I really like this book. Even though I'm pretty well versed in portrait lighting I always buy Chris's books because learning one or two more tricks is worth a bunch more than the cover price. And this book is no exception. For the person who wants to compete in the portrait market this is a valuable resource and one I would buy before the next lens or camera body. He knows his stuff, the illustrations are great and the tone of the book is easy going and easy to understand. My only slight criticism is that the title should make clear that the book is really aimed at Portrait photographers and not at general commercial photography. He is resolutely a people shooter and it shows in his easy rapport with the subjects and his total control of the lighting. I recommend this book to most of my assistants.

This is a basic book... Saying that, there are some basic principles that most of the professionals do not know.
I believe that some of the concepts explained in the book will be always in my background when using artificial lighting in a photo. Besides these conceptual lessons, there are also some interesting "tips and tricks" that everyone can repeat. Definitely a book that deserves a reading!

This book is a must have in your studio.(ron) I have seen photographers greatly improve their photos in the studio. I highly recommend Sculpting with Light: Techniques for Portrait Photographers also rivchin

I have read Mr. Grey's work before so when I purchased some studio lights recently I went looking for a book to assist me. When I found this book I stopped looking.

The examples are excellent (photos and diagrams) and as always the text is informative and easy to understand.

I highly recommend this book to anyone getting started with studio lighting. Learn from a master photographer!

The book is very easy to follow with good photo examples. I keep the book as a reference and great source for inspiration. If I can't figure out how to do a lighting situation or run into a problem with my setup I find my answers in this book. I look forward to buying more books from Christopher Grey as his writing is down-to-earth and educational.

As a classroom instructor of photography for twenty years, I appreciate the basic info that Chris Grey has compiled in his two lighting guides. This studio guide was a natural addition to my classroom required reading and reference book collection. Customers should consider his first book "Master Lighting Guide for Portrait Photographers" as "part 1" of this collection.

NOTE: I wrote this review from the perspective of someone who read the first book and then bought this book to learn new things. If you have never read the first book you might find this book more useful than I did. Depending on your level of expertise, however, you might want to buy the first book over this one. Complete beginners will find the first book easier to follow. That being said I find the quality of content and presentation in this book to exceed the first. Therefore, if you are more comfortable with lighting and or would like to take a deep plunge into lighting go with this one. Now for the review


This book is much better than the first book by the same author titled Master Lighting Guide. It offers a more in depth higher quality presentation of studio lighting. Hence, the author attempts to provide the reader with a solid understanding of studio lighting principles. The first section focuses on explaining, with plenty of pictures, the relationship between light physical size and relative size, distance, spread depth, and feathering.

The second section consists of 20 topics or so that put the principles stated above into practice. Some are very unique and new like the inverse relation between specularity and size of softbox or the nature of umbrellas and how they differ from softboxes. That last topic is a full departure from the previous book in which the author leaves the impression that both modifiers -softboxes and umbrellas- are very similar when in reality they are not. Another great topic is about how to position a light meter for proper reading. That topic can eliminate much frustration with aiming light meters.

There are other section that seem to have been pretty much lifted from the previous book like the simulated sunlight topic which offers nothing more than one new but minor technique. A couple other topics don't add much like the topic about Why Strip Lights are so Cool which sounds very cool until you read it and realize that it pretty much adds nothing more than few extra pages to the book.

I think the book is very good, but very short and in a sense comes across as an incomplete work. I can't say the same about the first book which I felt was the opposite, complete in the range of topics but poor in quality of material. I still bought the first book anyway because it was the only available reference at the time. Given this book is short and covers many similar topics, but in a better way, I wonder why the author did not consider adding the new content of this book to the first book in a revised and expanded edition instead of a new book. That would have created a complete and excellent quality book that has no match on the market today.

I recommend the book to advanced amateurs and new professionals but I also recommended checking it in a bookstore first because some might not find it very valuable. It's just not one of those books that you can give full 5 stars and a blind buy it right away recommendation.


One last note: the author refers to softboxes sizes as 4x6 large, 3x4 medium, and 2x3 small. This designation might be confusing for people when they go to buy softboxes based on his recommendation. Many major softboxes manufacturers including Creative Light and Photoflex label 4x6 extra large, 3x4 large, and 2x3 medium. Chimera on the other hand goes by the same designations the author is using.

Studio Lighting Techniques for Photography covers studio lighting techniques in a powerful guide to everything from camera equipment to settings and lighting adjustments. From formats in lighting decisions and controlling qualities of light to lighting tests, hair light options for highlights, exposure choices and more, this belongs in any pro photographer's collection.

My good friend Chris Grey has done it again. His Studio Lighting Techniques For Photography: Tricks of the Trade for Professional Digital Photographers is nothing short of spectacular. My favorite quote from the book found on page 5 sets the tone for the book: "Failure is a wonderful reference." Don't be afraid to play and learn. That's what it is all about! The book is not designed as a basic introduction to lighting--he already wrote that one, but it does begin with a quick overview of some critically important concepts to get you going. In fact, the beauty of this book is, in fact, that it is not an introductory volume, so he is able to very effectively spend time on parts of your lighting that are usually given short attention in books with a more global approach. Chris spends good deal of time discussing auxiliary lights such as hair and background lights. He also spends a good amount of time discussing depth of light concepts and why they are so important (Chris is the one who got me to finally understand that idea!)

Chris' sheer mastery of light shines through, but what I found fascinating is that he remains a voracious student of light! Most of the chapters are discussions of things he discovered by playing, failing, playing some more, succeeding and repeating the process again and again. We are privy to the results of a Master at Play! This is an important idea: At no point does he say that his creations are "the end all." Rather, he repeatedly urges you to take his ideas and modify them to create you own interpretations.

One area that Chris does consistently emphasize, however, is the absolute need for exposure control. He shows you, step by step, how to check the calibration of your light meter against your camera. That's right...light meter! There is no using your LCD screen to check exposure here! He also details what (I agree) is the proper way to meter a set for dead on accuracy (and then, characteristically, he shows you when to break those same rules!). Chris effectively states that you can forgo shooting RAW in favor of jpegs by using these techniques. The whole RAW vs jpeg debate is an ongoing discussion and with all due respect, I fall on the other side of the fence from my trusted colleague. Chris' comments that RAW conversion can be time consuming is accurate in many situations. However, the conversion will be as simple as clicking a button or running a batch conversion while you sleep IF you follow the techniques described. The choice, given the system that Chris describes, is truly up to you.

There are way too many pearls in this book to describe in detail, but one of them is his chart showing the side by side comparison between the metered f-stop value and the corresponding aperture value on the camera. That alone is worth the price of admission!

Get this book...get some ideas...then go play with them and make them your own. As my buddy might say "this is fun...enjoy the ride!"

Christopher Grey's studio lighting is an excellent reference book for beginners or the full time pro. Beautifully illustrated with color photos showing high key, low key solutions with optional modifiers. How to use flash meter, sequence shots showing same head with short lighting, broad lighting,loop,rembrandt, and butterfly. Depth of light, hair and feathering. umbrellas, soft boxes strip boxes and his favorite large book end reflector panels. This is fine companion to his other books.

What a great book. There is so much in here to use for reference that anyone interested in studio photography would benefit from it. This one is a real keeper and will reside on my bookshelf if I don't pass it on to friends to read.

Great ideas, great set-up's, and a really informative approach with excellent examples.

This book is the perfect companion to Grey's book Master Lighting Guide. All of the same features that made his previous book such a delight are here: tons of lighting diagrams, tons of set-up shots, progression shots, very beautiful pictures, and lots of great examples for utilizing all the various techniques presented. There is a real depth-of-knowledge in Grey's writing that comes across in this book. I really couldn't give this a higher recommendation if you are looking to not only understand lighting but really control it and how it can radically change the quality of your photography. Wonderful stuff!

This is a great book for the studio shooter who is ready to go beyond the basics ( there are tons of those books already on the market) . I see this as a great studio reference book for an active studio person who asks themselves "how do I shoot...?"

Particularly helpful is the authors approach to the exacting aspects of studio shooting, and his displays of progressions of lighting set-up. Very helpful.

Two thumbs up on this one...

I agree with other reviews about the narrow target for this book, but after all the title is "Studio Lighting Techniques." I've been shooting for ages but am in my first year in my own studio space. I consider this book not only important to have on the book shelf as a reference, but an important tool in my lighting arsenal.

Grey has an exacting approach to lighting. But he encourages growth, "fun" and "play with (your) toys." This book and his earlier "Master Lighting Guide" are a great foundation and, hopefully, launching pads.

The print quality of the book is great which means photos show exactly what the text describes. They often show a progression of lighting changes, not just a final shot, so the results of subtle lighting changes are clearly seen. To me, that's an important way to learn.

Yes, I highly recommend!