The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world’s top shooters Reviews
The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world’s top shooters
- ISBN13: 9780321544087
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THE FIRST BOOK WITH ONE FOOT ON THE COFFEE TABLE, AND ONE FOOT IN THE
CLASSROOM
Joe McNally, one of the world’s top pro digital photographers, whose celebrated work has graced the pages of Sports Illustrated, Time, and National Geographic (to
Rating: 
(out of 202 reviews)
List Price: $ 54.99
Price: $ 29.98
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Conrad J. Obregon 7:40 pm on October 28, 2010 Permalink
Review by Conrad J. Obregon for The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world’s top shooters
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Picture this. You meet one of the world’s great photographers in a bar. He has a stack of pictures with him from his portfolio. As you go through the pictures, he talks about them, about the people in the photographs, and how he made each of them. About a third of the way through you realize that when he talks about the technical details he talks mostly about the lighting, and you are sorry you didn’t pick up on that right from the beginning, but now you listen avidly to try to learn his lighting techniques.
Then, about two-thirds of the way through, he stops talking about the lighting, and starts meandering about the photo editors he knew, and how he may have sacrificed some of his family life to be a photographer, and how he came up through the ranks, and that’s interesting too.
When Joe McNally talks about lighting a picture of James Brown, or Sophia Loren, or Larry Tisch, the techniques he uses seem to be ones you could use. But when he talks about getting a bunch of masks from the Smithsonian to shoot Michelle Pfeiffer, or five full length mirrors set up on the field for a picture of shortstop Ozzie Smith, or using 10 or 15 2400 watt lights to light fielder Eric Davis, you may hope that you can at least get inspiration because you are never going to have that kind of equipment, or if you are, then to quote McNally, “you don’t need my advice”. And don’t take a peek at McNally’s equipment until you come to that page in normal reading or you may decide the book is not for you.
If you are looking for instruction, it’s here amongst the stories, even if it’s delivered in a non-structured sort of way. I haven’t invested in a dozen Speedotrons, but after reading this book, I did decide to upgrade my umbrella to a couple of softboxes. On the other hand if you are interested in looking at a portfolio of great pictures, McNally has them. And if you like to listen to photographers tell stories about photography, often at their own expense, you’ll probably love this book.
Other then the lighting there is little of a technical nature here. There’s nothing about exposure, or depth of field or Photoshop. I am certain that the people that talked the author into writing this book loved the stories and the way they were told and how they related back occasionally to transforming a vision into an image by using equipment. McNally’s personality comes through. Whether this is the way for you to learn some lighting tricks will depend on what you feel about winnowing them out of the stories and pictures. On the other hand, Joe McNally is a great guy to have a drink with.
Cruising 7:56 pm on October 28, 2010 Permalink
Review by Cruising for The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world’s top shooters
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This book is written in such a way that photographers of every experience, style and age will gain huge value.
This is now my favorite book to date on photography.
My one line summary:
It will teach you “how to have a single photo tell a real story”, with emotion and from different perspectives. In my opinion it is a must for amateurs through pros.
Pros:
The books is written simply with no unexplained jargon. If the author mentions an industry word (e.g. Ripping Film), he goes on to explain what it means. You learn some of the industry street terms and get a feel for the authors experience shooting.
Every turn of the page has a compelling photo which is the subject of the lesson. Some lessons are technical such as how-to on lighting, while others are lessons on approach, demeanor or attitude.
The book is emotionally engaging. You want to put the book down and immediate try some of the approaches.
The author isn’t demonstrating ego – this book is NOT about him! It’s about the the world around him. You turn each page and learn how he captured an amazing picture of someone like James Brown, or how he found the real story in Augusta.
It will give you ideas on how to have a single photo tell a real story.
Cons:
The only real complaint: This is a soft cover and Amazon shipped it in an envelope instead of a box. The edges of the cover got crimped a bit.
Feedback for the author:
I’d love for more – just simply put – I want the second volume. I’d love to figure out how to get this signed
This is a real gem and I would have loved it in perfect condition for my office desktop.
Great job to the author.
Randall L. Steffens 8:45 pm on October 28, 2010 Permalink
Review by Randall L. Steffens for The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world’s top shooters
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I am writing this review from the perspective of someone who is known as the “Eternal Optimist”. I got the book for the purpose of gaining a serious insight into “how he did it” – kind of like Scott Kelby’s How-to books – which by the way, are all very good.
When Joe McNally’s photos are seen, one can only wonder, “how did he do that?”, so naturally, we are all inclined to want to get our hands on his book, so we can reproduce his shots, and ultimately learn by doing.
Sadly, this book just doesn’t come close to providing that end! Half the entire book is simply a full page of his glorious shots. The other half of the book is “supposed to be showing you how he did it”.
Each photo is supposed to represent a single element that he wants to stress as the critical component necessary for that particular shot. But seriously, those glorious shots consist of a constellation of critical factors that can NOT be explained on the basis of one “hint” only.
Most of us are buying the book so that we can fully reproduce his shots, but this will never be accomplished by his book alone. Truly, he is providing only a “miniscule hint” as to the thought processes behind each shot. Some of the hints are useful, but the majority of the book simply represents the interesting story behind the shot, without providing much useful information as to how we can accomplish the same scenario.
After reading the book, one has to ask, Does Joe, himself not know how he got the shot? Or is he intentionally just trying to keep us all in the dark, hoping that we’ll buy more of his books so that one day we’ll come a little closer to a better understanding? Is he afraid that if he tells us too much we may all become his competitors?
If you want a pretty “picture book” then this is it! But if you’re desiring a critical guide to reproducing his shots, you’ll finish this book very disappointed, wondering what his motive was for writing the book? Was it simply to make a buck? Or did he really think we were going to get much out of it?
While there is something important that can be learned from all photography books, I tend to believe that this book falls into the category of other similar books, which is to say – If you finish most books and come away with 2-3 seriously important points, that change your philosophy and actions, then your money has been well spent.
If your goals and intent for reading this book are appropriate, then you won’t be disappointed. However, if you think that you’ll be reproducing Joe’s shots after reading this book, you’ll likely come away angry or even feel betrayed – sad to say.
This book underscores the fact that there is no simple solution to creating great, world-class photographs. The more you read, the more you’ll know. This book is simply one small step on the road to a lifetime of perpetual self-education.
Do I recommend this book? I will reservedly say yes, but understand that realistically, you’ll come away with more questions than you had before you started, and you’ll still be asking yourself the eternal question, “I wish I knew just how did he did it”.
Addendum – 3-14-10
I would like to emphasize, that I have no negativity towards Joe or his books / DVDs. There is no question that he is an exceptionally talented photographer, but that in this book, he doesn’t do a very good job at explaining his workflow.
For those of you who are interested in other works that Joe has authored, I would strongly recommend you consider his DVD published by Nikon, “Nikon School presents A Hands-on Guide to Creative Lighting”.
The information presented within this DVD, is extraordinary and prodigus! He clearly is able to present all of the techniques and rationale behind the photographs, and does a very good job with explaining his various thought processes.
For all inquiring minds, Joe has done a first rate job with this DVD, and I highly recommend it to all students of photography!
Daniel Ablan 8:51 pm on October 28, 2010 Permalink
Review by Daniel Ablan for The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world’s top shooters
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If I could choose a career in Photography, it would be the one Joe McNally has had. And since my Photography is more for creative purposes and an adjunct to my 3D work, rather than the primary part of my work, I feel that I can live vicariously through Joe thanks to “The Moment It Clicks.” When I first heard about this book, I was excited because Joe’s work is outstanding, if not iconic. For Joe to do a book on his career, you can really get a sense of what drives him, what motivates him, and soon you get a complete understanding of how he got the shot. What I particularly like is that he discusses, in straight talk, the situation behind various images. Imagine sitting down with Joe McNally, looking through his portfolio, and asking him about the shot. Everything from using a fill flash, to making your pictures “shout”, to finding your way into a lunch with the head of Disney, simply to get the shot you want.
When I started writing books for 3D animation, people often asked me why I would do such a thing. How could I “give away my secrets.” I told them that it’s just software instruction, technique, and tips. I can’t teach anyone to be a 3D artist, but only how to use their software and help guide them. So when I started reading Joe’s book, I thought to myself “how can he give us all this valuable information…” Suddenly I caught myself. I realized that I was asking the same question people had asked me. Joe can’t teach you to be an photographic artist. But it’s his insight, experience, and outlook that can help you see better, and perhaps, become a better photographer – if you allow it.
This book is a welcomed addition to the arsenal of photo books on the market that continually talk about the same thing. Exposure, perspective, types of lighting, etc. Only a few books come along that you can refer to time and time again, once you know the basics. Joe’s book is one of those books and it will remain on my bookshelf for years to come. I’m so glad I signed up for Moose Peterson’s Digital Landscape Photography Workshop next fall, as Joe is one of the instructors!
SFC Shoemaker 8:58 pm on October 28, 2010 Permalink
Review by SFC Shoemaker for The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world’s top shooters
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I was expecting a well written book by a expert in his field. This book was well reccomended by Scott Kelby which was good enough for me. I was highly dissapointed. The entire book was based around how he used thousands of dollars worth of lighting to get ordinary pictures. I understand lighting is important but 240 pages of how he lit his pictures was to much. No real insite to how he composed or planned the pictures. Or even the camera set up he used. I am no expert but I do know when something is written to make a couple of dollars. The last 14 pages of the book is a glossary of the terms he used in the book (some made up). I read the entire book in a evening. Some comments were interesting but woke up the next morning trying to remember a single thing I liked about the book. Only thing I can remember is that he uses a lot of very expensive lighting for his shots.
Shame on Scott Kelby for reccomending this book.