The Dramatic Portrait: The Art of Crafting Light and Shadow

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Customers find the book easy to read and enjoyable. They appreciate the clear explanations and illustrations of the lessons. The book provides a wonderful look into the author’s workflow and sources of inspiration. It covers lighting techniques and a wide selection of light sources for portrait photography. The art history section is interesting and informative. Pop culture references are also appreciated.

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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 acknowleEAed 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 doEAing and burning for heightened drama and effect• How all of these elements culminate to help you define your personal style and create your own narrative

Our Top Reviews

Reviewer: R. Reed
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Wonderful book for Chris Knight fans and taking your portrait lighting to the next level!
Review: 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.

Reviewer: RoninUT
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Witty and informative. Technical, but entertaining.
Review: 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.

Reviewer: B. First
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: This is the portrait book i was looking for
Review: 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.

Reviewer: Jim Gagne
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Worthwhile if a little weird
Review: 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.

Reviewer: Samuel
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Dramatic Portrait
Review: Excellent book for study of light and shadow

Reviewer: honesty and truth
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Chritopher Knight nails it with this book!
Review: 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

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Informative and Well Written
Review: 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.

Reviewer: Chris Tucker
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Chris is a great teacher and explains everything in an enjoyable down-to-earth way
Review: An absolutely, well thought-out instructional book on the dramatic portrait. An absolutely indispensable tool for those wanting to learn and create their own style of dramatic lighting in studio. Chris is a great teacher and explains everything in an enjoyable down-to-earth way, yet while being very informative with every topic spoken of throughout the book. A must read!For a great complement to the book, check out Chris Knight’s new instructional video series on rggedu.com. Will bring elements of the book to life and further dive into everything the book teaches.

Reviewer: pfc
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Such a remarkable book! Useful; one learns a lot from reading it. If you’re keen on getting into studio portrait, this a must!

Reviewer: D. LeClair Visuals
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I am really loving this book. Great reference guide for any photographer dabbling in creating their own light using flash. Highly recommend for any photographer, beginner or advanced.

Reviewer: R C Davies
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Nice book, very informative. Chris Knight is an excellent photographer, a master of the craft. It starts off looking at the paintings of some of the great masters from a lighting, composition and posing perspective. This he then replicates. Quite a technical book leading you from some of the basics to quite advanced techniques. Quite a lot of theory too. It might be a bit technical for a novice, but it is certainly something you could grow into…

Reviewer: Alejandro G
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: El libro te explica desde los inicios de los retratos en pintura y escultura. Además te explica cómo tomar mejores retratos con la ayuda de la iluminación adecuada. Te explica cómo hacer buenas fotos con lo que tengas y puedas adquirir, te explica las opciones que hay en el mercado. Además te explica la importancia de la post producción (recomendable tener nociones de edición de imágenes en Lightroom y Photoshop para la última sección).

Reviewer: Jefferson Felipe dos Santos
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: The photography portion of this book is ok (which is the majority of it), but the initial History discussion is just atrocious. I’m a History teacher and I was so offended by how many wrong information this book contained in the very first 10 pages that I just decided to skip the entire first chapter. If you want to have a good introduction in history of art, go to Gombrich’s work and do not read a single line of this book’s first chapter.