Review: De Portretbijbel by Elja Trum

Friday 21 June 2019, 20:02 by Michelle Peeters | 5,834 views | 1 comment

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

De Portretbijbel gives you inspiration to create beautiful portrait photos with enjoyment. Not with long technical explanations, but with 101 practical and simple examples. This article reviews this practical book.

Summary

It isn't easy to take striking portrait photos. After a difficult photoshoot, you end up with blurry snaps and a model who no longer wants to talk to you. The enjoyment quickly disappears from your photography hobby.

Unnecessarily, because a photoshoot should be a celebration. With little masterpieces that you can keep seeing for years as a profile picture on their Instagram page.

In this book, portrait photographer Elja Trum gives you simple, practical tips that help you take perfect portrait photos in all conditions. For example, you discover:

• How to take portrait photos of your children that are worth framing, without making them pose;


• How to create a relaxed atmosphere during your photoshoot, so everyone has a great day;


• How to take perfect portrait photos, even in the middle of the day in harsh sunlight;


• Creative tips that turn a portrait photo into a little masterpiece that gets you hundreds of likes on Instagram;


• How to find a great background anywhere, even when you aren't in a beautiful location;


• How to use flash to take professional portrait photos, even if you don't have a studio.

What do readers think?

Of course, it is a little strange to post a review of Elja's book on his blog, which is why I thought it would be best to focus mainly on what others say about De Portretbijbel.

There are now 43 reviews of the book on Bol.com. The book scores an average of 4.8 here, out of 5.

Some of the comments:

• An inspiring book! But above all, very practical to use. Good example photos, short descriptions, just enough text. And handy: all the settings are listed with the photo! Highly recommended!


• I've had this Portretbijbel for a few days now and I'm very pleased with it. I've already used a few tips with good results;


• A little book you want to own;


• In De Portretbijbel, Elja manages to make a wealth of information about photographing portraits accessible. No long-winded stories for once, but short, easy-to-scan pages;


• Every page in the book contains one photo with a short explanation and a tip that you can apply yourself straight away. And, as befits a real 'bible', each of these 'readings' gives you plenty to think about....
  
  A very practical book, then, from which beginner portrait photographers in particular can gain plenty of immediately applicable knowledge, without having to head to the camera shop with a well-filled wallet!


• Highly recommended. In this book, Elja clearly shows that he knows how to take beautiful portrait photos. And he can pass that knowledge on too;


• Every tip comes with its own photo, showing how he applies the tip in practice. This makes it immediately clear visually. The tips are for beginners, mainly in the first part of the book, as well as advanced photographers;


• The book is written in a very accessible way, is packed with practical advice and inspires you to get started yourself. It is also nice that many tips include a reference to a video. That makes things even clearer;


• After reading the book and seeing the beautiful photos, I immediately felt like getting started myself again. I will soon schedule a shoot to work out a portrait photo in which the light, off-camera flash, comes from an unusual direction;


• A book packed with tips that can also be applied by non-photographers, even if the only camera you have is the one on your mobile. This book will undoubtedly help you take more beautiful and interesting photos, even without any technical background knowledge.
  
  However, if you have a camera with more options and/or are at a different level in photography, you will find a wealth of ideas, tips and tricks here to take your portraits to a higher level;

And what did I think of it?

The book is consistently structured and designed in a clear way, making it easy to browse through and know what to expect. It is very clear. The settings used for each photo are clearly stated underneath it. That works very well.

With some photos, such as those on pages 10 and 25, for example, you might wonder whether they still count as portraits. As far as I know, a portrait photo is mainly about showing the head alone, down to the cleavage. But of course, views on this may have changed by now! Most of the photos are 'real' portrait photos, though.

It really is a very beautiful book. Beautifully and very consistently designed, and every page is simply good. The content is valuable too, and it is presented in a concise way. You can get many valuable tips from it. Highly recommended!

» Order De Portretbijbel (20 euros to the Netherlands, 25 euros to Belgium)

I wonder if you have already read De Portretbijbel. Did you enjoy the book? Do let us know in the comments!

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