Without light, there is no photograph. As almost every photographer knows, the word “photograph” has its roots in two Greek words that, together, mean “drawing with light.” But what is less commonly acknowledged and understood is the role that shadow plays in creating striking, expressive imagery, especially in portraiture. It is through deft, nuanced use of both light and shadow that you can move beyond shooting simply ordinary, competent headshots into the realm of creating dramatic portraiture that can so powerfully convey a subject’s inner essence, communicate a personal narrative, and express your photographic vision.

In The Dramatic Portrait: The Art of Crafting Light and Shadow, Chris Knight addresses portraiture with a unique approach to both light and shadow that allows you to improve and elevate your own portraiture. He begins with the history of portraiture, from the early work of Egyptians and Greeks to the sublime treatment of light and subject by artists such as Caravaggio, Rembrandt, and Vermeer. Chris then dives into a deep, hands-on exploration of light, shadow, and portraiture, offering numerous lessons and takeaways. He covers:

• The qualities of light: hard, soft, and the spectrum in between

• The relationships between light, subject, and background, and how to control them

• Lighting patterns such as Paramount, Rembrandt, loop, and split

• Lighting ratios and how they affect contrast in your image

• Equipment: from big and small modifiers to grids, snoots, barn doors, flags, and gels

• Multiple setups for portrait shoots, including those that utilize one, two, and three lights

• How color contributes to drama and mood, eliciting an emotional response from the viewer

• How to approach styling your portrait, from wardrobe to background

• The post-processing workflow, including developing the RAW file, maximizing contrast, color grading, retouching, and dodging and burning for heightened drama and effect

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• How all of these elements culminate to help you define your personal style and create your own narrative

So you think you understand the world you live in? Don't bet your life on it. This world is not safe. This world is not sane. This world is a ticking time bomb, and the lives of billions hang in the balance. Knightlight, an organization founded in 1947, is a government-sanctioned agency that deals with non-military threats. They deal with madmen and monsters. They are at war, and have been for nearly seventy years. But the enemy is ancient and has an agenda of its own. The enemy has had all the time in the world to prepare. The first phase of the plan-destroy Knightlight, and any resistance, removing them all from the field of battle. There are terrible things soon coming upon the Earth ... terrible things. We live in a short slice of time referred to as the "Prelude to the Dark Messiah." Knightlight knows it can't protect mankind from the future, but until the end comes, they will hold the line. Forget what you believe you know about the Bigfoot phenomenon. Ignore what you think you understand about aliens. Unlearn what you've been taught about ghosts, vampires, and werewolves. None of the above exist, but what does exist will gladly drag you to the pit of hell and devour you on the way.

Deftly blending political insight and neurotic humor in a uniquely fluid and dynamic style, this edition follows Knight's long-running, 2007 Harvey Award-winning weekly comic strip "The K Chronicles," which appears on salon.com.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1882.

"Things are going BOUNCE in the night. Clea and Ranger, the Lindenberry pets, are behaving awfully strange. The Knights must draw upon their experience back in the Netheretherlands in order to find a way to stop the bouncing and fix the pets. Magnabumble, Ironheart, Lionpenny and Stilton band together in another heroic quest to save the night!" --Page 4 of cover.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1874.

A man reincarnates. He is born in a new world, one filled with monsters and magic.Pyromancers decimate jungles, Cryomancers walk over frozen oceans, Electromancers kill behemoths in seconds, Geomancers build castles in hours, Aeromancers soar through the skies, Sciomancers blacken the sun, and Biomancers grow fields of crops in mere days.However, this man can't use any of these magical elements; he can only use the weakest of the magical elements: Photomancy - light.

Finally, the Order of the Silver Phoenix is getting off the ground! The group was founded to create new mechs, to push the limits of silhouette knight technology. So what is their first order of business? Why, nothing other than a project that would give any normal person a splitting headache! And it doesn’t stop there. After Ernie proposes his special model of silhouette knight, he has even more ideas about optional equipment! What messes will our clever protagonist get up to in volume 3? Will there be more giant monsters on the horizon? Or will he face tribulations from another vector? It might even be both!