Ego Trip
For me Joe McNally is on an ego trip. I bought this because Scott Kelby plugged it in one of his books. I'm a great fan of Scott Kelby who really does give useful and practical tips. Joe Mcnally's "photography secrets" might be useful for those who own lots of lights but not for anyone else. The book was simply a vehicle for him to show off.

no
well what can i say very disappointed DONT BUY I WILL GIVE IT YOU theres not a thing it can tell you or you can lean from ot so save your money

A book that does not patronise the reader
I really enjoyed this book. It reads as if you are having a conversation with Joe; the style is very colloquial with lots of slang (which may irritate some readers, but is explained) which may be useful if you want to bluff your way into his pro scene :)
The format of the book is this: He starts off with a quote or observation, presents an image that is relevant then explains how he went about getting that shot paying particular attention to lighting. A warning to the anoraks; He does not give a dump of his exif data, he assumes you are already technically competent and could make an educated guess at would sort of exposure was given.
This book is aimed at experienced photographers who don't need to be told about depth of field or selective focus. It is about pushing creativity. It certainly is not a manual so could be enjoyed non-photograpers who like great images.

Unnecessary
I bought this book based on the recommendation from Scott Kelby's books only to be disappointed. I should have spent the money on something else. I honestly did not learn anything new. The way I see it, Mr Kelby only recommended the book because Joe and him were good friends and Scott wanted to help Joe sell his books. I should have checked the contents before snapping it up on Amazon.

over-hyped book, fairly dull read
I agree that this book has been over-hyped. I found it rather tedious to get through, although there were some rare snippets which were well presented. This book was really aimed at the Mcnally fan club and those who know him well. From the perspective of a wider audience, it fails and is a fairly flat, and over many pages, a dull read. This book tried to be somewhere between the Scot Kelby type of book (bread and butter tips and very readable) and those trying to inspire photographers to have a better 'eye'. McNally doesn't do either very well. Whilst he may articulate himself well with the camera, he is not able to do so with the written word. His style of story telling is more suited to a bar room chat where a degree of familiarity is inherent - but to a larger reader-base it lack readibility.
One third of the way into reading this book I had my own 'Moment it Clicked' -when I realised the rest of it would not get any better and that I would have to trudge through the rest of his tedious stories without feeling that I had connected with his images or that it was going to improve my photography. Overall - this book was overpriced. It is not suitable for any coffee table - I cannot see myself referring to this again and so will probably 'gift' it to someone.

Hide Reviews