Joe McNally - The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the worlds top shooters

Photography Secrets from One of the Worlds Top Shooters

The Moment It Clicks by Joe McNally

Published by
New Riders
New Riders is an imprint of Peachpit, a division of Pearson Education

Copyright 2008 by Kelby Corporate Management, Inc.

All photography Joe McNally unless otherwise indicated.

FIRST EDITION: January 2008

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

Composed in Avenir, J.D., and Solex by Kelby Media Group

Trademarks

All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Peachpit cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark.

Warning and Disclaimer

This book is designed to provide information about photography. Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible, but no warranty of fitness is implied.

The information is provided on an as-is basis. The author and Peachpit shall have neither the liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages arising from the information contained in this book or from the use of the discs or programs that may accompany it.

ISBN 13: 978-0-321-54408-7
ISBN 10: 0-321-54408-0

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

www.peachpit.com

www.kelbymedia.com

This seal indicates the content provided is created, and produced solely by the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP). Additionally, it ensures the content maintains the stringent standards set by NAPP, the worlds leading resource for Adobe Photoshop training, education and news.

The Moment It Clicks
Book Team
EDITOR
Scott Kelby
PROJECT EDITOR
Cindy Snyder
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Felix Nelson
TRAFFIC DIRECTOR
Kim Gabriel
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Dave Damstra
GRAPHIC DESIGN AND PRODUCTION
Jessica Maldonado
PROOFREADER
Jennifer Concepcion
COVER PHOTOS BY
Joe McNally
Anne Cahill
CHAPTER INTRO PHOTOS AND GRAPHIC ELEMENTS COURTESY OF:
Brad Moore
Josh Bradley
Christopher Morris
Pointe magazine
Dave Gales
Andrea Rascaglia
iStockphoto.com

For Annie, whose faith, friendship, and love make everything possible.

For Caitlin and Claire, whose love and patience for a photographer dad has been nothing short of astonishing.

The Moment It Clicks was born during a digital photography workshop up in Vermont. We were up there shooting fall color, and it was the opening night of the workshop (I was there as a guest instructor, along with my best buddy Dave Moser), and after the other instructors had given their presentations (including legendary wildlife photographer Moose Peterson, and landscape photography hot shot Laurie Excell), Joe McNally took the stage to finish off the night with his presentation.

So, Dave and I are sitting in the back, and McNally kicks into high gear. Joe is one of the most captivating public speakers youll ever meet, and the whole class is ooohing and ahhhhing each time a new image comes up, and hes got us laughing out loud one moment, and in tears the next. But Joes not just showing off his work, hes a brilliant teacher and hes tossing out these incredible little nuggetsthe tricks of the trade, the real meat and potatoes stuffand were all hanging on every word (and scribbling notes as fast as we can write).

Every time Joe starts a sentence with, An editor at Time once told me or My editor at National Geographic once said we all grab our pens because we know another nugget is coming our way. At one point, Joe is talking about lighting people on location, and he gets to that point where he says, An editor once told me (I wont spoil it for you here), and then he shared something so simpleit was just one sentence, but my buddy Dave and I both looked at each other and got these huge grins, because at that moment it clicked. At that moment, a concept Id read entire books on just suddenly, and almost magically, all made so much sense. It all came together at once. It was the moment it clicked.

When the class was over, Dave and I were just blown away. It was all we could talk about. At one point, I looked at Dave and said, Ya know, if all I took away from this workshop were Joes amazing one-liner nuggets, it would be absolutely worth the $795 I paid for this workshop, because I learned more about photography in that one hour than I have in the past three years. Dave couldnt have agreed more.

The next morning, Dave and I were both still reeling from what we had learned, and I said to Dave, I would pay anything for a book of just Joes little nuggetsjust those one-liners. Thats when it hit me, I had to talk Joe into doing that book. Dave was all over it and we started brainstorming exactly what that book would look like.

What I really wanted to do was take what Joe does live and transfer it to paper, because it all works so brilliantly together. For example, in Joes class, he throws out a nugget and thenBAM!a photo appears onscreen that so perfectly illustrates what hes talking about that it bowls you over. Then he illustrates how he got the shot (and teaches the class how to get a shot like this of their own). Its a clever three-pronged approach, and I dont know if he does it that way consciously or not, but it really packs a punch. I wanted that same effect in book: a three-pronged approach, a triangle of learning that would be unlike any other photography or teaching book out there.

After our dusk shoot that night, I sat down with Joe and convinced him that this was the book he had to write. I told him how his quotes and images had totally connected with Dave and me, and how he needed to share his gift for teaching, and his amazing images, with more than just the incredibly fortunate 20 people at this workshop. He needed to take it to the next level, and basically, heres what I said: Picture a two-page spread, and on the left page is one of your quotes. One of those An editor once told me stories that breaks it down to the bare bones. Then, on the facing page is the image you use in class to bring that story home, to seal the deal in their minds, and then well tell the back story. The story of how it all came about, what happened at the shoot, and how the reader can get the same type of shot. Just like you do in class.