Official Review: Photographic Therapy -- The Power of Pho...
Posted: 10 Dec 2014, 22:13
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Photographic Therapy -- The Power of Photography to Help Build or Rebuild Self-Esteem" by Rolando Gomez.]
3 out of 4 stars
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Photography can be a hobby, profession, and/or art form. It is used to decorate, commemorate, sell, and persuade. It can translate moments into memories and relay important information. But in Rolando Gomez’s book Photographic Therapy – The Power of Photography To Help Build or Rebuild Self-Esteem, an entirely different aspect of photography is presented: a tool that can help people feel better about themselves. It’s available as a free PDF download on Gomez’s website Americanodream.com (to get the free book, you have to register as a member). The book was originally released in 2009, and has been revised and expanded for the new 2014 incarnation.
The premise is simple: if a person (the book is focused almost entirely on women) has low self-esteem, if she’s going through a life crisis, if she’s feeling old, if she doesn’t look like the glamorous models on the covers of magazines in the supermarket check-out, if she’s not feeling too good about herself for one reason or another, she can hire a professional photographer to take glamorous pictures of her so she can once again feel young and sexy. The photos can be conservative, classy, sexy, naughty – it all depends on what the woman wants. Mr. Gomez includes a few true-to-life stories to buttress his argument that this is a viable and legitimate form of “therapy.” (It should be noted that he is careful to mention that this does not replace professional therapy or medical help in cases of severe depression.)
The book is liberally illustrated with photographs taken by Gomez, most of which are his partner and muse, Heather Carden. They are beautiful photos, indeed - she’s a 28-year-old shapely blonde, and he’s been professionally photographing women for decades. They are posed, lit, and photoshopped to glamorous and artificial perfection.
But this is not simply a book of photos, as there is a lot of text covering these 120 pages. It’s hard to place this book in a category, as it’s not really a “how-to” book either. There are chapters covering the importance of posing, lighting, equipment, and post-production, but that’s usually where the discussion stops. For example, in the chapter about posing, the importance of proper posing is emphasized, but very little information is given about how to pose a subject. The same with post-production. The information on lighting is a bit more specific – lighting equipment is briefly discussed, and there is an entire chapter dedicated to how to light and photograph breasts (“the number one feature most women are concerned about,” writes Gomez) – but there are no illustrations or diagrams showing examples of light placement to achieve the desired result. There are no captions to the photographs of Ms. Carden, and it seems they are not really intended to illustrate or show any specific technique or method. Technical information is discussed on photographic theory, but not so much on practical application. To get the real nuts and bolts of how to do all of this, you’d have to buy other books.
But I don’t think that’s the purpose of the book. Much of the text is devoted to explaining how to make the model feel comfortable and confident. After all, the theme of this book is “therapy,” and if a woman is willing to pay hundreds of dollars for photos simply to make her feel better about herself, she might be a bit fragile emotionally. Mr. Gomez shows considerable insight into how to connect with such a woman and how to get the best results while never pushing her to do something she’s not comfortable with. He treats the subject with respect and dignity (“You never touch one another in photographic therapy.”). The entire topic could be laughed off as self-indulgent, shallow and superficial, but the author, seeming to understand this, offers his own justifications for the legitimacy of this particular “business,” and never speaks pejoratively of women who seek out his services. He doesn’t seem to see them as simply a source of income, but as human beings in need of help. He is careful to not further damage their already fragile self-image.
The book definitely has a niche audience; Gomez himself states that it is “primarily for photographers.” I suppose that is why there isn’t more technical information – the assumption is that photographers who read this book already have some experience with glamour photography; it isn’t necessary to explain everything from square one. But the author’s own experience and knowledge of his craft are evident. He’s no rookie, and one senses that he has in-depth knowledge and understanding of both photographic theory and the equipment and mechanics of photography. Perhaps others of his books (he’s authored six) explain these things in greater detail.
In the end, Photographic Therapy – The Power of Photography To Help Build or Rebuild Self-Esteem is not practical in terms of explaining how to take glamour photos. The strength here is in explaining how to communicate effectively with the photographic subject, how to treat her with respect and dignity, and what important aspects of photography and of the photographic session should be kept in mind so the desired effect is achieved – the woman gets a boost in self esteem from looking at glamorous photographs of herself. If one already has experience in glamour photography, this book may suffice to help one get started in photographic therapy. Otherwise, other reading/research/training will be required. As mentioned, there is a narrow audience for this particular book, and I recommend it to photographers who are interested in exploring “photographic therapy.” I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.
***
Buy "Photographic Therapy -- The Power of Photography to Help Build or Rebuild Self-Esteem" on iTunes
3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Photography can be a hobby, profession, and/or art form. It is used to decorate, commemorate, sell, and persuade. It can translate moments into memories and relay important information. But in Rolando Gomez’s book Photographic Therapy – The Power of Photography To Help Build or Rebuild Self-Esteem, an entirely different aspect of photography is presented: a tool that can help people feel better about themselves. It’s available as a free PDF download on Gomez’s website Americanodream.com (to get the free book, you have to register as a member). The book was originally released in 2009, and has been revised and expanded for the new 2014 incarnation.
The premise is simple: if a person (the book is focused almost entirely on women) has low self-esteem, if she’s going through a life crisis, if she’s feeling old, if she doesn’t look like the glamorous models on the covers of magazines in the supermarket check-out, if she’s not feeling too good about herself for one reason or another, she can hire a professional photographer to take glamorous pictures of her so she can once again feel young and sexy. The photos can be conservative, classy, sexy, naughty – it all depends on what the woman wants. Mr. Gomez includes a few true-to-life stories to buttress his argument that this is a viable and legitimate form of “therapy.” (It should be noted that he is careful to mention that this does not replace professional therapy or medical help in cases of severe depression.)
The book is liberally illustrated with photographs taken by Gomez, most of which are his partner and muse, Heather Carden. They are beautiful photos, indeed - she’s a 28-year-old shapely blonde, and he’s been professionally photographing women for decades. They are posed, lit, and photoshopped to glamorous and artificial perfection.
But this is not simply a book of photos, as there is a lot of text covering these 120 pages. It’s hard to place this book in a category, as it’s not really a “how-to” book either. There are chapters covering the importance of posing, lighting, equipment, and post-production, but that’s usually where the discussion stops. For example, in the chapter about posing, the importance of proper posing is emphasized, but very little information is given about how to pose a subject. The same with post-production. The information on lighting is a bit more specific – lighting equipment is briefly discussed, and there is an entire chapter dedicated to how to light and photograph breasts (“the number one feature most women are concerned about,” writes Gomez) – but there are no illustrations or diagrams showing examples of light placement to achieve the desired result. There are no captions to the photographs of Ms. Carden, and it seems they are not really intended to illustrate or show any specific technique or method. Technical information is discussed on photographic theory, but not so much on practical application. To get the real nuts and bolts of how to do all of this, you’d have to buy other books.
But I don’t think that’s the purpose of the book. Much of the text is devoted to explaining how to make the model feel comfortable and confident. After all, the theme of this book is “therapy,” and if a woman is willing to pay hundreds of dollars for photos simply to make her feel better about herself, she might be a bit fragile emotionally. Mr. Gomez shows considerable insight into how to connect with such a woman and how to get the best results while never pushing her to do something she’s not comfortable with. He treats the subject with respect and dignity (“You never touch one another in photographic therapy.”). The entire topic could be laughed off as self-indulgent, shallow and superficial, but the author, seeming to understand this, offers his own justifications for the legitimacy of this particular “business,” and never speaks pejoratively of women who seek out his services. He doesn’t seem to see them as simply a source of income, but as human beings in need of help. He is careful to not further damage their already fragile self-image.
The book definitely has a niche audience; Gomez himself states that it is “primarily for photographers.” I suppose that is why there isn’t more technical information – the assumption is that photographers who read this book already have some experience with glamour photography; it isn’t necessary to explain everything from square one. But the author’s own experience and knowledge of his craft are evident. He’s no rookie, and one senses that he has in-depth knowledge and understanding of both photographic theory and the equipment and mechanics of photography. Perhaps others of his books (he’s authored six) explain these things in greater detail.
In the end, Photographic Therapy – The Power of Photography To Help Build or Rebuild Self-Esteem is not practical in terms of explaining how to take glamour photos. The strength here is in explaining how to communicate effectively with the photographic subject, how to treat her with respect and dignity, and what important aspects of photography and of the photographic session should be kept in mind so the desired effect is achieved – the woman gets a boost in self esteem from looking at glamorous photographs of herself. If one already has experience in glamour photography, this book may suffice to help one get started in photographic therapy. Otherwise, other reading/research/training will be required. As mentioned, there is a narrow audience for this particular book, and I recommend it to photographers who are interested in exploring “photographic therapy.” I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.
***
Buy "Photographic Therapy -- The Power of Photography to Help Build or Rebuild Self-Esteem" on iTunes
(kidding)
