EricHolsinger.com

I’ve been reading Face to Face: Rick Sammon’s Complete Guide to Photographing People. I picked up this beautiful book before my Strobist trip to NYC and read it voraciously during my down time on that trip. I just picked it up and started reading it again. I just had to write about what a great book this is.

First of all, the cover is beautiful, right? What a great shot of those three smiling girls. It really engages you as the viewer, doesn’t it? Well, Rick Sammon explains what makes this photo work so well, and how he got it.

“In this book, the book I’ve dreamed about writing for years, I share some behind-the-scenes stories,” explains Sammon. “You’ll learn how to photograph people in low light and in bright light, with a flash and without a flash. You’ll see how reflectors and diffusers can turn a snapshot into a great shot. You’ll understand the difference between an environmental portrait (a picture of the person in his or her environment) and a portrait–and the difference between taking and making a picture.”

Rick Sammon’s book is a very easy read. His text is natural and approachable. It’s not technical and stuffy or preachy. His text comes across very much like the way Rick describes himself when he is shooting: casual, upbeat, friendly and likable. I’ve been going back to it and re-reading some sections to recapture the feeling I had when I read it the first time. Like, “yeah, I can do that!”

I really love this book. Judging by the ratings of Face to Face on Amazon.com, a lot of other people love it, too. If there is anything to complain about, I would say depth. The book does a great job of touching on a lot different aspect of people photography, but doesn’t get into a lot of specific examples. The photos in the book are discussed well and serve the text as an example.

All in all, it works very well and is a great read. I totally recommend it.

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