The Moment It Clicks: Photography Secrets from One of the World's Top Shooters

I was very interested in purchasing this book several months ago until I read some of the reviews. People slammed the book because Joe talked about the expensive equipment he used, which was out of their price range, and he didn't provide much technical detail about the photos. Therefore, the book was not very helpful. I've only read the first 32 pages. However, as I read some of the stories, it clicked to me what Joe was actually trying to convey and I wanted to write about it. I believe those who gave the book a low rating totally missed the point of this book. Joe teaches you about photography but not from the technical perspective. I've read Bryan Peterson, John Shaw and others who provided a lot of technical detail and their books are great. Joe is explaining photography from a mental perspective. He is focusing on having us in the proper mindset before we begin shooting. The "story behind the story" regarding his photos are the real educational jewels in this book. It is no coincidence that he doesn't provide aperture or shutter speed or many of the other image properties we're accustomed to seeing. The lighting equipment and technical details he does provide is more of an afterthought. He discusses a shoot where he was done taking pictures. However, he didn't pack up his camera. At that moment, a photographic opportunity was realized and he captured a great shot. Something as mundane as not packing your camera until the end was the point of the story. It wasn't about light or aperture of shutter speed. This story tells me to always be ready to photograph a moment even when you think your work is done. Now many people may read this and think, "Well, duh!" However, I've packed up my camera many times when I thought I was done to only scramble to pull it out again. He has reinforced things I already new and gave me new things to consider. Many similar examples are throughout the book. When you put all these tips together, during your next shoot you will be better prepared. Lastly, he has a photograph of a man changing a light bulb on top of the Empire State Building. When I first skimmed through the book, I thought it was an okay photo. However, I read the story where he wanted to take a bland subject (changing a light bulb) and make it more dramatic. After reading the story, I had a greater appreciation of the photo. This is not your conventional photography book--Lou Jones took a similar and equally effective approach with his book, Travel Photography Off the Charts. It is a daring approach because photographers, who are supposed to be out-of-the-box thinkers, look for the same thing from different books. Therefore, I give Joe credit for taking an unconventional yet effective approach towards teaching photography. If you're looking for a "How-To" book, this is not for you. However, if you're confident in your lighting fundamentals and you want to hear some "war stories" from someone who's been everywhere and done everything, this book will be a good read. I haven't been to any of his classes or photo shoots so this is the next best thing!

When I saw this book, I remembered seeing a TV piece of Joe McNally’s work, Faces of Ground Zero-Giant Polaroid Collection. Being an avid photographer it was only natural for me to purchase this paperback book. I have just completed reading this book and I must say the photography secrets that I have gotten are second to none. The writing approach that Joe uses is one of the things that makes me love this book. He will start off with a description of a photo and the history behind it, he then presents a picture that serves as the topic and finally the techniques that went into taking the shot. This includes the challenges you are likely to face when taking this or related shots. The approach resonates with the ‘For Dummies’ approach of teaching although Joe takes it a notch higher with his in-depth analysis of specific photography techniques. There are no topics that are left hanging. Everything that was meant to be covered in the book is dealt with. This is an informative book that will challenge and inspire at the same time. My advice is to have a notebook and a pen handy as you read through. Like I pointed out earlier, this is an inspiring piece and you will get the idea bulbs every so often. After you are done reading you will definitely want to try out some of the tricks. You will appreciate the dynamism that is in each image. Every image should have a story and this book will teach you on how to take pictures that tell self-explanatory stories. Joe’s workshops are worth an arm and a leg and are always packed. Am glad though because for only $35.83 I was able to acquire the expertise of an acclaimed photographer with prestigious honor to back it up! I have to point out that this is not a beginners’ guide to photography. Joe points out specific techniques he used when shooting some of his pictures. It is the story that will let you in on the techniques that he used. I would have loved it if he went easy on the stories and more on the various photography techniques. A single shot can’t explain all the techniques but again the book offers real insights on specific topics and the book is worth it since Joe is a brilliant photojournalist and it counts for a good read.

This is a great book for people interested in the art of photography. If you're about creating truly impactful photos, if you can feel the energy of a pro shooter talking about his profession, his daily experience, his life and it gets your blood boiling and thinking of a career change - then read this book. It will turn the pages very fast. On the other hand, if you're looking for a 101 on how to take photos with your new DSLR, or figure out how the latest strobist kit works, you will be disappointed. The author does describe the lighting techniques he used in each of his photos, but without reasonable background in the equipment and general lighting technique it won't be detailed enough to replicate it. The book is structured into a few chapters, each of which is basically a two page nugget structured around a statement, a great example photo that shows why this matters, a discussion in more detail, and a few notes on how the picture was taken. All of this ties together some great insights the authors shares with those that have the patience and drive to dive deep into the art and science of taking emotionally engaging images that tell a story. Keep in mind that the author made his career in shooting for magazines. Images that are story leads in a magazine need to capture the reader and make him dive into the story, and then they need to wrap around the whole story. Those are great, lasting images. That's also why many of the images in the book involve controlled lighting technique. But you won't find many other photo genres in this book, such as landscape. That's totally ok, because this book is about the energy a magazine shooter experiences and what gets him excited, or gets you excited if you can relate to it in some past or future form.

Oscar Wilde diceva che ci sono libri che vanno letti più di una volta nella vita, altri libri che vanno letti una sola volta nella vita e infine libri che non vanno mai letti. Ecco, questo libro fa certamente parte della prima categoria, quella dei libri che devono essere letti più volte nella vita. Non si tratta di un testo accademico o tecnico, quanto piuttosto di un discorso, molto colloquiale, quasi familiare che si instaura tra scrittore e lettore. Questo testo trasuda "american style" nel senso di "modo di fare e di parlare"; quel modo di parlare spiegando e di insegnare parlando che è tanto peculiare degli americani. Tutto si rende interessante, intrigante, spettacolare e "possibile" per chi ha voglia di fare. é un libro in cui si evince la filosofia del "self made man" legato al mondo della fotografia. Lo scrittore poi non è certo uno qualunque: si tratta del grande Joe McNally, fotografo di fama mondiale che ha collaborato con le più rinomate riviste americane del settore, tra cui National Geographic (e credo basti solo questo). Questo libro insomma è un piacevole racconto di fotografie, in cui l'autore suggerisce tecniche e offre consigli sulla fotografia con flash (e senza). Unica "pecca", se così possiamo dire, potrebbe essere la lingua utilizzata (il libro è in inglese-americano): l'aspetto più difficile forse è proprio il lessico familiare utilizzato, con "slang" e modi di dire tipici americani che per noi possono risultare più complessi da comprendere, persino incomprensibili a volte. Ma è uno sforzo che si può fare senza problemi se si è spinti da passione per la fotografia. D'altronde, se questo libro venisse tradotto, perderebbe molto di quello che contiene. Credetemi.

There are plenty of books that follow a similar format to this. A picture, an anecdote and some information about how the image was taken. Micheal Grecco's Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait is a good example of this style of book. Those of you expecting detailed recipe's with lighting diagrams will be disapointed, the technical information is light but gets to the heart photo. This is by no means a criticism, The Moment it Clicks is absolutely jam packed with great photos, entertaining anecdotes and pithy quotes. Joe's writes as though he's sitting next to you in a bar, talking in a what I assume is a New York accent, there's even a chapter dedicated to bar talk. Unfortunately, I'm unable to do accents when I'm reading to myself, so it comes across to me like Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins, but no matter, every page jumps out at you, and a lot of the insight he dishes out, will stick with you for life. The pictures, as Joe would say, are all shot with available light, any &*%%@^ light thats available, so there's plenty to excite strobists and strobophobes alike. Did I mention that this book was packed? I have never seen a book of this style so packed with material. I was about half way through the 240 pages and thinking that this was incredibly generous, I would have been satisfied with half the amount of content. The geardos among you will drool over the photos and lists of Joe's kit, which get a full four pages towards the end of the book and there is a colourful glossary of terms full of explanations of photographic terms and slang, as well as footnotes on the pages where the terms are used. Highly recommended

Joe is one of those timeless photographers that almost always finds a way to capture the mood and spirit of the moment, and the character of the people in the images. In this book he walks the reader through his thought process and illustrates the final outcome for your evaluation. Watching Joe in action is even more fun, but for that you will have to join Kelby One.

all his books are great. Easy reading and gets the point across in few words

Es handelt sich bei "The Moment it Clicks" nicht um ein Foto-Lehrbuch im klassischen Sinne. Auch ist es kein Bildband. Trotzdem ist es das beste Fotobuch, dass ich jemals gelesen habe. Joe McNally ist Berufsfotograf und Fotojournalist, der schon für Größen wie Time, Life, National Geographic, Sports Illustrated und andere hochkarätige Magazine und Auftraggeber gearbeitet hat. In diesem Buch plaudert er aus dem (in über 30 Jahren Berufserfahrung gut gefüllten) Nähkästchen. Das Buch ist dabei so ausgelegt, dass auf einer Doppelseite immer ein Foto mit der dazugehörigen Story gezeigt wird. Der Text hat den Charakter einer Anekdote aus dem Leben des Autors und ist erfrischend frech und "persönlich" geschrieben. Jede Doppelseite hat ein Oberthema, welches durch das Bild verdeutlicht und durch den Text erläutert wird. Grundsätzlich geht es hier nicht darum, dem Leser die grundlegenden fotografischen Zusammenhänge zu erklären, sondern sinnvolle Tipps für bessere Fotos zu geben. Wer also hier ein technisches Lehrbuch sucht, muss weitersuchen, auf Kameratechnik wird nur sehr wenig eingegangen. Stattdessen lernt man quasi nebenbei, wie Profis arbeiten und wie man selber seine Bildergebnisse verbessern kann. Wer nicht nach jeder Doppelseite zu mindestens einer neuen Bildidee inspiriert wird, der sollte sich evtl. nach einem anderen Hobby umsehen ;-) Das Buch zu lesen ist eine reine Freude, insb. diese Teile, in denen der Autor aus seiner Zeit als Fotojournalist im NewYork der 70er und 80er Jahre erzählt. Die Geschichten aus der "guten alten Zeit" sind dabei so erfrischen geschrieben, das man fast wehmütig wird...man merkt dem Autor in jeder Zeile seine Hingabe zu dem was er tut deutlich an. Tipp: Im Sommer 2008 wird das Buch als Deutsche Übersetzung erscheinen (Titel: Der entscheidende Moment). Ich hoffe, dass es den Übersetztern gelingt, den Sprachstil ins angemessen ins Deutsche zu übersetzen. Für jeden der über ausreichende Englischkentnisse verfügt, empfehle ich, alleine schon aus Gründen der Authentizität, die Originalfassung.