The Ultimate Photographer Set"

This is by far the best "How To" DVD set for the serious Photographer; the professional, semi-pro and advanced amateur alike. Manny has a clear and precise teaching style and his teaching is backed by live photo shoots where you can see him in action as he applies the techniques presented.The Ultimate Photographer is divided into 3 main sections: Composition, Using Flash and Lighting. The main focus is lighting, and lighting is at the core of great photography. He covers the use of flash (on and off camera) for lighting, as well as, studio lighting. Manny explains the how and why of each lighting scenario in nice easy to understand details. There are couple of spots where he uses advance lighting terms prior to them being explained, make a note of the terms, hang in there, and he will clear it all up by the end of "The Ultimate Photographer". However, there are some basic photography concepts, rules and techniques he assumes the viewer has. If your formal photography background is weak then I would recommend you watch Manny's beginning DVD sets: "Jump Start Your Photography" and "The Skilled Photographer" where these concepts and techniques are explained in detail.To sum it up, this latest set of DVDs from Manny's "Get The Picture" will have you looking at lighting all around you in a whole new dimension, as well as, how to form it and control it to the way you want your clients/viewers to see it in your photographs.Here are some of the topics covered in "The Ultimate Photographer"- Viewers Eye Path- Rules of Dynamic Symmetry- Four Points Of Interest- Emotional Impact of Composition- Portable Light Kits- Adding Flash To Existing Light- Light Ratio and How to Control It- 6 Core Light Patterns- Visualizing Light PatternsManny has created a series of DVDs to bring you from a "point and shoot" picture taker to being a real pro at taking photographs. They are designed to be watched over and over. Once you have watched them all the way through, you will be able to jump right to the section you want to review and brush up on.

I wanted to love this, but I could barely stay awake. The instructions are clear but the presenter is so dry and devoid of personality, it's like I'm back in high school calculus. I basically had trouble getting much out of it as a result.

I am a total novice just getting started in DSLR photography, and I wanted to shorten the learning curve a bit, so I decided to order the "Jump start your photography" DVD set. I can honestly say that Manny does a superb job of giving the viewer the "how and why" of every aspect that he covers in these DVD's. I was so impressed that I ordered the other two sets "The Skilled Photographer" and "The Ultimate Photographer" immediately after viewing the first set! I now totally understand the M settings on my camera and am already starting to capture MUCH better pictures through applying what I learned about composition and lighting. Thank you Manny for making such comprehensive and easy to understand instructional videos! I will be buying more of Manny's instructional DVD's once I have practiced and become more proficient in what I have learned so far....NOTE: It is best to view these in the intended order to avoid getting lost or overwhelmed with what is being taught, especially if you are new to DSLR photography like me. I have watched all 3 sets and feel that Manny has shaved years off of my learning curve to becoming a skilled photographer with an understanding of how to "get the picture" that I am trying to capture.

I have ordered the whole series of these DVDs beginning with Jump Start Your Photography and have ordered the Jump Start DVD for a friend because it is so useful. Manny is a natural when it comes to teaching and the DVD series has been more useful than any book or other instruction I have used. The DVDs are set up so you can actually see and understand techniques that will help you get photos right the first time. As my skills have increased my enjoyment has increased. The Ultimate Photographer builds on the first two DVDs and will undoubtedly increase my enjoyment even more as I continue to gain valuable and easily applicable information. Thanks Manny!

No quite good

I also ordered the Skilled Photographer and watched it last month. As a result of watching that DVD I had to order the Ultimate Photographer. I enjoyed and more importantly, learned from both of these DVDs. They are easy to understand and gave me just the right information to get me jumped started into my photography again. New ideas, new methods, the white balance cards work great, the lighting lessons clarified multi-flash techniques and the difference between flash solutions, in studio and out. I'll probably be watching these many times before I absorb everything. Thanks.

This is the final set in a series of three, and a necessity for the serious photographer. I highly recommend getting the first two and working your way up, as I have done. This is when all that training starts to come together, and you start to "feel" your photography. His style of teaching just makes it come together, you find yourself looking at things like a photographer and are made aware of your environment in a different way. I will continue to refer back to the DVD's, and in just a short time my images have taken a 180 degree turn.

I've been working for a few years on becoming a better photographer. I've read books and tried all the techniques many, many times. Nothing clicked until I got Manny's DVD sets. I started with Jump Start, then moved onto The Skilled Photographer and now am watching the Ultimate Photographer and the Lanscape DVD. He presents everything in a manner that is so easy to learn and you gain so much confidence to go out and start taking shots yourself. I HIGHLY recommend all of his DVD's. You will find your skill level will increase greatly!!