portrait photography ebooks

Senior portrait photography posePosing and Lighting
For Professional Portraits

There are many portrait photography eBooks on the market. This article looks at 5 of them and helps you decide if they're worth the paper they're not printed on. If you're looking for free eBooks on portrait photography, you'll find the list here.

Some photography eBooks are not worth the time reading and others do a good job of informing and inspiring you with sound ideas to improve your portrait photography techniques. I should know. I've got a library of photography books.

I've been a reader of DigitalPhotographySchool for quite some time and have found not only their web site to be full of good digital photography tips but also the eBooks that they offer are worthwhile buying too. Okay, so let's dive right in.


1. "striking the pose" ebook

Strike the Pose - eBook from Digital Photography School

I was excited to plow through this portrait eBook as soon as I got it. Upon skimming through the 119 illustrated pages I knew it was a winner.

No matter what your level of portrait photography knowledge, you can learn from an eBook like this. Incidentally, one of the advantages of an eBook is that it is good for the environment.  It won't burn, mildew, rot or get coffee stained on it.  

EBooks are also easy to travel with and don't take up any shelf space; so storage is easy.

EBook tip: When you get it save it to your hard drive.  (2) Save it a second time to another location on-line or burn it to a cd or dvd, with a different name like Striking-the-pose-2.pdf

Banner for portrait photography ebook by Gina Milicia

The eBook has 13 pages of posing and clothing tips for men (really good suggestions) and 12 pages of posing tips for women.  

One of the minor gripes I have with this  photography eBook is it doesn't show any tricks specific for large, full-bodied females in that section.  

All of the females in this section are thin and attractive.

There is a full page before the female section that does a real nice job of how to do a standing pose to slim down your subject but I would have enjoyed a little more on the topic.  One of the biggest challenges for photographers is to keep their female subjects happy by making them their thinnest in the pose.

Other highlights of this book are short sections covering lens choice, building rapport with your subject, and the ten starting "rules" that make a good overall guide to successful portraiture.


portrait photography ebook bonus

The "Striking the Pose" eBook comes with a real nice bonus.  If you want a simple, printable catalog, full of poses that you can copy, you are in luck my friend.   There are 67 specific poses, for men, women, children, couples, corporate, lifestyle and groups.

They are all given specific names to use to remember them, such as "the kneel and twist,"  "the family picnic," "the blue steel," and dozens more.


2. "portraits - lighting the shot" ebook

Portraits - Lighting The Shot - EBook

This is another portrait photography eBook that I think is worth reading.  Photography is "painting with light" and is the single most important element in all genres of photography.

Gina Milicia is a lighting master and you can learn the basics along with the tricks of portrait lighting that make all of the difference in the world of portrait photography. She has written at least three different portrait photography eBooks for Digital Photography School to market.

Gina has had the pleasure of photographing famous and powerful people in exotic locations, facing a wide variety of lighting situations.  Over 25 years of lighting experience and knowledge went into this portrait photography eBook.


Banner for portraits-lighting the shot eBook

This portrait eBook also has a set of 10 "rules" that are a good guideline to start with.  

There is a lot of good information on learning to see light and the different characteristics of light that are good to master in portrait photography as well as all other types of photography you want to experiment with.

Highlight sections are "Building the shot-one light at a time," and working with different lighting conditions like low-light and high noon.


3. kids portrait photography ebook

I came across a third book on portrait photography. "CLICK"  This portrait ebook is centered around children's portraits. It will teach you how to take gorgeous photos of your kids.

This book was written to:

  • help you plan ahead to create much better portraits
  • make it a ton of fun to photograph your kids
  • avoid fake looking poses
  • make emotionally packed photos.

I like the fact that it gives practical tips aimed and parents and grandparents, but that pros like me will benefit from using the ideas too.

This children's portrait ebook was written by pro photographer Rachel Devine. She opened her photography business in 1995 and became a photo blogger blogger in 2004.

Kids portraits ebook
Kids Photography Ebook

Rachel has been shooting since she was 14 and now shoots commercially in the children's market.


recommended portrait photography ebooks

Here are the links for more information from DPS Digital Photography School) on these portrait photography eBooks:

Helpful Portrait Ebook
e-book-Striking the Pose
This Book Helped Me
Ebook on portrait lightingPortrait Lighting Book



Visit The
Digital Photography School.

4 and 5. list of free ebooks on portrait photography

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY. The free portrait photography ebook is full of remarkable street photos. Given by Swiss street photography.

OUTDOOR PORTRAIT GUIDE. This digital eBook download is 214 easy-to-follow pages packed with training, illustrations, and assignments.


6 THRU 10. best selling and highest rated portrait ebooks

I'd might remiss if I didn't include 5 of the best selling, highest rated ebooks on Amazon. You can learn so much by studying collections of portraits, along with the thoughts and tips that are included with them. These are classics from some of the masters of photography. 

As an Amazon affiliate I may receive a small commission from qualifying purchases, at NO added cost to you.


Click And Scroll


When it comes to portrait photography, these are among the best photography ebooks. The more you shoot and the more your read,  the better you get.


Article published by Bruce Lovelace

ABOUT BRUCE LOVELACE

Bruce is the publisher of this website. He is the author of the book "Improve Your Photography Instantly."  Read more on Bruce on his Bio Page. He's been known as The Traveling Photographer ever since 1994. Read more about this website.

View some of Bruce's photos on Instagram.   Visit the Facebook Page. Watch him on YouTube.  Bruce runs photo workshops for kids and adults, and provides one-on-one photography coaching.

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