New Releases by Jeff Smith

The face is the most important part of any portrait—but there are over seven billion unique faces on this planet and no single approach that will flatter every one of them. In this book, acclaimed photo-educator Jeff Smith shows you how to rise to the challenge. Step-by-step lessons show you how to customize every aspect of the portrait to emphasize your client’s best features through careful posing and conscious placement of each light source. Simple fixes are also included to disguise common issues like double chins, larger noses, protruding ears, and uneven eyes—along with tips for slimming the face, enhancing symmetry, and de-emphasizing signs of aging. Before and after images are provided throughout, making it easy to master each skill and begin creating portraits that practically sell themselves.

There are many aspects to professional photography: composition, camera angles, exposure, color balance, posing, and lighting— just to name a few. However, while each of these aspects of photography is important in the creation of a professional portrait, lighting presents a special challenge that is part art and part science. When the two come together effectively, the results are stunning; when any one aspect of the recipe falls short, the result is a poor exposure or a downright unflattering look. On the artistic side of the scale, lighting is one of the primary tools for setting the mood of the portrait. It can communicate a sense of bright, airy ease or sharp, dramatic tension—or anything in between. Determining what look is right for the client (and for their intended use of the resulting portraits) is a key decision. From there, the photographer can begin to use light to sculpt the subject’s features, minimizing problem areas or accentuating the subject’s best features through the selection of light modifiers and the positioning of the lights themselves. Moving to the technical side, outdoor lighting present particular challenges—but also some significant advantages. Outdoors, photographers shoot at least partially with natural light. While this is (most of the day) an abundant light source, it is largely out of the control of the photographer. The light can change from moment to moment as clouds pass between the earth and sun. It also changes continually throughout the day as the sun moves across the sky. Since he can’t completely control the light, the photographer must be prepared to adapt his subject’s pose and position to create flattering results with the light as-is. Alternately, the photographer can “tweak” the lighting by augmenting the sunlight with flash or reflectors—or even softening it, using scrim or other diffusers. (Of course, this leaves another major concern: the background. Even if the light on the subject can be perfected, rarely can the photographer also control the light on an area as large as the background—making it a major concern in the process of posing and lighting.) So, given all this, why would any photographer choose to make portraits outside? One advantage is that the lighting and scenes are free—making outdoor photography a great starting point for those entering the field. Even established studios, however, have found that clients simply like the natural, timeless look of outdoor portraits. This makes them strong sellers. Additionally, most portrait subjects are more at ease in natural light than when seated in front of bright, noisy studio-flash units—and relaxed subjects translate into better expressions, and better overall portraits. In this book, Smith takes you through the process or lighting outdoor portraits from start to finish, covering both the artistic and technical aspects of achieving success. Short one- or two-page lessons are amply illustrated to guide the reader through each phase. In many cases, before and after images—or image sequences showing variations and alternative approaches—are presented to facilitate learning. Readers are encouraged to have this book with them during practice sessions and work on replicating or refining the provided examples, creating a self-study course in the art of lighting for outdoor portrait photography.

Film Criticism, the Cold War, and the Blacklist examines the long-term reception of several key American films released during the postwar period, focusing on the two main critical lenses used in the interpretation of these films: propaganda and allegory. Produced in response to the hearings held by the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) that resulted in the Hollywood blacklist, these filmsÕ ideological message and rhetorical effectiveness was often muddled by the inherent difficulties in dramatizing villains defined by their thoughts and belief systems rather than their actions. Whereas anti-Communist propaganda films offered explicit political exhortation, allegory was the preferred vehicle for veiled or hidden political comment in many police procedurals, historical films, Westerns, and science fiction films. Jeff Smith examines the way that particular heuristics, such as the mental availability of exemplars and the effects of framing, have encouraged critics to match filmic elements to contemporaneous historical events, persons, and policies. In charting the development of these particular readings, Film Criticism, the Cold War, and the Blacklist features case studies of many canonical Cold War titles, including The Red Menace, On the Waterfront, The Robe, High Noon, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

This title presents the memoirs of a girl born into a close-knit East End family in 1911.

Los Bones, la abuela Ben, Thorn y la cría de mostrorrata se embarcan, a través de los misteriosos círculos fantasma, en un fiaje a Atheia, la antigua ciudad de la familia real. Un paso en falso podría cambiar el destino del valle para siempre.

Les aventures des Bone s''achèvent ! Jeff Smith, avec cet ultime opus, livre la dernière page de cette saga épique, devenue un classique de la bande dessinée mondiale. Retenue prisonnière dans un donjon alors que le destin de la Vallée se joue sur le champ de bataille, Thorn est soumise à la sombre influence de la Couronne d''aiguilles. Ce mystérieux objet, jalousement gardé par les dragons, est pourtant l''unique moyen de réduire à néant la menace du Seigneur des criquets, et de mettre un terme à la guerre. Mais à quel prix ?

With techniques for achieving a flawless portrait, this manual shows how to create stunning, professional images in any setting. Tips on how to delicately discuss and evaluate a subject’s appearance and his or her specific concerns combine with examples on how subtle changes in lighting and posing can flatter subjects—by slimming the waist and hips, enhancing the bust, narrowing the nose, reducing a double chin, and concealing baldness—helping portrait photographers sensitively downplay perceived flaws. Also illustrating how the latest in digital imaging technology can fix problems, this up-to-date resource shows how to digitally eliminate acne, whiten teeth, remove braces, and fix unnoticed clothing problems. Techniques for processing RAW files and for optimizing JPEG files for quick, but consistent, shooting are also included. With hundreds of new images, before-and-after sequences, and informative text, this is the ultimate reference for creating beautiful, flattering portraits.

A detailed handbook featuring interviews with "Bone" creator Jeff Smith and colorist Steve Hamaker, along with a behind-the-scenes look at how the cover art was colorized.

With detailed, informative instructions for capturing personable and memorable yearbook photos, actor and model portfolios, and business, bridal, and children’s portraits, this exhaustive reference covers what photographers need to know to be successful. Emphasizing that the client is always the center of the photograph, this resource illustrates how to evaluate the customer to determine which features to downplay and which to accent. Tips for creating the perfect image through posing and lighting, handling the post-shot conference, and previewing and retouching the images are supplied, as well as guidance for the technical and emotional challenges of shooting a portrait. Packed with step-by-step images, no-nonsense techniques, and practical advice, this is a must-have book for professional and advanced amateur photographers.

In such popular television series as The West Wing and 24, in thrillers like Tom Clancy’s novels, and in recent films, plays, graphic novels, and internet cartoons, America has been led by an amazing variety of chief executives. Some of these are real presidents who have been fictionally reimagined. Others are “might-have-beens” like Philip Roth’s President Charles Lindbergh. Many more have never existed except in some storyteller’s mind. In The Presidents We Imagine, Jeff Smith examines the presidency’s ever-changing place in the American imagination. Ranging across different media and analyzing works of many kinds, some familiar and some never before studied, he explores the evolution of presidential fictions, their central themes, the impact on them of new and emerging media, and their largely unexamined role in the nation’s real politics. Smith traces fictions of the presidency from the plays and polemics of the eighteenth century—when the new office was born in what Alexander Hamilton called “the regions of fiction”—to the digital products of the twenty-first century, with their seemingly limitless user-defined ways of imagining the world’s most important political figure. Students of American culture and politics, as well as readers interested in political fiction and film, will find here a colorful, indispensable guide to the many surprising ways Americans have been “representing” presidents even as those presidents have represented them. “Especially timely in an era when media image-mongering increasingly shapes presidential politics.”—Paul S. Boyer, series editor “Smith''s understanding of the sociopolitical realities of US history is impressive; likewise his interpretations of works of literature and popular culture. . . .In addition to presenting thoughtful analysis, the book is also fun. Readers will enjoy encounters with, for example, The Beggar''s Opera, Duck Soup, Edward Bellamy''s Looking Backward, Philip Roth''s Plot against America, the comedic campaigns of W. C. Fields for President and Pogo for President, and presidential fictions that continue up to the last President Bush. . . . His writing is fluid and conversational, but every page reveals deep understanding and focus. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.”—CHOICE

The adventure starts when cousins Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone are run out of Boneville and later get separated and lost in the wilderness, meeting monsters and making friends as they attempt to return home. Simultaneous.

Alors que la guerre fait rage à travers la vallée, Grand-Mère Ben, Lucius et Phoney Bone rejoignent les légendaires guerriers à la grotte du Vieil Homme pour préparer le combat final contre l''armée de rats-garous du roi Kingdok. Leur mystérieux chef - Celui à la capuche - va-t-il s''emparer de la vallée et libérer les terribles pouvoirs du Seigneur des criquets? Quelle est sa véritable identité? Et pourquoi tout le monde recherche-t-il le "porteur de l''étoile"?

A prequel to the Bone saga tells of young Princess Rose''s quest to defend the small towns of the Northern Valley from dragon attacks and the impact that her actions had on the lives of both friends and foes in the years ahead.

Before leaving the village of Barrelhaven, Phoney Bone risks everything on one last get-rich-quick scheme for the town''s annual Great Cow Race, but as usual, Phoney''s plans go disastrously awry. Tween.

The Bone cousins must find a treasure in order to save the ancient city of Atheia from a tyrant.

This comprehensive guide to location portraits teaches the basics of good head-to-toe posing, indoors and out, and shows the classical approaches used throughout photographic history to create a pleasing rendition of the human form. Additional introductory chapters detail the four main posing styles and reveal how to determine which will work best with a subject, their clothing, the location, and the purpose of the portrait. Chapters for advanced photographers highlight the creation of a wide variety of individual and group posesÑincluding ground, seated, head-and-shoulders, and standingÑto be utilized in tandem with stairs, rocks, and other architectural and natural elements. A chapter devoted to the essential business skills needed to professionally schedule appointments, work through consultations, manage sessions, and present and deliver final prints is also included.

After being tossed out of Boneville for cheating the citizens, three cousins find themselves mysteriously trapped in a wondrous but often terrifying land filled with secrets, danger, odd creatures and special new friendships. Some of the wittiest writing of any children''s literature in recent memory-- This is first-class kid lit: exciting, funny, scary and resonant enough that it will stick with readers for a long time. -Publishers Weekly *starred review*.

Shattering the notion that location lighting has to be difficult, inconvenient, or compromised in its quality, this resource provides guidance on how to create unique and personalized images shot in parks, on city streets, at sports arenas, in workplaces, or in a client’s home. With an overview of equipment and a discussion on the essential tools for a shoot, this guide walks photographers through the creation of dozens of location images—from casual headshots to full-length, formally posed portraits. With strategies for meeting lighting challenges found outside of the studio—from evaluating existing light to modifying or supplementing light as needed—this book will help photographers shoot confidently by developing a plan for creating professional-quality location portraits.

Fone and Smiley Bone strike out into the wilderness to return a lost rat creature cub to the mountains. It doesn''t take long before they run smack into Rock Jaw, an enormous mountain lion with a none-too-friendly disposition.

Things seem quite well in the valley, Fone Bone is still living with Thom and Gran''ma Ben, while his cousins Phoney and Smiley are working in the inn at Barrelhaven. But peace never lasts for long when the bone cousins are around. Soon Phoney Bone is up to his old con tricks again, trying to throw the bets on the annual cow race.

As war spreads through the valley, the Bone cousins join Gran''ma Ben and Lucius at Old Man''s Cave to make a stand against the rat creatures.

Showcases artwork from the comic book "Bone" that encompasses everything from pencil roughs to original pages and finished covers that span the life of the comic, from the artist''s first sketches in fourth grade to the last issue published in 2004.

Chassés de Boneville, les trois cousins Bone, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone & Smiley Bone, ont rejoint le village de Barrelhaven. Au cours de leurs aventures, ils font la rencontre de Thorn, de sa grand-mère Ben et de Lucius, un ami de longue date. La vie dans la vallée ne s''arrange pas pour les cousins Bone et leurs nouveaux amis. Lucius, Smiley, et Phoney sont attaqués par les rats-garous et parviennent de justesse à la taverne de Barrelhaven. En sécurité, il ne faut pas longtemps à Phoney pour échafauder son prochain mauvais coup... A la ferme de Mamie Ben, Fone Bone et Thorn sont perturbés par d''étranges rêves. La grand-mère leur révèle alors un lourd secret...

Esta novela, ilustrada en forma de tira cómica para niños y jóvenes, es la saga de Fone Bone, un héroe involuntario que deberá salvar un idílico valle de las fuerzas del mal.

Fone Bone, Phoney Bone y Smiley Bone son expulsados de Boneville, se separan y se pierden en el desierto. Cada uno por su lado consigue llegar a un profundo valle boscoso poblado por maravillosas y aterradoras criaturas.