Official Review: Photographic Therapy -- The Power of Pho...

PashaRu · Post by **PashaRu** » 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

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 30 Dec 2014, 10:08

Love this review! Very well-written and makes the book sound very interesting indeed! Thanks for the information!

Skillian · Post by **Skillian** » 30 Dec 2014, 10:55

Nice review. A very interesting side of photography. It makes sense that they would need to make people comfortable. Where I grew up basically all girls would have professional photos done a few times in their lives. I lives in a very pageant, modelling, and dance prone... world. Everyone had a portfolio. Rarely was it the girl's original idea and not her mother's, but it is still something they carried with them after. So yeah, a lot of them needed to be handled with care due to insecurities, etc. And then with facebook and such people are having to put pictures of themselves out there more than ever before. People like to represent themselves as best as possible. So I totally understand wanting a professional picture taken.

Very cool subject. Thanks for writing the review.

gali · Post by **gali** » 30 Dec 2014, 13:07

Thank you for the lovely review.

PashaRu · Post by **PashaRu** » 30 Dec 2014, 22:29

Thank you, all! Thanks for taking the time to read & comment.

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 31 Dec 2014, 07:31

Did you really just enjoy this this book because of the pictures of the beautiful woman??

PashaRu · Post by **PashaRu** » 31 Dec 2014, 08:19

ALynnPowers wrote:Did you really just enjoy this this book because of the pictures of the beautiful woman??

Haha you would think so, right? But as I wrote in the review, "They are posed, lit, and photoshopped to glamorous and artificial perfection." That's not my cup of tea. Too phony looking. What was said about photography was interesting to me. I took four years of it in high school and have always kept a hand in it, although I'm by no means a professional.

But thanks for thinking me so superficial.

(kidding)

rolandogomez · Post by **rolandogomez** » 31 Dec 2014, 08:37

PashaRu, thank you for your honest review. It was nice and in-depth and gives me some ideas how to expand it when i comes to the 3rd edition. For now I have to shift my focus on my first main-stream, non-fiction book which I'm editing at the moment--it's only about 60,000 words with two photos, front and back cover. That said, your review has given me insight on my future books.

Of note, while you mentioned the book is available (with registration) on my website, it's also available on iTunes for free with no other requirements. The link is your review is to iTunes and I appreciate that. Thanks again, Rolando

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 31 Dec 2014, 08:37

PashaRu wrote:
ALynnPowers wrote:Did you really just enjoy this this book because of the pictures of the beautiful woman??
Haha you would think so, right? But as I wrote in the review, "They are posed, lit, and photoshopped to glamorous and artificial perfection." That's not my cup of tea. Too phony looking. What was said about photography was interesting to me. I took four years of it in high school and have always kept a hand in it, although I'm by no means a professional.

But thanks for thinking me so superficial. (kidding)

That was a test. You passed! Congratulations!

PashaRu · Post by **PashaRu** » 31 Dec 2014, 09:14

Спасибо! Я хороший человек!

-- 02 Jan 2015, 18:53 --

rolandogomez wrote:PashaRu, thank you for your honest review. It was nice and in-depth and gives me some ideas how to expand it when i comes to the 3rd edition. For now I have to shift my focus on my first main-stream, non-fiction book which I'm editing at the moment--it's only about 60,000 words with two photos, front and back cover. That said, your review has given me insight on my future books.

Of note, while you mentioned the book is available (with registration) on my website, it's also available on iTunes for free with no other requirements. The link is your review is to iTunes and I appreciate that. Thanks again, Rolando

Rolando, Thanks very much for your reply. I'm glad the review was helpful to you. I enjoyed reading the book, and it gave me some pointers that will help with my own photography, albeit not professional. I wish you success with future projects. Thanks for the clarification about the book also being available on iTunes.

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 04 Jan 2015, 07:01

I love when the author replies!!!

Himmelslicht · Post by **Himmelslicht** » 04 Jan 2015, 09:55

As a photographer this seems to be a really interesting book.
I learned how to photograph models in Photography School but at the same time our attention span was constantly pushed toward different things at the same time.
I'm someone who usually likes to photograph still subjects (nature, landscapes, still life), and in part it happens because I know how hard it can be to photograph someone and make sure you have a nice outcome out of photographs.
People are not like landscapes: they can only wait so long, their best moment has a window span and if you lose it there's not way you can do that. People have tastes and opinions, landscapes do not. While you can go back to the same landscape days after, you can't try to replicate pictures you should have done days ago with human subjects.
This is a very interesting niche created by the photographer. They teach us so much to treat models with dignity without forgetting the technical rules of studio photography as well as artificial lighting and at the same time it's so hard for the photographer to make sure he/she has a hand on everything at the same time, that this book really comes in handy for photographers who want to also feel at ease and learn also the socializing part of photographing people.

Is there a Kindle version of the book? I'd love to buy it.

rolandogomez · Post by **rolandogomez** » 04 Jan 2015, 10:32

Himmelslicht wrote:As a photographer this seems to be a really interesting book.
I learned how to photograph models in Photography School but at the same time our attention span was constantly pushed toward different things at the same time.
I'm someone who usually likes to photograph still subjects (nature, landscapes, still life), and in part it happens because I know how hard it can be to photograph someone and make sure you have a nice outcome out of photographs.
People are not like landscapes: they can only wait so long, their best moment has a window span and if you lose it there's not way you can do that. People have tastes and opinions, landscapes do not. While you can go back to the same landscape days after, you can't try to replicate pictures you should have done days ago with human subjects.
This is a very interesting niche created by the photographer. They teach us so much to treat models with dignity without forgetting the technical rules of studio photography as well as artificial lighting and at the same time it's so hard for the photographer to make sure he/she has a hand on everything at the same time, that this book really comes in handy for photographers who want to also feel at ease and learn also the socializing part of photographing people.

Is there a Kindle version of the book? I'd love to buy it.

Himmelslicht, hi and thank you for your feedback. You made some great points. Currently the book is in two formats, iBooks (because I have less than 10 posts here, I can't post the link, but it's in the review) and a high-resolution, printable PDF file. Currently the iBooks version is totally free! No gimmicks. The PDF version however is only available on the AmericanoDream website under the join link. Charter Patrons Gallery Collection which is a paid registration. However, I'm looking on adding it on Kindle and other e-book formats, though the problem lies in that other formats lose the layout and design aesthetics you have with iBooks and PDF's.

I am working on a mainstream version of this book, with a different angle and not so targeted at photographers, but people in need. Though after PashaRu's amazing review, I'm starting to think I will work on the 3rd edition of this book, expanding it with more photos and chapters and taking his feedback as that of an editor to make this book even better, though that will come with a small price, and the book will no longer be free.

Back to your question, if you private message me, I'd be happy to give you a link to a free PDF copy, all I ask is that you not redistribute the book and if you like it, please give it an honest review on iBooks--the higher the stars the better

Also, as a disclaimer, I'm not sure yet if I'm allowed to put links in private messages either, as I'm not able to do so on this forum post, so when you PM me, send me your email just in case.

Thanks again to everyone! As time permits, I'll try to be more active on these forums. Respectfully, Rolando.

rolandogomez · Post by **rolandogomez** » 04 Jan 2015, 10:33

ALynnPowers wrote:I love when the author replies!!!

ALynnPowers, thank you! That made me smile.

Thanks, Rolando

-- 04 Jan 2015, 11:37 --

PashaRu wrote:Спасибо! Я хороший человек!

-- 02 Jan 2015, 18:53 --

rolandogomez wrote:PashaRu, thank you for your honest review. It was nice and in-depth and gives me some ideas how to expand it when i comes to the 3rd edition. For now I have to shift my focus on my first main-stream, non-fiction book which I'm editing at the moment--it's only about 60,000 words with two photos, front and back cover. That said, your review has given me insight on my future books.

Of note, while you mentioned the book is available (with registration) on my website, it's also available on iTunes for free with no other requirements. The link is your review is to iTunes and I appreciate that. Thanks again, Rolando
Rolando, Thanks very much for your reply. I'm glad the review was helpful to you. I enjoyed reading the book, and it gave me some pointers that will help with my own photography, albeit not professional. I wish you success with future projects. Thanks for the clarification about the book also being available on iTunes.

PashaRu, you are welcomed. Your review was extremely helpful to me and has given me ideas on how to improve this book for the third edition. Now it's about finding time as I'm working on my other books and projects, but eventually I will and I will use your review as a guide to hopefully make this book ten times better. I'm also happy you were able to find some useful information for your own photography. Thank you again!

Himmelslicht · Post by **Himmelslicht** » 04 Jan 2015, 12:35

rolandogomez wrote:
Himmelslicht wrote:As a photographer this seems to be a really interesting book.
I learned how to photograph models in Photography School but at the same time our attention span was constantly pushed toward different things at the same time.
I'm someone who usually likes to photograph still subjects (nature, landscapes, still life), and in part it happens because I know how hard it can be to photograph someone and make sure you have a nice outcome out of photographs.
People are not like landscapes: they can only wait so long, their best moment has a window span and if you lose it there's not way you can do that. People have tastes and opinions, landscapes do not. While you can go back to the same landscape days after, you can't try to replicate pictures you should have done days ago with human subjects.
This is a very interesting niche created by the photographer. They teach us so much to treat models with dignity without forgetting the technical rules of studio photography as well as artificial lighting and at the same time it's so hard for the photographer to make sure he/she has a hand on everything at the same time, that this book really comes in handy for photographers who want to also feel at ease and learn also the socializing part of photographing people.

Is there a Kindle version of the book? I'd love to buy it.
Himmelslicht, hi and thank you for your feedback. You made some great points. Currently the book is in two formats, iBooks (because I have less than 10 posts here, I can't post the link, but it's in the review) and a high-resolution, printable PDF file. Currently the iBooks version is totally free! No gimmicks. The PDF version however is only available on the AmericanoDream website under the join link. Charter Patrons Gallery Collection which is a paid registration. However, I'm looking on adding it on Kindle and other e-book formats, though the problem lies in that other formats lose the layout and design aesthetics you have with iBooks and PDF's.

I am working on a mainstream version of this book, with a different angle and not so targeted at photographers, but people in need. Though after PashaRu's amazing review, I'm starting to think I will work on the 3rd edition of this book, expanding it with more photos and chapters and taking his feedback as that of an editor to make this book even better, though that will come with a small price, and the book will no longer be free.

Back to your question, if you private message me, I'd be happy to give you a link to a free PDF copy, all I ask is that you not redistribute the book and if you like it, please give it an honest review on iBooks--the higher the stars the better Also, as a disclaimer, I'm not sure yet if I'm allowed to put links in private messages either, as I'm not able to do so on this forum post, so when you PM me, send me your email just in case.

Thanks again to everyone! As time permits, I'll try to be more active on these forums. Respectfully, Rolando.

Hello, Rolando.
I'd be happy to read it and review it. I've been trusted once before to review a book without distributing it and I can tell you no one has received a copy from me

I'd download it from Apple but I don't have an iDevice

So if you don't mind I'd love to get a PDF copy from you. How can I write a review though? I only write reviews on GoodReads (and here).