Books : The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world's top shooters (Voices That Matter)

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by: Joe McNally

: The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world's top shooters (Voices That Matter)
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 775
EAN: 9780321544087
ISBN: 0321544080
Label: New Riders Press
Manufacturer: New Riders Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 272
Publication Date: February 02, 2008
Publisher: New Riders Press
Sales Rank: 1401
Studio: New Riders Press



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Product Description:
THE FIRST BOOK WITH ONE FOOT ON THE COFFEE TABLE, AND ONE FOOT IN THE
CLASSROOM
Joe McNally, one of the world’s top pro digital photographers, whose celebrated work has graced the pages of Sports Illustrated, Time, and National Geographic (to name a few), breaks new ground by doing something no photography book has ever done—blending the rich, stunning images and elegant layout of a coffee-table book with the invaluable training, no-nonsense insights, and photography secrets usually found only in those rare, best-of-breed educational books.

When Joe’s not on assignment for the biggest-name magazines and Fortune 500 clients, he’s in the classroom teaching location lighting, environmental portraiture, and how to “get the shot” at workshops around the world. These on-location workshops are usually reserved for a handful of photographers each year, but now you can learn the same techniques that Joe shares in his seminars and lectures in a book that brings Joe’s sessions to life.

What makes the book so unique is the “triangle of learning” where (1) Joe distills the concept down to one brief sentence. It usually starts with something like, “An editor at National Geographic once told me…” and then he shares one of those hard-earned tricks of the trade that you only get from spending a lifetime behind the lens. Then, (2) on the facing page is one of Joe’s brilliant images that perfectly illustrates the technique (you’ll recognize many of his photos from magazine covers). And (3) you get the inside story of how that shot was taken, including which equipment he used (lens, f/stop, lighting, accessories, etc.), along with the challenges that type of project brings, and how to set up a shot like that of your own.

This book also gives you something more. It inspires. It challenges. It informs. But perhaps most importantly, it will help you understand photography and the art of making great photos at a level you never thought possible. This book is packed with those “Ah ha!” moments—those clever insights that make it all come together for you. It brings you that wonderful moment when it suddenly all makes sense—that “moment it clicks.”





Customer Reviews
Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - Really Amazing
Highly entertaining and really opened my eyes to how much work goes into creating a great photograph.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Learning photography from a different perspective
I was very interested in purchasing this book several months ago until I read some of the reviews. People slammed the book because Joe talked about the expensive equipment he used, which was out of their price range, and he didn't provide much technical detail about the photos. Therefore, the book was not very helpful.

I've only read the first 32 pages. However, as I read some of the stories, it clicked to me what Joe was actually trying to convey and I wanted to write about it.

I believe those who gave the book a low rating totally missed the point of this book. Joe teaches you about photography but not from the technical perspective.

I've read Bryan Peterson, John Shaw and others who provided a lot of technical detail and their books are great.

Joe is explaining photography from a mental perspective. He is focusing on having us in the proper mindset before we begin shooting. The "story behind the story" regarding his photos are the real educational jewels in this book. It is no coincidence that he doesn't provide aperture or shutter speed or many of the other image properties we're accustomed to seeing. The lighting equipment and technical details he does provide is more of an afterthought.

He discusses a shoot where he was done taking pictures. However, he didn't pack up his camera. At that moment, a photographic opportunity was realized and he captured a great shot. Something as mundane as not packing your camera until the end was the point of the story. It wasn't about light or aperture of shutter speed. This story tells me to always be ready to photograph a moment even when you think your work is done. Now many people may read this and think, "Well, duh!" However, I've packed up my camera many times when I thought I was done to only scramble to pull it out again.

He has reinforced things I already new and gave me new things to consider. Many similar examples are throughout the book. When you put all these tips together, during your next shoot you will be better prepared.

Lastly, he has a photograph of a man changing a light bulb on top of the Empire State Building. When I first skimmed through the book, I thought it was an okay photo. However, I read the story where he wanted to take a bland subject (changing a light bulb) and make it more dramatic. After reading the story, I had a greater appreciation of the photo.

This is not your conventional photography book--Lou Jones took a similar and equally effective approach with his book, Travel Photography Off the Charts. It is a daring approach because photographers, who are supposed to be out-of-the-box thinkers, look for the same thing from different books. Therefore, I give Joe credit for taking an unconventional yet effective approach towards teaching photography.

If you're looking for a "How-To" book, this is not for you. However, if you're confident in your lighting fundamentals and you want to hear some "war stories" from someone who's been everywhere and done everything, this book will be a good read. I haven't been to any of his classes or photo shoots so this is the next best thing!


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - This book is brilliant
There is a once popular self help guru whose philosophy was, in part, that to be successful at something you needed only to internalize the understanding of someone who is already successful at that thing. (This is sometimes misunderstood as needing to copy any and all actions of that person which explains why millions of people brush their teeth with the end of a stick but, I digress).

This book takes you into the mind of a very talented photographer. It helps you develop an understanding of why choices were made in a wide range of situations that produced unquestionably successful results. As other reviewers have already pointed out, you will probably not be presented with the same situations (or provided with the same resources) as the author. However, neither was he with yours. What you might be able to do if you understand his rational, methodology, and "rules" is to dramatically improve the pictures you take.


Rating: 1 out of 5 stars - This book gives very little "how to"
If you are looking for a poor quality yet overpriced(32.95) paperback photo book for the coffee table this book is for you. The author's photo's are good and his personal stories are nice but there is no meat here for anyone seeking to learn more about photography. I bought the book for a Christmas present and now will have no present and wasted time ordering and repackaging and returning. Thank goodness Amazon has a return policy.


Rating: 1 out of 5 stars - Not useful at all for amateur photographers
First of all, his review is from an aspiring amateur photographer who never intends to be a pro. So, if you are a pro, you may ignore this review. The pictures in the book are awesome. That's for sure. However, they are like, pictures from a helicopter, pictures from on top of New York skyscraper construction, pro-football cheer leaders' locker room, etc... and then the author explains shortly how to get this type of shot. And for most of the shots in this book, the author says that he used assistants for lighting. But average amateur photographers will never be in the Moment It Clicks and will never get an assistant for lighting equipments. I don't think that I am going to fly over New York in helicopter, or in any city what so ever. For most of learning amateur photographers, what they will learn after they read this book is that they will not be able to do somehing like this, unless they change their jobs.

This book is only for professional photo journalists.

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