Box - Doug Boxs Available light photography: techniques for digital photographers

DEDICATION

My family has provided support and relief throughout my career. This book is dedicated to my wife, whom I love very much, and to my three sons and their families who, over the years, have posed for me more times than they cared to.

Copyright 2012 by Doug Box.

All photographs by the author unless otherwise noted.

All rights reserved.

Published by:

Amherst Media, Inc.

P.O. Box 586

Buffalo, N.Y. 14226

Fax: 716-874-4508

www.AmherstMedia.com

Publisher: Craig Alesse

Senior Editor/Production Manager: Michelle Perkins

Assistant Editor: Barbara A. Lynch-Johnt

Editorial assistance provided by Chris Gallant, Sally Jarzab, and John S. Loder.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60895-472-8

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011942797

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise, without prior written consent from the publisher.

Notice of Disclaimer: The information contained in this book is based on the authors experience and opinions. The author and publisher will not be held liable for the use or misuse of the information in this book.

Check out Amherst Medias blogs at: http://portrait-photographer.blogspot.com/

http://weddingphotographer-amherstmedia.blogspot.com/

CONTENTS

D oug Box has been a professional portrait and wedding photographer since 1974. He has owned three studios in Texas and has produced images in various genresincluding portraiture, weddings, little league photography, commercial photography, pet photography, close-up photography, childrens photography, and equestrian and rodeo photography. He has photographed subjects in a wide range of venues, including in-home sessions, outdoor and location sessions, studio photography, and even photography at a funeral.

Author photo courtesy of Oscar Lozoya.

In 1977, Doug and a couple of friends started the Brenham Camera Club, and he began teaching hobbyist photographers. He conducted seminars for community education, at country clubs, and was on a local TV station as the resident expert. Since then, he has spoken at photo conventions and seminars in forty-nine states in the U.S. He also taught in Canada, Mexico, Scotland, Wales, England, China, Ireland, Denmark, and on five cruise ships. He was chosen to teach at the International Wedding Institute for four years and has taught at eighteen different Professional Photographers of America (PPA) Affiliate week-long schools. He is only the fourth person in the associations history to earn over 1000 PPA Merits. Plus, he is a member of the prestigious CameraCraftsmen of America group. He is the past president of Texas Professional Photographers Association (TPPA) and is currently the groups executive director. He has served as executive director of the American Society of Photographers (ASP) and published ASP Magazine for three-and-a-half years. Doug was chairman of the PPA Affiliate Managers Group and vice chairman of the PPA Portrait Group. He served on the membership, affiliate, and chapters committee, was vice chairman of the ANNE committee, has been an officer of the local guild, and served on the PPA board.

Doug is the owner of Texas Photographic Workshops, an internationally recognized educational facility. Along with his wife LaVelda, he hosts photographers from around the country and teaches all levels of photography.

Doug is also an accomplished author. His articles and images have appeared in the pages of most professional photographic publications, and he has been featured in Redbook magazine twice. He is the author of The Power of Business marketing systems. He has written several books, including Doug Boxs Flash Photography, Doug Boxs Guide to Posing, and Professional Secrets for Photographing Children (2nd ed.), all of which were published by Amherst Media.

For more information on Doug, go to www.dougbox.com.

This book would not be what it is without the help of every photographer, teacher, and lecturer I have had the pleasure to study withor every student whom I have had the opportunity to interact with. The people in the former category gave me a shoulder to lean on, and those in the latter group made me a better teacher.

Id like to thank Randy Kerr and Tony L. Corbellmy partners in World Photographicin particular. Together, we are beginning a great adventure in teaching photography. WorldPhotographic.org is dedicated to educating individuals and photographic communities in the craft of photography while exposing their audience to global ecological and humanitarian issues that affect all members of the human population, both in our own backyard and worldwide. Our careers in this wonderful industry have ebbed and flowed for more than twenty years. We have crossed paths, worked together, and admired each others worksometimes without even knowing who it belonged to. We know that everything each of us has done up to this day prepared us and brought us together in this journey.

In each of my books, I write Never stop learning! I follow that advice to this day, and I hope you will too.

T ony L. Corbell, Randy Kerr, and I are partners in WorldPhotographic, which is why I asked them to contribute to this book. Their style and dedication to photography are the reasons why we first became friends. I have known Randy for over sixteen years and Tony for over twenty-five years. They are my photo buddies. Every photographer needs photo buddies who will challenge them and keep them on track. (For more information on WorldPhotographic, and to learn why you should join our ranks, go to www.worldphotographic.org.)