One of the downfalls of many books and training DVDs on portrait
lighting is that they tend to make lighting seem like a
hopelessly complicated subject. You sometimes walk away feeling like you know less than you knew going in. That is exactly why Tony Corbell's Portrait Lighting on Location (Software Cinema) is such a welcome learning tool: rather than complicating location lighting, Corbell's DVD teaches great methods for simplifying lighting. And the results of his lighting techniques (you get to see a gallery of the shots from each segment) are brilliantly and creatively lit portraits. I am as impressed by the beautiful quality of his images as I am by his simple, straightforward method of teaching.
The DVD is divided into five distinct lighting lessons, including in-depth tutorials on: Controlling the Sun, The Daylight Studio, Portrait of a Physician, Amber & Abbey (photographing a mother and daughter at home) and Ambience and Flash Together Outdoors. There is also an excellent tutorial on image enhancing where Corbell shows you how he puts the finishing touches on his portraits (much of which involves Nik Software, for whom Corbell consults).
Each of these tutorial situations is a real shoot and you get to accompany Corbell on location and watch as he works with his models and creates his lighting set ups. His method of teaching is very one-on-one and feels very much like a personal workshop. Some of the tutorials are shot indoors using either flash and daylight or just flash (both portable and studio systems are demonstrated) and several of the outdoor shoots are created using just the sun and diffusion screens. In addition, Corbell demonstrates the incredible usefulness of acrylic mirrors in creating highlights and hair lights--something I've been trying to encourage students to use for years. (continued)
