"A "cookbook" for creating dramatic and sometimes surreal effects using Adobe Photoshop, including methods to create entirely new composite images or simply improve existing images"--

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

This book includes information on the fourth and latest version of this extremely popular software program--just released this very season.

Joe Farace is an award-winning photographer with more than 30 books and 1,600 articles to his credit. So there’s no one better to take monochrome into the digital age. Whether you’re shooting digital black and white from your camera or converting color photographs to monochrome on the computer, you’ll discover an array of unique, innovative, and inspirational techniques suitable for shutterbugs of every level. Farace explains what kinds of software programs are best, and how to use them to manipulate your photos in diverse ways. He also discusses various in-camera effects including toning and soft focus. The detailed information and instruction cover everything from creating traditional looking black-and-white or sepia images, to adding color selectively for a one-of-a-kind, fine-art approach.

ENRICH, ENHANCE, AND TRANSFORM YOUR ART WITH THE MAGIC OF PHOTOSHOP® For artists, Adobe® Photoshopâ offers an exciting entry into a new world of limitless color, textures, and effects that can be applied with just the touch of a keyboard or click of a mouse. Intended for serious artists -- painters, photographers, and printmakers ‑- Photoshop for Artists provides a comprehensive series of detailed tutorials, cataloging the various tools, techniques, and methods for producing an infinite variety of creative imagery with Photoshop. With thirty tutorials divided into sections for fine artists, photographers, and printmakers, this book contains easy-to-follow step-by-step examples that include all the information serious professional artists need to master the digital art techniques of Photoshop. Each tutorial features screenshots and detailed directions, so artists can see exactly how the specific effects are achieved and applied to artwork. Featuring stunning and dramatic imagery produced by the author and other accomplished artists, Photoshop for Artists is essential reading for artists looking to take their work to the next digital level.

Covers the entire compositing process to create a variety of realistic photographs, with details on such topics as lighting, camera setup, background color, shadowing, and special effects.

This book breaks new ground by doing something for digital photographers that’s never been done before—it cuts through the bull and shows you exactly “how to do it.” It’s not a bunch of theory; it doesn’t challenge you to come up with your own settings or figure things out on your own. Instead, it does something that virtually no other Elements book has ever done—it tells you flat-out which settings to use, when to use them, and why. If you’re looking for one of those “tell-me-everything-about-the-Unsharp-Mask-filter” books, this isn’t it. You can grab any other Elements book on the shelf, because they all do that. Instead, this book gives you the inside tips and tricks of the trade for organizing, correcting, editing, sharpening, retouching, and printing your photos like a pro. You’ll be absolutely amazed at how easy and effective these techniques are—once you know the secrets. LEARN HOW THE PROS DO IT Each year we train thousands of digital photographers and, almost without exception, they have the same questions and face the same problems—that’s exactly what we cover in this book. You’ll learn: The real secrets of how the pros retouch portraits How to color correct any photo without breaking a sweat (you’ll be amazed at how the pros do it!) How to use Camera Raw for processing not only RAW photos, but JPEGs and TIFFs, too! (And you’ll learn why so many pros like it best—because it’s faster and easier) The sharpening techniques the pros really use (there’s an entire chapter just on this!) How to deal with common digital camera image problems, including removing noise and avoiding halos The most requested photographic special effects, and much more! THE BOOK’S SECRET WEAPON Although Elements 10 offers some digital photography features that Photoshop CS5 doesn’t offer, there are plenty of features that Photoshop CS5 has that Elements 10 still doesn’t have (things like paths, Channel Mixer, etc.). But in this book, you’ll learn some slick workarounds, cheats, and some fairly ingenious ways to replicate many of those Photoshop features from right within Elements. Plus, since this book is designed for photographers, it doesn’t waste your time talking about how to frame a shot, set your exposure, etc., and there’s no talk about which camera or printer to buy. It’s all Elements, step by step, cover to cover, in the only book of its kind, and you’re gonna love it!

Go beyond the basic rules of photography to capture stunning portraits Portrait photography is a vital topic for photographers of every level of experience, from amateur to professional. Written by renowned photographer Harold Davis, this inspirational book encourages you to define our own photographic style and capture stunning, creative, and unique portraits. You'll discover tips and techniques for "breaking the rules" of basic digital photography so that you can go beyond the fundamentals such as composition, lighting, and exposure in order to create memorable and incomparable portraits. Explores the most common subject of most photographers-people-and explains when, why, and how to forgo the fundamentals to capture memorable portraits Encourages you to define your own unique photographic style and offers information and inspiration to help you do so Delves into a variety of creative techniques that you can use when exploring ways to take lively and stunning portraits Illustrated with Harold Davis's striking portrait photography, Creative Portraits will both inform and inspire you.

"Clear, concise, lively, well-organized and opinionated."--Popular Photography and Imaging

This is a highly-visual guide to taking great digital photographs and turning them into evocative digital art of display quality. Learn by doing with the step-by-step instructions and source material.