Focal Press Book: Capturing Light: The Heart of Photography

Capturing Light: The Heart of Photography from the Focal Press and written by Michael Freeman illustrates how, in almost all photography, it's the quality of light that makes or breaks the shot. For professional photographers, chasing the light, waiting for it, sometimes helping it, and finally capturing it is a constant preoccupation - and for some an obsession.

There are just three sections titled Waiting, Chasing, and Helping: Waiting explains the kinds of lighting that photographers can anticipate and plan for, while Chasing explores the transient, serendipitous light that photographers have to work quickly to exploit. Helping, the final and most technical section, focuses on the skills and techniques for enhancing, reducing, or otherwise controlling light, covering everything from in-the-field shooting choices to technical transformations to post-production.

Drawing on four decades of experience, Michael Freeman takes a simple but practical approach to reacting to, and capturing photography's most important commodity.