The Moment It Clicks was published back in 2008, and I just got around to reading it. What can I say–I’m slow. I’ve got a pile of books sitting on my desk waiting to be read, and life gets in the way sometimes. However, this book was truly worth keeping on the must-read list.
The target audience for The Moment It Clicks is the professional photographer, the aspiring professional photographer, and the extreme photo enthusiast. If you are an entry-level photographer looking to learn the difference between f/stops and shutter speeds, this isn’t the book for you. Not to say you won’t find some value in it–it is a very good read.
Imagine attending Joe McNally’s photography lectures over the years. As words of wisdom spew from his mouth, you would surely be frantically scribbling down some notes. That’s what this book is: A collection of the noteworthy things Joe has learned as a pro photographer over the years. Each thought or note is supported with two pages, a photo on one page accompanied by a little background story and a few photo tips on the other page. That’s 75 percent of the book.
The balance of the book includes some of Joe’s lighting tips, a peek inside his camera bag, a look inside his studio, and a glossary of terms.
Joe is a gifted storyteller and teacher, not to mention a damn fine photographer. There are very few photography books out there that are what I would call page-turners. The Moment It Clicks truly is a page-turner. Even though every two pages has a completely new thought and a new story, I found myself looking forward to the next page to see what kind of whacky adventure Joe had gotten into.
This book is downright funny at times. On more than one occasion, I found myself laughing out loud to one of Joe’s comments or the story of the way he handled a situation. There are a lot of informative photography books in the stores, but this book is both informative and entertaining. It’s one of those few books I have collected over the years that will be pulled down from my shelves from time to time for a reread.
I highly recommend reading The Moment It Clicks.