The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world's top shooters (Voices That Matter)

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I am writing this review from the perspective of someone who is known as the "Eternal Optimist". I got the book for the purpose of gaining a serious insight into "how he did it" - kind of like Scott Kelby's How-to books - which by the way, are all very good.

When Joe McNally's photos are seen, one can only wonder, "how did he do that?", so naturally, we are all inclined to want to get our hands on his book, so we can reproduce his shots, and ultimately learn by doing.

Sadly, this book just doesn't come close to providing that end! Half the entire book is simply a full page of his glorious shots. The other half of the book is "supposed to be showing you how he did it".

Each photo is supposed to represent a single element that he wants to stress as the critical component necessary for that particular shot. But seriously, those glorious shots consist of a constellation of critical factors that can NOT be explained on the basis of one "hint" only.

Most of us are buying the book so that we can fully reproduce his shots, but this will never be accomplished by his book alone. Truly, he is providing only a "miniscule hint" as to the thought processes behind each shot. Some of the hints are useful, but the majority of the book simply represents the interesting story behind the shot, without providing much useful information as to how we can accomplish the same scenario.

After reading the book, one has to ask, Does Joe, himself not know how he got the shot? Or is he intentionally just trying to keep us all in the dark, hoping that we'll buy more of his books so that one day we'll come a little closer to a better understanding? Is he afraid that if he tells us too much we may all become his competitors?

If you want a pretty "picture book" then this is it! But if you're desiring a critical guide to reproducing his shots, you'll finish this book very disappointed, wondering what his motive was for writing the book? Was it simply to make a buck? Or did he really think we were going to get much out of it?

While there is something important that can be learned from all photography books, I tend to believe that this book falls into the category of other similar books, which is to say - If you finish most books and come away with 2-3 seriously important points, that change your philosophy and actions, then your money has been well spent.

If your goals and intent for reading this book are appropriate, then you won't be disappointed. However, if you think that you'll be reproducing Joe's shots after reading this book, you'll likely come away angry or even feel betrayed - sad to say.

This book underscores the fact that there is no simple solution to creating great, world-class photographs. The more you read, the more you'll know. This book is simply one small step on the road to a lifetime of perpetual self-education.

Do I recommend this book? I will reservedly say yes, but understand that realistically, you'll come away with more questions than you had before you started, and you'll still be asking yourself the eternal question, "I wish I knew just how did he did it".

Picture this. You meet one of the world's great photographers in a bar. He has a stack of pictures with him from his portfolio. As you go through the pictures, he talks about them, about the people in the photographs, and how he made each of them. About a third of the way through you realize that when he talks about the technical details he talks mostly about the lighting, and you are sorry you didn't pick up on that right from the beginning, but now you listen avidly to try to learn his lighting techniques.

Then, about two-thirds of the way through, he stops talking about the lighting, and starts meandering about the photo editors he knew, and how he may have sacrificed some of his family life to be a photographer, and how he came up through the ranks, and that's interesting too.

When Joe McNally talks about lighting a picture of James Brown, or Sophia Loren, or Larry Tisch, the techniques he uses seem to be ones you could use. But when he talks about getting a bunch of masks from the Smithsonian to shoot Michelle Pfeiffer, or five full length mirrors set up on the field for a picture of shortstop Ozzie Smith, or using 10 or 15 2400 watt lights to light fielder Eric Davis, you may hope that you can at least get inspiration because you are never going to have that kind of equipment, or if you are, then to quote McNally, "you don't need my advice". And don't take a peek at McNally's equipment until you come to that page in normal reading or you may decide the book is not for you.

If you are looking for instruction, it's here amongst the stories, even if it's delivered in a non-structured sort of way. I haven't invested in a dozen Speedotrons, but after reading this book, I did decide to upgrade my umbrella to a couple of softboxes. On the other hand if you are interested in looking at a portfolio of great pictures, McNally has them. And if you like to listen to photographers tell stories about photography, often at their own expense, you'll probably love this book.

Other then the lighting there is little of a technical nature here. There's nothing about exposure, or depth of field or Photoshop. I am certain that the people that talked the author into writing this book loved the stories and the way they were told and how they related back occasionally to transforming a vision into an image by using equipment. McNally's personality comes through. Whether this is the way for you to learn some lighting tricks will depend on what you feel about winnowing them out of the stories and pictures. On the other hand, Joe McNally is a great guy to have a drink with.

This book is written in such a way that photographers of every experience, style and age will gain huge value.
This is now my favorite book to date on photography.

My one line summary:

It will teach you "how to have a single photo tell a real story", with emotion and from different perspectives. In my opinion it is a must for amateurs through pros.

Pros:

The books is written simply with no unexplained jargon. If the author mentions an industry word (e.g. Ripping Film), he goes on to explain what it means. You learn some of the industry street terms and get a feel for the authors experience shooting.

Every turn of the page has a compelling photo which is the subject of the lesson. Some lessons are technical such as how-to on lighting, while others are lessons on approach, demeanor or attitude.

The book is emotionally engaging. You want to put the book down and immediate try some of the approaches.

The author isn't demonstrating ego - this book is NOT about him! It's about the the world around him. You turn each page and learn how he captured an amazing picture of someone like James Brown, or how he found the real story in Augusta.

It will give you ideas on how to have a single photo tell a real story.

Cons:

The only real complaint: This is a soft cover and Amazon shipped it in an envelope instead of a box. The edges of the cover got crimped a bit.

Feedback for the author:
I'd love for more - just simply put - I want the second volume. I'd love to figure out how to get this signed :)

This is a real gem and I would have loved it in perfect condition for my office desktop.

Great job to the author.

The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world's top shooters


I cannot see the big hype about this book. Joe McNally is a fantastic photographer yes, I agree, but this book is just a biography about his life and career as a photographer and about light. It's all about the light. If you are a big time lighting fanatic then I would consider purchasing this book. The images he uses in the book are nothing to write home about. I am sure Joe has much more impressive photos he could have shared in his book. Seeing Winona Ryder in her pj's sprawled on a bed as a teenager (at least that what she looked like in the photo) is nothing to write home about. Joe has a story to tell with every single photo in the book. I really did not care about how he rented an elephant for $6000 or a dog for $1000 or even invest some $3400 in some angel wings in order to get "the shot" How many of us could afford or will actually be in a situation like that? If your pay scale is the same as Joe's, maybe.... I have learned so much more from Scott Kelby books like his digital photography books 1 and 2. They are technical and actually have a real world use. (No, I do not have any affiliation with Scott Kelby whatsoever. I am just stating a point so anyone who is thinking about buying this book for some really in depth technical knowledge should look somewhere else) How many of us will actually take a ride in a helicopter in this lifetime and snap a photo of an Asian actress dangling from a rope? Even the pointers Joe provides are nothing more than common sense. "If a strobe blew up and flames starting shooting out of the softbox, stay calm and show your client you have everything under control." Or "be persistent, persistence pays" Or"straight flash is disaster light" This review is just to express my disappointment as I expected much more from one of the world's top photographers.

There is no finer shooter out there, and no finer photographic teacher than Joe McNally. What Joe brings to you between the covers is a helluva lot more than shutter speeds and f/stops, but a passion for light, subject and photograph. This read will make you a better person, better photographer and lover of life!

Moose Peterson

If you own a boatload of lighting equipment, this book is for you. It will show you how to use all kinds of strobes and softboxes and other major lighting assets. If not, there are about 4 or 5 pages that will fit your equipment profile. If you shoot existing light, save your money.

Save your money!! This is definitely not a "one foot in the classroom" type of book. Quite honestly, I don't know what to make of it!!! I was looking forward to getting it from Amazon as I had read quite a few very positive reviews of the book. Anyway, I start to read it. Looked at some of the photos/snapshots. I started to laugh!! There is absolutely no rhyme or reason to this book. It completely blew my mind! Honestly, here are a few examples of those "photography secrets: "This is a shot with available light-late afternoon, using a 20mm wide angle lens" (p.120) Here's another "This shot was taken outdoors at dusk in Jaipu, India, during the Festival of Lights using available light. It was taken with a 180mm lens at f2.8. The soft glow through the veil was provided entirely by the candles" (p.88) Wow, thanks for those tips Joe. And most don't even mention that much technical information. Oh sure, there are some decent photos, and some good tips, but I was expecting a helluva lot more. "Photography secrets from one of the world's top shooters"????? Most of non-portrait/artificial lighting topics are common sense. The text consists of way too much dribble with little of the pertinent information which the book advertised. Most importantly, if you are not a portrait photographer and do not do a lot of work with artificial lighting, you could spend your money and time on something better. I was actually thinking of returning this book to Amazon, but have decided to give it to a friend for his birthday. He gave me a crappy gift for mine!!

I was expecting a well written book by a expert in his field. This book was well reccomended by Scott Kelby which was good enough for me. I was highly dissapointed. The entire book was based around how he used thousands of dollars worth of lighting to get ordinary pictures. I understand lighting is important but 240 pages of how he lit his pictures was to much. No real insite to how he composed or planned the pictures. Or even the camera set up he used. I am no expert but I do know when something is written to make a couple of dollars. The last 14 pages of the book is a glossary of the terms he used in the book (some made up). I read the entire book in a evening. Some comments were interesting but woke up the next morning trying to remember a single thing I liked about the book. Only thing I can remember is that he uses a lot of very expensive lighting for his shots.
Shame on Scott Kelby for reccomending this book.

If you're like me, your bookshelf, nightstand, coffee table as well as your desk, and probably your floor are strewn with photography books (if you have a passion for something, you'll pay to learn more). Some good, and some, well, not so good. Rare is the book that has value cover to cover. Most have some nuggets here or there and for the most part, we feel pretty good about our purchase decision when we can cull 2 or 3 of those nuggets for our own use.

Then Joe wrote "The Moment it Clicks" which has a nugget ON EVERY PAGE! Trust me, if you were listening to Joe speak, you'd pay $20 for 1 or 2 of those gems. Incredible. You just can't past the second page without being BLOWN AWAY! By the 20th page, this had become my all time favorite book on the subject of photography. Yes, it is that good.

That said, take a look for yourself. Or go out to Joe McNally's website (it is his name). Talk about gifted! If I can take 1 shot in the next six months that even approach's Joe's stuff, I'll be absolutely thrilled.

So if you want to get better as a shutterbug, then gift this book to yourself. And in short order, you'll be as blown away as the rest of us... what are you waiting for... Just One Click "The Moment it Clicks".

If I could choose a career in Photography, it would be the one Joe McNally has had. And since my Photography is more for creative purposes and an adjunct to my 3D work, rather than the primary part of my work, I feel that I can live vicariously through Joe thanks to "The Moment It Clicks." When I first heard about this book, I was excited because Joe's work is outstanding, if not iconic. For Joe to do a book on his career, you can really get a sense of what drives him, what motivates him, and soon you get a complete understanding of how he got the shot. What I particularly like is that he discusses, in straight talk, the situation behind various images. Imagine sitting down with Joe McNally, looking through his portfolio, and asking him about the shot. Everything from using a fill flash, to making your pictures "shout", to finding your way into a lunch with the head of Disney, simply to get the shot you want.

When I started writing books for 3D animation, people often asked me why I would do such a thing. How could I "give away my secrets." I told them that it's just software instruction, technique, and tips. I can't teach anyone to be a 3D artist, but only how to use their software and help guide them. So when I started reading Joe's book, I thought to myself "how can he give us all this valuable information..." Suddenly I caught myself. I realized that I was asking the same question people had asked me. Joe can't teach you to be an photographic artist. But it's his insight, experience, and outlook that can help you see better, and perhaps, become a better photographer - if you allow it.

This book is a welcomed addition to the arsenal of photo books on the market that continually talk about the same thing. Exposure, perspective, types of lighting, etc. Only a few books come along that you can refer to time and time again, once you know the basics. Joe's book is one of those books and it will remain on my bookshelf for years to come. I'm so glad I signed up for Moose Peterson's Digital Landscape Photography Workshop next fall, as Joe is one of the instructors!

Definitely a fiasco of a book. The premise is interesting and the writing is even funny at times, specially all the spelling mistakes. However, 90% of the photography is nothing special. Actually, if those pictures came out of my camera, I would certainly have deleted most of them. This is not what I expected from an award-winning photographer.

The advice in the book is very repetitive (I swear, he explains at least 5 times what a honeycomb filter looks like) and often he simply just keeps stating the obvious. When it is not obvious, it is just beyond the reach of most photographers in terms of setup. Some picture were taking with a dozen strobes with assistants holding reflects, sandbags and a different colored gel on each light!

In a world filled with digi-cams behind every latte cup and legions of enthusiasts who upload their latest masterpieces to Flickr every night, `The Moment It Clicks' is a huge blast of fresh air. Joe McNally is a photographer's photographer who, fortunately for us, has taken the time to candidly share the most important insights gained during three decades as a professional shooter. Every spread in the book is a mini-course, both technically and aesthetically, on the creation of an amazing photograph.

More importantly, `The Moment It Clicks' reaches well beyond the genre of how-to books. It's a book on what its like to BE a photographer. I've no doubt that 20 years from now, the new captains of the photography world will look back and point to the `The Moment It Clicks' as being the turning point when they started down the path of becoming great photographers.

Consider `The Moment It Clicks' to be a must-have - regardless of your skill level. If you are an armchair enthusiast who reads more than he shoots, you'll be entertained with Joe's stories from the front lines. If you are a student contemplating a life in our profession, you'll gain more insights from this book than from any teacher (unless, of course, you're lucky enough to get into one of Joe's workshops). If you are a professional, set aside your cynicism and buy the book. Joe's candid stories will re-kindle your creative fire and help bolster your courage in this challenging market.

Many books, magazines, and DVDs can teach you how to compose, light and expose. You may even have a gear bag full of the latest equipment that's worth more than most cars on the road. Yet, having the right gear and knowing how to turn it on does not make you a good photographer any more than having the right golf clubs will get you into the PGA Tour. But reading the right book, this book, will give you wisdom well beyond your years. It certainly did for me.

I was disappointed in this book. For me it is a book for professionals with a great deal of expensive equipment. The photos were outstanding, but I saw very little for the amateur photography. It was way over my head. Prior to and after purchasing the book, I read some outstanding reviews. After I bought and read the book, I do not agree with most of the favorable comments.

This is an interesting book, but not an informative one. The title is misleading as it is not particularly "secretive". Unless you consider gels, softboxes, bounce your flash and use "available" light "secretive" there really is NOTHING from an technical standpoint to make this book a 5 star read. It's entertaining and loaded with nice on location images with brief descriptions of the shoot. But "Photography secrets" is a bit of a misleading title for this book. His setups are solid lighting techniques available in a myriad of other books (and in drastically better detail than here), NOTHING NEW.

McNally's "secret" is he's creative, has solid lighting skills and happens to have access to people and money a lot of us don't to set up unique scenarios.

I consider myself an advanced amateur. Over many years I've progressed to the Nikon D300 with a nice assortment of gear. I bought this book after reading Scott Kelby's "Digital Photography Book-Volume 2," great book and very useful to amateur photographers. At the end of the book, Kelby strongly recommends "your next book" should be "The Moment It Clicks." So I ordered it. It is a fine book of pictures, with descriptions of how the majority of the photos were taken. However, you need to know this guy has more gear than imaginable (it's all pictured at the end of the book), and an assistant. Probably 98% of all the photos are taken with the aid of light boxes, movie lights, what have you. I guess my point is, unless you are an advanced professional, this is a nice book of pictures.

I read this book and found it interesting, although somewhat limiting in its practical application for mere enthusiasts. This is a great photographer no doubt, but I found that the book is 80% about lighting for magazine shoots (think expensive). And unless you're a professional photographer with a large budget, you will never own the lighting gear he uses for those shoots. Since my focus is mainly on nature photography, I found only sporadic tidits of useful advice here. The rest is intriguing in its own right (hey, it was cool to learn how he rented and lit a circus elephant for a studio shoot), but it's not something I can use. I like my books to be more pragmatic. This one is for highly paid pros.

I loved the book "The Digital Photography Book, Volume 2 " by Scott Kelby. In his book he mentioned that "The Moment It Clicks" is the next book to purchase, so I followed thru and bought it. Scott must be sharing a commission check by promoting the book. I was expecting much more that I received. No secrets revealed, no F stops or shutter speeds mentioned but plenty of boring story telling. I didn't want a story book, I wanted a how-to book and this wasn't it. Nice photos but now what. How were they done? No instruction. Scott's recommendation was way off on this one. Shame on him.

I agree with Randall Steffens's review... this book has great photos with interesting stories... but that's it.. picture with stories.

This book is supposed to provide "Ah ha! moments" so we can reproduce his shot, but unfortunately there is not much useful information.

It was pleasant to read the book but sad to say I will be returning this book back and save my money for another SB800.

This one of the few photography books that I took out of the package, flipped through, sat down and read it from cover to cover. It's like "Breaking the Magician's Code" only in book form for photographers.

TMIC is organized with two page spreads for each "tip." On one page (usually the right side) is a brilliant photo. On the opposite page is a story, memory or piece of advice. For emphasis, a succinct quote from the narrative that summarizes the tip is placed on the page as well. Many times there is a section, "How to Get This Type of Shot," that explains how he got the effect in the photograph displayed.

I am impressed with the "humanness" of the book. It doesn't talk down to you. If there is photographic jargon in the story that might be confusing, he will put in a footnote to explain it. He also includes a glossary and an index, bless his little cotton socks.

This is a book I could give to a friend who doesn't care a whit about the rudiments of photography, as well as to my obsessive photographer friends. It has a place on my bookshelf where I put books that I thumb through all the time.

From its description, I expected a "how-to" book. It isn't. Rather, it is a book filled with truly excellent photographs with a bit of personal story for each, many of which are interesting, and just a couple of hints about capturing shots like those on the pages.

The truth is that most of us will never have the opportunity to get shots like these; at the top of a New York skyscraper, dangling from a helicopter 500 feet about the well-known Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, photographing prima ballerinas and telling them to take off their shoes.

One revealing tidbit of just how different Joe McNally is different from me (and probably you) is the contents of his camera bag. Well, actually bags: three of them. Three Nikon bodies, eleven Nikon lenses, five Nikon SB-800 speedlights - and a lot more. And, of course, a lot of the shots are lit with truly serious lighting, the kind of units that cost thousands of dollars or rent for hundreds of dollars a day. like Joe's Avenger 12 x 12 foot Butterfly Foldaway Frame.

So what do we have here?

A book of great photographs, some interesting stories on how they came to be and some hints and tips.

It is more than enough, frankly.

For example, Joe tells of an experience in Star City, the Russian space training facility. He gets on a zero-gravity training plane by bribing someone with $7,500, talks about retching 50 times as the plane dives to acheive zero Gs, gives a one sentence of how he made the shot on the facing page which, frankly, is breathtaking.

No, I will never be able to duplicate Joe's experience, but I am sure glad to that Joe McNally has shared some insights into his life with the rest of us.

All told, this is really more or less a coffee table photo book with a lot of personal stories. Great photography, great stories and more than a few useful tips.

Jerry

After much self-serving hype from Scott Kelby this was a disappointing read. I didn't get any of the "tricks of the trade" that were promised to give me a wow. there was name dropping along the way, but few of the tricks made sense to me. I'm sure that if you could ask questions about Joe's explanations of how he got the shot it would be a wow. Even showing where his assistant stood with lights would help. His placement of softboxes and reflectors, lenses used and exposures are all missing from many of the photos. Maybe this is really a nice book just for the pictures, but it isn't the secrets book that was promoted.

Joe is a great teacher. Open, honest, with an encyclopedic knowledge of the art, and the craft of photography. Joe is a problem solver who builds photographs brick by brick. Studying everything, engage his subject, using all his tools, it is like watching someone put a puzzle together.
His new book combines a great selection of images, with his anecdotal stories, and technical descriptions of how they were made. Joe has balanced the book, carefully selecting every image to cover a wide range of situations, to help fellow photographers through the "peeks and valleys" of freelance photography. He has thirty years of experience shooting in over fifty countries to glean from. Working for Life, National Geographic, Sports Illustrated, and lots of Fortune 500 companies.
In "Joe talk", the lessons include: "Basic human interaction trumps everything; Zoom with your feet; Shoot it now; The most important asset is your attitude". There are lots more clearly presented.
Buy the book for it's great photographs, because you want to learn about being a photographer, or being a parent. To learn about lighting, and what to pack in your camera bag. To learn a few tricks, or about light. Learn how to shoot what you love, to convey what you want to say in a photo.
A great book by a great photographer at the top of his game.

I'll keep this short and sweet.

1. NOT a cookbook or "how to" book.
2. NOT a beginners book.
3. IS a book for high intermediate level and advanced photographers (see#4).
4. This book does not give F stops or other technical information. That's why it's an advanced book.
5. 100% LOCATION photography and how to overcome the hardships of this type of shot.
6. Emphasis on hard core commercial photography, as in Donald Trump, CEO's, Sports figures, etc. But if you know your stuff, you can use the information to your advantage for any location shooting.

Summary: This book made a lot of sense to me, but only because I understand light and the problems of location photography. If you do not understand the problems of light on location, how to use strobes, reflectors, etc., then you will not "get" this book.

McNally is pretty extraordinary in his element, which is fast thinking in a fast paced location based commercial environment. He hit everything I've experienced stress wise trying to create a nice image using natural and strobe light on location.

If you have ever tried location photography w/o a flash gun on your camera--because you do not use an ON CAMERA flash when doing location photography (and bouncing an on camera flash counts as having the light off camera, and yes there are exceptions)--then you understand the horrible chills you get when learning this skill, and even after you learn the basics the stress and abject FEAR involved. McNally does a great job of imparting this fear and stress and explaining how he works though it, or not--he admits sometimes you just fail, get use to it.

In that sense, the book gets 5 stars. If you think you are the only one who goes through these levels of fear, stress, self hatred, and messing up, then read this book. It will allow you, if nothing else, to see that you are on the right track and that even super pros like McNally go through these same anxieties.

In conclusion, this book is for advanced photographers looking to hone their skills and to understand if they are actually on the right track. Even if you don't do hard core commercial, you can impart this information to your skill set because all of the stuff he talks about is relevant to ANY location type photography, including weddings. The book also uses what I believe are perfect examples of what Joe is trying to convey to other photographers.

Thanks Joe. Good book!

As photography books, especially instructional ones, go this is definitely an interesting one. The layout is really good and the images nothing short of stunning. Mr. McNally's thoughts and advice are written in an easily understandable and very approachable manner. All very well, then.

Well, not entirely. Many reviewers before me have mentioned that there are few real pieces of advice as how to go out and produce shots similiar to those presented. There are plenty of hints and 'I got hold of helicopter and had my fleet of assistants doing this and that to get the proper lighting on the King of Siberia while the catering firm truck was just in the right spot for creating the right shadows', which creates the feeling, at least to me, that the author (who is a great photographer) just tells stories about why he is as good as he is (this is not boring or bad as such, mind you, just not what one is expecting). If you know all there is to know about lighting and creative photography, I guess you could look at the advice in this book and say 'oh yeah, I forgot about that. Let's do it this way', but unless you're quite good with lamps and lights, there's not enough to be had here. I have definitely learned, from most of the advice in this book, that one needs an assistant, 5 flashes, tons of reflectors, and all kinds of other stuff to get any sort of portrait in the field as well as in the studio. There are, in other words, not enough tips on shooting for amateurs in the field (in my opinion).

With danger of sounding hippocritical, I'll say that some of the advice (sold as 'nuggets of wisdom' in the foreword by S. Kelby) is a bit on the simple side ("Bring your camera"?). It's not a big problem, though (you can't have a book tailored to just your own needs, can you now? And this one does actually cover quite a bit of ground).

There is also a slight problem with the writing. Approachable and easily understandable as it is, I think that the language at times is a bit too... colloquial. "Then I was like...", "Dat's one fine lookin' photo subject", and the like makes it all a bit too... well, colloquial, for me.

There are some photographs in here, though, and hints and advice are never a waiste of time. It's just not the book it could have, or indeed should have, been.

2,5 stars

I have never been as disappointed with a book as I am with this one. I still gave it 3 stars because the book was not absolute crap, it was still an OK book. It is from the great Joe McNally, with many of his photos and tips and tricks from him and people who influenced him. That is a crappy way to write a book, basically it would make a great web page, but a crappy book.

I have been a fan for a long time, Joe McNally has been an icon in the photo world, but the shots he used to illustrate his points in the this book were not his best, not his second best, they were not even good most of the time. He seems to think so, which makes me question his judgment, but I think most of them suck and the stories that go with them are trite and often times do not give you any helpful/useful info so that you can recreate a similar shot. What kind of advice is that? I liked some of the stories, but even then they were too short on substance and detail, often times more about him or the situation than the photo.

This book is basically a poorly thought out combination between a coffee table book full of pictures (none of which would I put in a coffee table book btw) and a Scott Kelby-esque guide. The problem is that it is not Kelby-esque at all, it just uses his "friends chit chatting and lending advice" style (and not very well either).

I am no pro, I am no critic, I am for all intents and purposes no one that Joe McNally has to impress or care about. I am a regular guy who paid too much for a book. I lost a lot of respect for McNally, much of which I would likely have lost if I would have simply seen many of these photos in the first place, some were that forgettable.

I feel ripped off, but only because of my high expectations. I was lead to believe from Scott Kelby that this was a great book, he is biased. I am going to have to start taking his advice with a grain of salt, knowing that I have to say that this is the only time he has done me wrong.

A note to Joe, please do us all a favor and make another book, this time do it right, use your "A" material, write a book that is EITHER a showcase for your work OR a guide to help us little guys become better at lighting/photography in general.

I got the book thinking of learning some from this great photographer.
One just can wonder how he got the pictures. The book is great as a coffee table but not good as a learning tool.
His session on equipment doesn't cover much. He just listed his great cameras, filters and more. No explanations or suggestions are offered. The pictures are great but no much cover on how they were taken.
BUT if you want to indulge your eye and have your guess have a topic a conversation you may want to buy it.

Joe McNally is a gifted story teller, both with photographs and with words. The photos included in his book -- primarily formal and candid portraits -- are well worth studying for composition and technique. Regardless whether or not one has access to the kinds of equipment McNally describes, there's much to learn by studying his work. The accompanying text is informative and entertaining, filled with anecdotes that reveal a great deal about making photographs and about making it as a major professional photographer.

McNally's anecdotes are at the center of the book because they're effective teaching tools, through which he can talk about photography without becoming didactic. They also allow him to acknowledge photographers and editors who helped shape his career. McNally always plays a role in these anecdotes (it's his book, after all), but often enough lets others have the punch line or make the basic point. For example, Jim Richardson of "National Geographic" is quoted as delivering this straightforward, sound advice: "If you want to be a better photographer, stand in front of more interesting stuff."

This is precisely what McNally writes about: how photographers make what they're standing in front of more interesting, for themselves and their audience. How to use light and composition as powerfully as possible, without overpowering the subject. How to think about a photograph and the story it's intended to tell.

So, who should read this book? If you're a photographer interested in standing in front of more interesting stuff or making what you're standing in front of more interesting, then there's probably something you can learn here. That's also true if you're not a photographer, but want to know more about making photos. You'll have to do some work by studying McNally's photos and what he has to say about them, but it's worth the effort.

On the other hand, this is absolutely not a "how to" book. There's no discussion of software or the mechanics of operating a camera. The book is about photography as a creative process, so to get the most out of it, you probably need at least some basic background. There's nothing wrong with wanting help using a new camera or with taking better family and vacation snapshots, but you won't find it in this book. Look elsewhere.

When I got the book, I simply could not put it down until I finished it. This will most likely be the best book published on photography in year 2008. Let me share few of my thoughts on why.

Joe McNally is one of the most famous and most successful photojournalists of our time. He shoots all kinds of things, but he's best known for his people photography. Joe is also considered to be an outstanding teacher, and it shoes through the book.

Joe has an amazing talent of taking an individual or a group of people and capturing them in a way that you don't need any explanations. Each photo of his is an essay in itself. So if you like shooting people, for journalism, or simply for family history purposes, you will simply love just looking at the pictures presented here. In fact, the book would be worth it even if it cost 10 times of what it costs now ($32) just for the collection of images presented there. They are outstanding, and what's good, the quality of printing is very good too. And if you're not yet shooting people, this book will make you start shooting them, as there is not a subject that is more exciting.

Besides photos, Joe also presents stories behind them, including how he lit the objects and why. This kind of information is what made the book extra captivating for me. He's got a talent of telling stories in a way that you can't stop reading them. You open a page, see an image that blows your mind away, and on top of that, you get a story of how it was created, along with the guiding principle behind it, or "one-liner" that is easy to remember. He shares photography wisdom with in every section of the book, and many of his pearls will be quoted by teachers and writers on the topic of photography for years to come.

He also gets personal and shares stories of his struggles from the time he was a beginner to the present day. You'll hear details about how he once destroyed six cameras in one day, or about what image jump started his career, or about his tries to be a good parent to his children when he was away most of the time as they were growing. I am always impressed when people of his caliber talk about their mistakes and failures so openly. It also makes you take your own mistakes more easily.

In summary, through his book Joe McNally has inspired me, has made me better photographer through his own example, both in terms of technical aspects and creativity, and once again has made me want to go out and keep shooting. I was sad the book was over, but it's one of these books that I will read again and again. It is for sure as good as any book I have read on the topic of the art of photography, and you're losing out if you have not yet ordered your copy.

This is absolutely one of the best books on photography I have ever read and read and read. The pictures are better than most books on the coffee table. The photography lessons are worth the price alone. But the stories associated with the pictures and 1 line lessons are the true treasures. If you want to try to understand lighting and know that there are no absolute rules then this is the book for you. Originally I thought that this book was a bit expensive, but the quality of the printed photography is only exceeded by the story on the opposite page. Base on 1 line lessons you want to go onto the next pair of pages to read about the story behind that photo. The written style is simple and easy to follow with on page definitions for those photography tech terms needed for understanding the lighting. Simply outstanding. Thanks to Mr.(s) McNally and Scott Kelby for understanding the value of its contents.

Amazon shipped mine in a standard carton, but blister wrapped the book inside with cardboard. Thank you; it was raining in Los Angeles the week it was delivered. Yes, one corner was curled. But reading this book as much as I have these past two days quickly curled the other corner.

The peachpit.com bonus pdf addendum for registering the book online was not available at the time I wrote this.

There's no question on the competence of Joe McNally. The pictures are impeccable in this book. But indeed he should have done more to teach.

Although some are drawn on tissue paper, in his blog you can see lighting diagrams (where to place the flashes/softboxes). He also show some behind-the-scene pictures on how even the backdrop was set-up along with a commentary on what was the assignment for and the theme he wants to achieve. He should have done the same in this book.

I think the problem was in the decision to make a coffee table and tutorial book in one. Should have selected just one objective, to satisfy fully that purpose?

I hope Joe will write another book with more tutoring. Doesnt have to be a tell-all, spoonfeeding stuff. Just something you can follow and experiment with--again, similar to what he writes in his bog.

McNally is a fantastic photographer, no doubt. His career has been an amazing one. But for average schmucks like you and me, this book will have little value. I echo the comments of others, in that how many of us are going to stand on the top of the antenna of the Empire State Building or shoot celebrities with all sorts of huge, expensive lighting equipment? 95% of the book explains how his shots were made by explaining the lighting. So basically this book is 95% about lighting. Very complicated, large lighting set-ups, mostly.

I just turned the last page today, and I'm putting it up for sale on eBay. Save your money - don't bother with this unless you're a fanatic off-camera lighting, stobist-type. Not that there's anything wrong with that ...

I'm not sure what I was expecting from this book, but after reading reviews I guess I was expecting something that blew my socks off. It's not a bad book, but it's not one that I'd bother reading through a second time. As long as you purchase this with the understanding that you're buying a collection of photographs and not an educational book, you'll likely enjoy it. It's great for a coffee table or the bathroom as you can read a page or two and put it down (it's not an on-going story, each page stands alone).

This book is getting rave reviews. If you are into artificial lighting and lighting accessories, this is a must have book. However, for a person like me, who much prefers natural light, it is a very interesting read but not one that I would refer back to. No doubt about it, McNally is terrific at what he does. And because he is so outstanding, every photographer probably should read his book at least once.

Well, here it is-- in my grubby mitts... "The Moment It Clicks"

It's alot of info. but very readable. I initally spent quite some time just browsing through the book, page by page. Now, I'm reading each story/photo shoot. One of the things I'm most amazed by is the amount of work Joe does in studying the background of some of his subjects. Steve Martin's photo on page 105, for example. Joe writes, "When I was assinged to shoot Steve Martin for LIFE, I got my hands on everything Steve-- his movies, profiles, any publicity...." (Wow). (How many times do i just show up & make my best guess preparations at that point...). Of course, I'm not making comparisons of my prep & Joe McNally-- he obviously is in another league (or from a different planet) of phtogoraphers. He goes on to describe how he technically achieves this dual-exposure of Steve Martin. It's very thoughtful and he graciously describes how this can be done more easily on digital cameras that allow for in-camera double exposure. "The secret ... is the focus cursors: you want the focus cursor on the eye..."

So, for each of the hundred plus examples... there seems to be this pattern of discussing the photo assighment & then the technical description of "how to get this shot..."

There are interesting dissertations on lighting or extended tours of Joe's camera bag, his lighting "grip" (looks like it would take a U-Haul Truck to load it all... ). As I pointed out in a rebuttal of a "one-star" evaluation. Joe has & is prepared to use as much gear as necessary to get the best possible shot. What is encouraging are the many examples of despite having all this gear, his best picture is often taken w/ available light or his back-up camera (picture of Linus Pauling on pg 15, for example). And he explains why that was the best picture.

For photog "pups" (novices) like myself this is encouraging stuff... I'm not sure how the pros will react, but my limited experience w/ pros is that for the most part they are a gracious lot... so I think they will applaud one of their own & his efforts to excite photographers everywhere.

I have a shelves of "how to" photo books ranging from macro photography to how to use my Canon Tilt and Shift lens.

None were bad, but none were great reading until now. Joe McNally has broken the code combing an eminently readable book that is packed with coffee table quality images and detailed instructions on how the images were shot. But more than this he gives humorous insights about the life and business of being a professional photographer.

You will learn what it takes to rent an elephant and if elephant models get overtime. And what went in to producing a shot of Kermit the Frog after the tragic death of his creator.

Joe is a master at using light. He stresses numerous times that the word Photography comes from the Greek and means Light Writing.

He goes well beyond the use of light and lighting equipment. How to get the shot involves more than light. We get to climb into Joe's creative processes and see how he makes the iconic images he is famous for.

There is no artistic pretension found in so many other books of this type.

If you are not a photographer you will love the images contained in the book. If you are a photographer it will show you how to be better.

First of all, his review is from an aspiring amateur photographer who never intends to be a pro. So, if you are a pro, you may ignore this review. The pictures in the book are awesome. That's for sure. However, they are like, pictures from a helicopter, pictures from on top of New York skyscraper construction, pro-football cheer leaders' locker room, etc... and then the author explains very shortly how to get this type of shot (the explanation is so short that I doubt that it would actually help). But average amateur photographers will never be in the Moment It Clicks. I don't think that I am going to fly over New York in helicopter, or in any city what so ever.

This book is only for professional photo journalists.

Note that the majority of people that don't like this book explicitly mention Kelby's books. That should speak volumes to experienced photographers and photo editors.

If you love Scott Kelby books then this probably isn't the book for you. It isn't filled with lousy jokes and simple formulas. You have to have some base photographic knowledge to pull off complex shots and you'll never get there with simple formulas. No ... it isn't a beginner book like Kelby's drivel so don't buy it if that's what you're into.

The book does not cover anything that will help you shoot better photos if you storys its ok i guess

Fabulous book, hilarious but very useful comments, great pictures!
I'm sure Joe is a great teacher and person!

Someone here said Joe didn't reveal everything. That is not true. He gives you more details in the beginning and as you read further, it's more about particular atmosphere or thoughts he used to create the particular image - NOT an instant-recipe for perfect photo!
Doesn't matter if you are a pro or a rookie, his thoughts could provide you with something you accidentally overlooked!

This book makes you think and use your brain, rather than copy/paste or steal his ideas!

If you already know a bit of lighting and photography basics, you'll love this book. If you don't have a clue but you'd like to learn, this book has a lot to teach, but not specifics, its more about the broader vision that's behind all those little things. Great and entertaining, full of stories, tips, etc.

Beautifully illustrated photography book. Excellent "how to get the shot" tutorial. A must for photographers.

Joe McNally's book is a must read for the experienced photographer looking for practical tips and wisdom learned thru years of experience! I'm not sure the novice would understand many of the tips, but if you've been shooting for awhile and understand the concepts and principles of lighting, this book will provide you with some of that knowledge and wisdom that it takes years of experience to gain.

I read a ton of photography books. This is one of the best in the last several decades. Great personal stories and filled with incredibly useful information that's boiled down to useful little nuggets rather than running on for page after page of dribble.

As a professional photographer I only expect a single "aha" from any book I read. This had dozens! I'm so impressed I may attend one of his workshops.

I thought this was the most entertaining read for a book on photography, I laughed out loud several times. The stories are great. But if you are looking for shooting information camera settings, lighting ratio's etc.. you should look elsewhere. I was hoping for a little more information based on all the hype this book received. I think the Kelby marketing machine is in overdrive on this one.

If you are looking for a poor quality yet overpriced(32.95) paperback photo book for the coffee table this book is for you. The author's photo's are good and his personal stories are nice but there is no meat here for anyone seeking to learn more about photography. I bought the book for a Christmas present and now will have no present and wasted time ordering and repackaging and returning. Thank goodness Amazon has a return policy.

I bought this for a friend who is a photographer and teacher of photography, and he loved it. This book makes a great gift for anyone who is interested in making pictures or just looking at them.

Fantastic book with great work inside. Incredibly upbeat and witty, with helpful tips for everyday photography to advanced lighting techniques. Highly reccomended

Now just how did Joe McNally get to the top?

Take a look and see :)

For not being a how-to book, I've been getting a lot of info about lighting. I like that.

Great stories also.

Grab it if you are interested in various light conditions and solutions.

Worth the price for me.

If you use or are interested in using off camera lighting, this is a must read. Why would you? Photography is about light and McNally teachs how to modify or change existing light so you are not stuck with the poor or boring light you find. McNally is an artist with light. His writing style is enjoyable and is humor makes this an easy read yet this is packed with information. This book was the brainchild of Scott Kelby, and even goes beyond his on line seminars taking a subject that could be dry and makes it enjoyable reading. This book received alot of hoopla about its release- with good reason. Read this with Lowell's Matter of Light and Depth for structured instruction and the Strobist website for portable, inexpensive gear and your photography will move to an entirely different level.

Although the photos in this book a great there is minimal information on how to set the photo up. In addition, most of the hints are not for the beginner or tourist as they involve light boxes and various other pieces of equipment. I was disappointed with this book. If you're interested in learning more about the composition of a photo (with your camera as your only piece of equipment) I would suggest The Photographer's Eye by Freeman. I bought these two books at the same time and have found Freeman's book very instructive, although there are many other how-to books on composition that are probably just as good. But as for McNally's book, its now on my coffee table amongst the other pretty to look at books.

This is an interesting book, filled with beatiful photos and first hand explanations of how they were taken. It is well written and interesting reading for any photographer. However the photographer used a small truck load of lighting equipment for almost every shot, so it is not of much instructional use to a photographer who does not posses, or is willing to rent, an almost unlimited amount of flash lighting equipment for every photographic session.

The book has won more praise from photographers of all ilk than just about any other book ever, though as I discovered $55 later, Joe McNally's blue-collar celebrity and incredible photographic versatility don't guarantee that everything he publishes is as cool as he is. The party line is that the book "has one foot on the coffee table and one in the classroom," which amounts to two few feet, as I see it; each image is paired with a very soft technical explication that merely suggests that McNally is, in fact, alive (and proud of what he's done while alive). Sure, the novice with little imagination may feel treated to privileged perspective thumbing through the candied panoply of McNally's greatest hits, but unless you're at ground zero with this novice, this book will not elevate your craft at all (even though Joe is cool).

This is an excellent book that lives up to the phrase on the back of the book. It contains excellent illustrated images as well as instructions how to perform the shots. The book is an excellent choice for beginner and experienced shooter. Like many other books, it stirs up the creative thinking.

Joe McNally presents various methods to create interesting shots. Although many of us might never have the opportunity to shoot the same images in the book, we might be in a situation to combine various techniques taught. After owning the book for a short period of time, I put to use many of the techniques from the book.

It is a keeper compared to other books that I buy and sell immediately.

Joe McNally is a well-known professional photographer and photojournalist. His images have been seen in National Geographic, Sports Illustrated, ESPN magazine, Life magazine, Time magazine and many others. Between a very demanding job, teaching workshops, an Internet blog and being a father - this guy has no free time to spare.

So, how would you like to see some of his best work, hear the story behind the shot and some of the details of HOW he got the shot? Just pick up a copy of his book "The Moment it Clicks", published by New Riders.

In it, Joe goes over many of his images you will recognize from the pages of Life magazine and other publications and tells a short story about the shot, the subject and the problems. He even goes into some detail about how he set up lighting, got the right timing, or tricked the subject into NOT posing.

This is a rare opportunity to learn from one of the greatest photojournalists around, for just the price of a coffee table book; and it proves to be so much more valuable, with all of the technical details. Highly recommended, by little `ole me, and MANY others!

The cover copy of The Moment It Clicks by Joe McNally says that the book has "one foot on the coffee table," and this is fair enough. Joe is a top shooter of the National Geographic, Life Magazine, and editorial assignment ilk. I throughly enjoyed looking through the photos in this book, and reading the stories behind them. I thought Joe's general advice was invariably accurate ("If you want something to look interesting, don't light all of it.").

Those are the pros (yes, pun intended). The con for this book is that unless you have mega access to celebrities, lavish budgets for sets, and assistants to schlepp all kinds of lighting accessories around with you, this book won't help you much with pragmatic issues.

I also wish Joe would swim a little more with digital. You know, the answer isn't to always do it in the camera, or to always do it in Photoshop. It's to figure out which is best and easiest in a specific situation. Joe could save himself some grief at the shooting end if he better appreciated what Photoshop can do.

This is a superb book, and I recommend it for every photographer's shelf, despite the quibbles found in my review.

I've been a fan of Joe McNally for years and have heard him lecture in person a few times. To say that I've been looking forward to a book from him would be an understatement.

However, when I first heard about this book I wasn't sure that I wanted it. Normally, I like two kinds of photo books. Those that show the photographer's work or those that are of the "how to" type. This is neither in that it combines both genres......kind of.

It's certainly not a collection of McNally's work in the conventional sense. It is, instead, a potpourri of his photos. It's also not a "how-to" book since it doesn't give more than a cursory explanation of how the photos were made. All that said, I've found it to be extremely enjoyable.

The photos are typical McNally. Technically and aesthetically superb. Nothing less than what one would expect.

In his how-to explanations (which I think of as "how-to lite", no pun intended), Joe gives a brief overview of what was involved in getting each shot. That's fine with me, as I've never understood why some photographers feel that they need to give the aperture and shutter speed for every shot. While such information can be useful if one wants to duplicate a specific effect, they are meaningless for most shots as they only represent the light conditions present at that place and time.

What comes through loud and clear are McNally's insights and practical advice. He doesn't tell us how to duplicate each shot but, instead, tells us why he did what he did to get it. Let's face it, he knows, and so should we, that we are never going to own the equipment that he does or are we ever likely to develop the expertise to use it in the ways that he does.

If you're looking for a portfolio of Joe's work or a how-to guide to help you duplicate it, save your money as you won't find that here. If you want to get into McNally's head and perhaps become motivated to improve your own photography as a result, you won't be disappointed.

The photography in itself is terrific, but what makes it all work is the author's unique ability to execute a concept.

well, unfortunately i don't have all the neat equipment and access joe has. but joe has a great eye for "the moment" and gives us an idea of what it takes to get it. it was an interesting read to see how he decides to capture his images. various elements we may overlook are a big help to the overall effect of the picture. flipping through the book of a well-known international photographer alone gives you a feel for the professional look. i was disappointed that this book wasn't about camera settings to shoot with for different situations, but i gotta say joe does impart interesting professional knowledge. just to review his work alone is a fascinating learning experience for young photographers like myself. in sum, don't expect to learn about exposure and settings so much, but prepare to observe how to capture "the moment" through a professional eye. joe gives us access to the professional world of photography that we normally don't have access to.

If you like to look at great pictures, and learn the story behind them, this book is for you! I really enjoyed reading this, and I will probably flick through it from time to time.

However, I did not learn much that will make me a better photographer. The reason is that Joe is on a very different level, and on a very different budget, than I am, so as long as I don't have a lot of strobes and soft boxes, I really can not apply his tips. I did learn some principles, but to me, the strength of this book is the great pictures and the amusing stories.

I have a lot of books on (pro)photography, but this book and Michael Grecco's (Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait: The Art of Celebrity and Editorial Photography) are my favorites. They are hands on with great pictures and the story behind them (how to make them).

Very funny as well. I finished it within a day. The cons: well some pictures and stories were entertaining but not inspirational.

I have seen him get standing ovations at photos shows. Check out this book and you'll know why - rick sammon

Novice to professionals will benefit from Joe McNally's experience as a photographer with Life, National Geographic, and Sports Illustrated. There are basic photographic tips for those that want to point and shoot with a little more flair. But more, there are very technical tips on how to use professional lighting systems to achieve very "unlit" natural results. This is by no means a dry step-by-step how-to book. It's written in a very conversational style: "oh, you want to know how I took that photo of Michelle (Pfeiffer), pull up a chair and let me tell you." It is an easy read, filled with humor and tales of a journeyman photographer. The first read took me just a couple days at a few pages a day. A few weeks has gone by and I realize that I want to commit many more of McNally's tips to memory, that will take me a couple more rereads. I'm looking forward to it. The book is 50% fantastic photos (of who's who in sports and pop culture) and 50% how to make these photos.

I'm in awe of people who can take great pictures with seemingly little effort. But in reality, those pictures are a combination of skill, knowledge, and not a small measure of luck. Joe McNally, a very well-known photographer who has shot for Time, National Geographic, and others, "converses" with the reader in The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world's top shooters. You'll find out how his mind works to control lighting and scene to make those famous images.

Contents:
Shoot What You Love; Keep Your Eye in the Camera; The Logic of Light; There's Always Something to Bounce Light Off Of; Joe's Lighting Tips; Joe's Camera Bag; Joe's Grip and Lighting Gear; The Barroom; Glossary; Index

This book was born from a workshop where McNally was presenting. He was sharing gems of experience, when it dawned on one of the attendees that capturing these nuggets of wisdom could be a perfect method for letting everyone get into the mind of a great photographer. The format of the book consists mostly of two page spreads. The right side shows the photo, and the left side is McNally sharing the story behind the image. Not only does he share what it took to get the picture, but he also gets into the technical aspects of how it was lit and shot. So much of what he does is based on lighting. Too much, too little, bouncing off items, focussed lighting, ambient, etc... When you get done, you'll never look at light in quite the same way again.

Will this book allow you to replicate the same types of shots that have made McNally famous? No. For one, he has hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment, and often has a budget to do things like renting elephants and hanging people from helicopters. My guess is that you don't have that working for you. Also, he doesn't use a "do this, then this, then this" approach. He does talk about the equipment and settings, the lighting and circumstances, but it's more as if you were sitting in a pub talking to a best mate. If you're not experienced on camera technology and terminology, you'll also miss a fair amount of the value. But if you've done some work and become more than just a tourist with a camera, this can take you up another level or two.

Or you can just look at the pictures and marvel that it's possible to do those kinds of things with a camera...

The Moment It Clicks is about how a great magazine photographer makes pictures, about light and lighting on location, and about what makes a picture great. It is also about the photographer's need to take better pictures, to show them, and to have people appreciate them.

Joe McNally writes about asking publishers for assignments, and then about being asked to take assignments for magazines including Sports Illustrate, National Geographic and Life. The outstanding pictures in the book are accompanied by the interesting story of how it happened and what made this image great.

This is supposed to be for intermediate photographers. I believe the more professional you are, the more you will get out of it, and at the same time a beginner will find it interesting and inspiring.

Scott Kelby urged Joe McNally to write this book after attending some of his classes. Each lesson contained one sentence, one thought, that the moment it clicked made the whole lesson worth whatever it cost, and suggested the title.

The Moment It Clicks is a coffee table book and a joy to read. Each story about a photograph contains that one sentence, The Moment It Clicks. Then there are other stories for you t enjoy about being a photographer.

Interesting but of value only to a professional doing vetry high level work. Not much of use for the serious amature or nature photographer.
His personal reflections were thoughtful and worth reading.

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.

I bought this book with Joe McNally's reputation in mind. I had read and heard from the NAPP team (National Association of Photoshop Professionals) that this should be your next book purchase.

I read the stories and looked at the pictures (basically that's the entire book) and found the stories amusing. If you don't have all the advanced equipment that Joe has or you don't have the luck to be in the right place at the right time with all that equipment (without an assistant) your shots won't be of the same caliber.

This book was amusing but disappointing. It is an autobiography on some of the photography experiences of Mr. McNally. This book is not one to be purchased if you are looking for ways to take your photography skills to a higher level.

Joe McNally is sort of one of the heavyweights of the fancy type of National Geographic photography. By "fancy" I mean he uses lots of lighting gear. Everything is Elinchrom this, strobe this. He reminds me of Louie Psihoyos. Very commercial. Slick. Think Annie Leibowitz does National Geo. I personally don't care much for that style but still found this an interesting read. I prefer William Albert Allard and David Alan Harvey's style. He has some interesting things to say and seems like a genuinely nice and funny guy (he has good taste in movies). It has some shots from Life magazine, which honestly, I can't stand. It's that whole "everything is happy happy" Life look, with supremely posed shots meant to look natural. Anyway, I would recommend it to someone who is perhaps and aspiring young shooter who wants to do that kind of photography: lots of lighting gear, multiple bodies around your neck, bags of gear. It's not for the fans of Jim Stanfield, Bill Allard, Sam Abell, etc. who may have spent months shooting a subject with minimal gear for that "classic" NG look. This is more for people who probably like Fashion shoots for the equipment but maybe don't like the subjects that much and want to shoot something with a little more depth.

I like this book, I just don't love it. Half the book is pretty pictures, the rest is cute stories about the picture with a sprinkling of how-to about the photos. I learned a few tips, I guess I hoped to learn a lot. Like someone else wrote, this isn't like having a Kelby photoshop book on photography. Too bad.

It is obvious Joe Mcnally is an excellent photographer and, I'm sure, a good seminar instructor. It has some insightful comments on shooting many different types of situations and assignments. I guess I was looking for the kind of book Scott Kelby would write, providing more specific details on how the shots were taken. It's probably only me and my expectations. It still provided good insight and knowledge, and I would recommend the book as a source for words (and images) of inspiration.

I got this book because I had heard so many good reviews and opinions on it at strobist.com.
For people like me, a hobbyist photographer, this really gives tons of new ideas and tricks. I like it how McNally very clearly explains what problems he was faced with when shooting each picture, and how he managed to solve those. You learn that it is not always very high-tech stuff that seals the deal.

The other big thing for me in this book is to get an inside view to the life of a professional shooter. You get so much info from "between the lines". I have read magazines and newspapers for ages but now I will look at each picture with a different view. For example, wonder what kind of picture or mood the editor was looking for, why this particular picture was chosen for this paper, etc

Highly recommended!
Tommi

The Moment It Clicks certainly entertains as you read along. Reviewers, such as Scott Kelby, laud its conversational tone, and the tone works both for and against Mr. McNally. (In some stories, he comes off as less than charming.) The book seems made to be consumed in bite-sized chunks. Each two page spread illustrates an individual "secret", sometimes accompanied by "how to get this kind of shot" instructions. Overall, the book is an enjoyable read without being at all complex. There's something in it for beginners and more advanced photographers.

My primary criticism of the book is that the tips range from those that are so simple as to be easily overlooked ("don't light all of it") to so odd as to be irrelevant ("use a mime"). In my opinion, there were too many tips of the latter type. As a result, the book feels needlessly padded.

This book helps a lot in understanding lightning in photography. The author also tells a lot of tips and tricks to help a newbie photographer. (Not that newbie in fact.)

Apart from all these teaching part; it is book with great photography. So you can even have it just to put it on your coffe table to look at a couple of photo eveytime.

An inspring book about assignment photography. (Wished it had more exif information about the photos)

"The Moment It Clicks" rocks..........Every page is filled with simple straight forward photography knowledge which photographers of all levels will enjoy and learn from. The images Joe has selected are stunning and storytelling a real inspiration for all generations.

Although this isn't really a "how-to" type of book, I did pick up lots of great little tips and techniques along the way. I'm not a pro, but am a very serious amateur and have been involved in photography since a very early age... but, I still learned a great deal from this book. Some of his tips and techniques are repeated many times throughout the book, but that's also good because you find out what things work for him in many different situations.

Apart from the education aspect, this was really just a fun book to read! Lots of great stories and jokes along the way to keep you smiling. Plenty of really great photos to study as well.

The book description is very accurate, so I won't go into the details of what's in the book. If you are even thinking about picking this up, I'll just say to GO FOR IT! You won't be disappointed!

I know this book was billed as part coffee table book part instruction book. While I found it interesting to read and learned a few things most of what this guy does is as a full pro with a lot of time and gear that the average guy, even if he has the money, cannot justify for what is essentially a hobby. If you want a good read and to see some excellent photos then this is a good book (as I said, I did enjoy reading it immensely), but if you want something more instructional for the hobbyist photographer I recommend Scott Kelby's book Digital Photography Volumes 1 & 2.

If you want a book to reinvigorate your enthusiasm for photography this is it. My wife and I travelled with Joe through Ireland with the American Photo Mentor Series a few years ago. Every page brought a smile to my face, because he is in person exactly the person who shows up on the pages of this book. Every page has a gem of photographic wisdom and a great photo and story. My favorite gem of wisdom: Joe's awareness of the value of autofocus after three pints of Guiness. You will enjoy this book whether or not you have ever met Joe and if you have a chance to go to one of his workshops (He teaches at the Santa Fe Photograpic Workshops), I would encourage you to enjoy him in person.

Thank you Joe McNally for sharing your knowledge - reading this book really feels like I am sitting in the room having coffee with you, talking through how you set-up each photo.

After reading each 'nugget of wisdom' I am compelled to grab my camera and go shoot!

The only thing I would like to see added to this book are a few diagrams of the set-ups described in the book! This book is fantastic!

P.S.
Thanks to Scott Kelby for selling Joe the book idea!

Some photography books are collections of great photographs, and some books are about the process of making photographs. This book is the best of both: a bunch of great photographs, each with notes about the process and details of how it was made. The pearls of wisdom in this book cover both technical and social aspects of being a photographer, and it's all told with charm, wit, humor, tenderness, and passion. I've never met Joe McNally, but after reading this book, I'd give my right arm to have the honor. Buy this book; you won't regret it.

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!

There is a once popular self help guru whose philosophy was, in part, that to be successful at something you needed only to internalize the understanding of someone who is already successful at that thing. (This is sometimes misunderstood as needing to copy any and all actions of that person which explains why millions of people brush their teeth with the end of a stick but, I digress).

This book takes you into the mind of a very talented photographer. It helps you develop an understanding of why choices were made in a wide range of situations that produced unquestionably successful results. As other reviewers have already pointed out, you will probably not be presented with the same situations (or provided with the same resources) as the author. However, neither was he with yours. What you might be able to do if you understand his rational, methodology, and "rules" is to dramatically improve the pictures you take.

I very much enjoy looking through this book and in a few years may understand more of it's contents. There are many terms I have not yet experienced, although I've been a camera buff for around a decade. It appears to be very informative and I look forward to future use.

I am a landscape and flower photographer so I was disappointed by this book. It was not the writing, but the subject. Had it had more landscapes in the process it would have been better for me. For those that use artifical lighting this is a great book.

Keep it close to you and read it over and over. Your photos can be better after this.

this book was awesome to read. Author was funny, photos were great. Great tips on how to get the images.

First of all, the pictures in this book are great, and for that alone it is worth buying.
With each picture Joe tells a small story on how he got to the picture. Some reviewers were expecting a closely detailed "how to", and this is not it.
But just as photography is not about the gear alone (a good camera does not automatically make you a good photographer), it is also not just about technique.

So, there are no lighting diagrams in the book, no setups like "two flashes here and a reflector there". But a lot of tongue in cheek stories. Why film actors don't like their picture taken, how to get the right props, what NOT to do when shooting college sports stars, how to deal with police disrupting a shoot, etc.

I once made a portrait of my coworkers son. She said it was his best portrait ever - showing his true smile and not the fake one he always had in pictures. This book will get you a feeling (among other things) on how to get that true smile out of people.

Really great book on how Joe McNally achieves his photowork. Great for developing a view on creating great photo's yourself. Written in small chunks. Every page dscribes a photo. Fun to read due to easy to read language. Professional terms explained.

I found Mr. McNally on Nikonusa.com, was looking at all the different photographs taken on it, as i frequently look for official press release, and non(lol), on the nikon site and other sites. I happened to see the photograph of the firefighter from NYC,NY, and instantly fell inlove with his work. I read on, looking at websites, finally i found his, and then his blog. it was amazing. This book continues to show his great career, and life, as a photographer. This is not a book about how to become ansel adams, joe mcnally, or yousof karsh, its merely an inspirational, i did it this way, can you see that mistake(?), these are my life experiences, book. It brings you to laughs, tears, and amazement. At how one man, was able to tackle, what so many of us photographers want to have, a successful, proud career, where your work is admired by millions.

This was a great read. It mixes a lot of the "practical" behind the scenes aspects of putting a shoot together with the technical parts of how the shot was taken. McNally is frank about the hardships and sacrifices of trying to become a professional photographer and doesn't pull any punches about the effects on his family life. But for the most part the book is light hearted and fun to read. It's probably not the best book on the technical aspects of lighting/photography, but if you have any interest in portrait/slice-of-life photography you'll definitely enjoy this.

This book if filled with brilliant images, and some great auto-biographical narration. However, while some of his explanations may work for beginners, I feel that most may become frustrated without some more in-depth information. As a senior, working on a BFA in photography, I found this book to be incredibly helpful and insightful, but it does require some foreknowledge. I am looking forward to discussing some of these things with my professors, so that I can better achieve some of the techniques that he discusses. A couple of years ago, though, I think that I may have been disappointed, and unable to get much from the book. Certainly, any experience level could appreciate and learn some amount from this book. I think it's important to keep in mind that, really, no photograph should be replicated just for replication's sake. Is it realistic to apply this knowledge to my photographs? Yes! Would I try to copy exact ideas, etc? No. I just don't see the point of reinventing an identical wheel. If that's your intent when thinking of buying this book, I don't think you'll find it satisfactory. Just my honest opinion....
-E

Lots of anecdotal information mixed in with a quick blurb on how the picture was shot, that is what makes this a fun & informative book to read, more for the intermediate or begining photographer that intends to move their "hobby" to the next level or find out how those cool pictures are done, cool moral booster too because you find out that not evey shot a Pro takes is planned that way nor turns out all the time...definatly one of the better books to buy.

This book has a very simple layout, a picture on the right side and a description of the shot on the left. While it doesn't provide a high level of detail, it does demonstrate the wide range of challenges the author faced getting the pictures completed. Sometimes the challenges are technical, sometimes it is working with models and sometimes he is just lucky. It is not a step by step lighting book, but it is an excellent resource for seeing how an expert dealt with all types of problems to get an excellent image.

Initially I dismissed this book but its grown on me. Like other reviewers I felt the title was misleading "Photography secrets from one of the world's top shooters"
Now that I've say down and started reading it. Its now one of my favourite books.

Especially as I am into strobist blog and use Nikon speedlights. There is another Joe McNally book on the way "The Hot Shoe Diaries" and I will certainly be pre ordering it. If its anything like as informative as Dave Hobbies DVD Set.(Honestly once you've seen this DVD everything about off camera lighting just clicks together. Its mind blowing) I'll be very pleased.

Education, entertainment and impressive imagery. Joe educates us with lots of advice and by giving us explanations of how he created some of the images in the book. He entertains us with war stories from his career and he certainly impresses us with his imagery. One could easily imagine this book as a PowerPoint presentation. For each two-page spread we get a bullet item that relates some advice, an image to demonstrate this advice and the story behind the image. For some images we also get a fuller explanation of some aspect of photography (i.e. lighting) that pertains to the creation of the image.

This book is not a substitute for a book focusing solely on lighting or one on composition, exposure, the use of color or the like. It is also not a business practice manual. It's light on all of these but inhabits the tough middle area where it has some value in all of these and other areas. I did come away with the realization that the work to create the images in this book was usually more laborious than Joe let on as he made it look easy. I attribute this to Joe's talent and experience and that for him it would indeed be much easier to do this than if we tried this ourselves in the real world. I'm okay with that as this book doesn't pretend to be a thick textbook book on some aspect of photography or a detailed autobiography. In all, it was an entertaining, educational and inspiring read.

This book became one of my favorite all time photography books from the moment I picked it up!

Joe McNally is truly a legend. This book showcases some of his greatest work, and on the page opposite each photo he tells a story to go with it. He also gives the most basic description of the technical side of the lighting.

If you are looking for highly technical step by step detailed instructions on how to reproduce each photo,this book is not for you. You have to have a firm grasp on the technical side of photography, especially lighting, before you can appreciate this book. But if you are already lighting like a pro, this book can help you see how a "superstar" pro would have taken the shot. More than step by step instructions, this book gives you insight into Joe McNally's career and how he achieves the photos that are truly a step above the rest of us.

The biggest thing I got from this book is inspiration to think outside the box and go for the real wow photo instead of being satisfied with good. I loved the funny stories revealing how he talked subjects into letting him get the shot he wanted as well as the stories on solving technical problems on the fly with less than conventional methods.

And the pictures are amazing. I have flipped through this book over and over, studying the technical aspects and soaking up the inspiration.

I highly recommend this book for any professional wanting inspiration and a little guidance on how to step up their work a bit!

I expected more about how to take good photos. This book shows how one man does it, but not any details, methods, etc. Otherwise filled with good photos.

Mr. Steffens makes a number of very solid points in his thoughtful review of this book, and I would certainly caution potential readers to take note of what he is saying as I was hoping for more direct insight in terms of how to recreate some of the truly amazing photos that Mr. McNally has captured over the years. If you are looking for a point by point instruction set on how to pose a subject, or exactly where to place lighting (in more than general terms), this is probably not the book for you. That said, I still give the book high marks. There is plenty of information that is useful for the experienced photographer about how to make some informed decisions when working on an assignment. The work presented is certainly inspirational, and it's hard to imagine a step-by-step guide from a photographer who has had worked with any number of celebrities and captured award winning images. The vast majority of photographers simply are not going to find themselves presented with many of the types of work that Joe has encountered (we can always dream though). I still recommend that anyone who wants to learn more about Joe's work pick up this book, both for a source of inspiration and instruction.

The book is just perfect for me!
Great photographs, lots of talk about lighting and stories that is just long enough.

The first photography book I've read cover to cover in one sitting.
Beautifully written, A lifetimes worth of tips and advice shared in a lighthearted way. The more I reread it the more aha moments I have. Joe Mc Nally is a great phototographer who's walked the walk.

simply one of the best photography books ive read, beautiful photos, lots of technical and amusing anecdotes, and lots to learn and love!

While it does not quite measure up to the promotional blurb, this book is a great read and does in fact contain plenty of practical, useful information, and many excellent photos.

This is the book you should have if you've ever wondered, or are learning to become a pro photo-journalist. So many behind the scenes tid-bits and advice that I think this should be required reading for any visual communications program. Will you learn the specifics of lighting? No. But this is not the book to get if you need to learn begining lighting. This is the book to get to understand what lighting is about.

This lovely book floods you with the culture of photography. You feel the passion and learn the technique without realizing you are being taught. A great inspiration and a favorite in my library. Thanks Mr. McNally.

Short review here,since the others have given it a good summary. This is half 'how I did it' photography book, and half 'conversation with a great photographer with some hidden nuggets'. Great for photographers and those who are just interested in seeing some really excellent photos.

I picked up this book in a bookshop when browsing for something else. I love this book! It is more about the "art" and "feelings" of photography and less about the "box" you are using to shoot the pictures. Many photography books I have accumulated I give away when I am finished reading them--this one is a keeper.

excellent book from one of the greatest photographers of our time. fantastic shots with superficial dissection of why and how. overall the technological level required to obtain this pictures is way out of my league and intent. Very nice book to expand your thinking and give you some insight on the complicated and fascinating world of pro photography...

for more down to earth matters that will improve your shooting quickly without having to buy 20 flashes, 5 softboxes and 2 umbrellas, I prefer " the photographer's eye"!

First of all. I am not Nikon shooter. And it really irritates to see Joe pushing this brand in the book so hard. I understand he is getting paid by them, but hey.. i paid for the book, not for the Nikon ad.

Other than that.. Its a good book, full of stories and decent imagery (well few shots are horrible to me taste, but its just me), and tips.

Again - its not a cookbook. But its feeding your brain enough to start properlling ;) I would read it again and again, i believe, and recommend it highly to me friends (specially Nikon users.. arf)

Finally a guy that realizes you can make a how to book on photography instructional and entertaining to read. A perfect combination of actual on teh job situations and description on how to get it done. Format was helpful to be able to look up a particular look or situation quickly, and the humor and stories are worth it alone...

I have the feeling that once they assembled the photos, then the author or editors decided upon what the various chapters would be called. I say this because the reality is the chapters broken out into Shoot what you love, Keep your eye on the camera, The logic of light, There is always something to bounce light off of - to me don't really speak to the real power of the book. Its about photography right? So just flipping through the book is actually more a delight and worthwhile than following a seemingly bare thread of like associated topics.

The photos are a great collection. The text accompanying each photo gives a story about the shot which details something different each time - such as a story about using a bed sheet to cut hard sun for a Time life cover shot - a lesson, story and technique rolled into one. The book cleverly moves through this way, showing great photos by well known photographers over time. And photography is what it is about. The Shot. The quickness to capture what is there. One great line is that you have to make sure the picture speaks for itself - as you will not be in the room when people look at it. Basic
advice, but one like other basic and straight forward advice, is valuable and oft ignored.

Treat this book at a group of mentors imparting some advice to you. While not a book to use as a tool such as - hey I want to replicate that picture - but one that will guide you by a mixture of stories, technique, talent and just maybe a little luck.

Great for all types of photographers.

This book is filled with superb tips on photography lighting, setup and so much more! Each two-page spread on a unique photo-shoot is written so that it makes sense and sticks.

Inspiring!

Joe is one of my favorite photographers.In this book you are able to go into Joe's mindset when he shot the image. But not only that, but he shares with you what he learned as a photographer as well as a human being.

I love his philosophy on lighting and flash... he uses whatever light is available... be it flash or available light. Joe is very practical, down to earth and honest. Great Book!

It is formated into short two pages chapters, with charts, definition of terms, and the image itself. So it is an easy and enjoyable read,

I read it in a couple of days. It's really interesting to see how he managed to pull out those images in those situations.
I strongly suggest it to any one that is interested in photography, both in the human and in the technical side of it.
Well done

I loved this book! Couldn't put it down. Very inspirational. I thought about sharing it with a photographer friend of mine, but I'm afraid he might keep it. I want to go back to it regularly, so he'll have to get his own copy. I recommend this book to anyone interested in photography.

This is an interesting book but most of the explanations involve more lighting equipment than I will ever have. I'd like to see Joe write a sequel explaining pictures that were taken with only equipment that an average person would carry without an assistant or a truck. That would be much more valuable to the amateur or advanced amateur photographer who doesn't have an unlimited budget or staff of assistants. I got more information that I could apply from Scott Kelby's recent how-to books.

This is not a common photography book, is about being a photographer and how a photographer does things. A must for every photographer

This is a near-perfect photography book. It shows you inspiring examples and gives you something of an idea of how they were captured. While I can never expect to equal Joe's work, at least I have the work to emulate and motivation to try. Highly recommended.

Well worth the price, even if you're not a pro. Invaluable gems salted throughout should you have any professional aspirations. Destined to become a modern classic in the canon of photography how-to books.

I enjoyed the pictures, but what kept me reading was the story behind the pictures. I found the accompanying stories highly entertaining and interesting (Joe McNally has lived a very interesting life). I also enjoyed the description of the technical aspects of how Joe got the shot. For those looking for a complete technical guide to photography will be disappointed. However if you are interested in great photographs with often times hilarious commentary on what it took to "get the shot" from one who has lived the "photog" life for 30 years you will be well rewarded. I look forward to the sequel.

THE MOMENT IT CLICKS is a gift in so many ways. The images McNally has included are glorious and inspirational...a feast for the eyes. The text behind them is so easy to read and understand. The various sections of