This book runs the gamut from art history of the portrait, to technique, styling, and post production. It covers a range of topics with very clear descriptions and illustrations. There is a lot of information in this book! It is also an amazing value. A lot of photography books are very expensive, even if they are of marginal value—this on the other hand is very affordable and has a ton of great info. If you are learning portraiture this book is for you.

I have mixed feelings about The Dramatic Portrait. It's about how to take well-lit portraits in a well-equipped studio. Knight uses a wide selection of light sources in a large room; neither is available to most amateur photographers, certainly not me. Sections on how to light a portraits and how the image changes with subtle variations in type of light and light placement are especially well done. The chapter on color is incredibly basic and oversimplified. I found the discussion of post-production confusing, and I will certainly use other sources to learn Photoshop. On the other hand, the long first chapter features a history of portraiture over the centuries, which I found quite enlightening.The thing that most grates on me is Knight's choice of models. Most of the lighting section depicts the same older guy with long gray hair, beard, rumpled suit, and a bowler hat. Several female models later in the book are quite effective, but I found the photos of a man portraying a washed-up nineteenth century boxer disturbing and unhelpful.All in all this book was worthwhile if a little odd.

The Dramatic Portrait is the essence of Christopher Knight's style and his skill at teaching. Chris has also been regarded as a highly skilled instructor of photography and particularly lighting as he teaches at the collegiate level and at workshops. Here we finally get a chance to sit down with a well written book that is extremely easy to understand. Chris presents his material in a simple format with great photos, diagrams and references throughout.It is with high regard that I recommend this book for any photographer trying to improve their skills with lighting.Dr Greg Gulbransen

Excellent book for study of light and shadow

I picked this book up because I love Chris Knight's work and I really want to take more dramatic portraits myself. He really does a great job of making the history of portraiture more fun than it sounds (as the first chapter is titled). He has a wonderful sense of humor and has amusing pop culture references sprinkled throughout the book. I love that he uses the same gentleman model in the chapter on technical lighting. It allows you to see the difference in the lighting much better than if each image was using a different model. Everything is well written and easy to understand. I love that he went into a bit of post-production as well.

Excellent information for the portrait photographer at any level especially college students. Great examples and diagrams -- BUT -- the printed version (vs Kindle) suffers significantly in readability with the editorial/design choice of a thin, small point sans-serif font. Even with my 20-20 natural close-up vision it is difficult, to the point of annoying, to read the text under anything but bright light.One of the practical design axioms is that good presentation will support poor concept and weak content -- But, no matter how good the concept or content, poor craft/presentation can ruin both.I really want to use this as a supplemental text for my college photograph classes, but considering my experience, combined with negative feedback from my students, I probably will not.