Lighting and Design for Portrait Photography

A few days ago I got a special package delivered that I had been waiting for, it was Neil van Niekerk’s newest book entitled “Lighting & Design for Portrait Photography”.  I’ve been a big fan of Neil’s for quite a few years now and this is his fourth book published to date. I’m sure that just like his last three books, this book will make a lot of people very happy.

For those of you that don’t know, Neil came from South Africa in 2000 and started out specializing in Weddings and Portrait Photography. Within just a few years his work started getting people’s attention and soon he became very much in demand in the Tri-State area and beyond.

Neil van Niekerk

All the while his skills with Off-Camera flash were also starting to be more widely recognized. Because of his knowledge with Speedlight’s and photography in general, he started a website, called Tangents, to help people with their own photography and flash skills. That website has grown to over 900 articles on photography and off-camera flash. These days Neil still does his Wedding and Portrait photography work as well as teaching in workshops and trade shows, so he is very much in demand. His skills with off-camera flash are right up there the best, photographers known for their own style of off-camera flash skills, such as Syl Arena, Joe McNally and David Hobby.

 

Neil started off with his first book in 2009 simply entitled: On-Camera Flash. It was an instant hit and was soon followed up with Off-Camera Flash in 2011. Both books were proved to be very popular.  His third book came out two years later and is called Direction & Quality of Light. In that book Neil tells you that lighting is all about one thing specifically: the Quality and Direction of Light. 

His latest book is very different from his previous books because this book is more about the thought process behind the shots.  In this book Neil uses available light, bounce flash, off-camera flash and even some professional studio lighting. For many photographers, lighting can be very intimidating to learn and Neil has an easy-to-follow way of explaining things. In this book Neil takes you through his whole set-up behind the shots, things like what types of lighting he used and why he chose them.

Whatever you’re skill level, if you’re just starting out with photography or have been at it for years, there is definitely something in here for everyone. The book is loaded from cover to cover with beautiful images and I’m sure you enjoy this book as much as I do.

Remember, as always, keep shooting and have some fun!