Quick Take
- Narration: John Edmondson delivers a competent, measured read that suits the instructional tone, though at under an hour the experience is closer to a single lecture than a full audiobook.
- Themes: Portrait fundamentals, camera technique, beginner confidence
- Mood: Accessible and low-pressure, aimed at absolute newcomers
- Verdict: A genuinely short introduction for complete beginners to portraiture, but experienced photographers and anyone expecting depth will find it far too thin.
Somewhere on my shelf there is a battered copy of a beginner photography guide I bought at a used bookstore years ago. Dog-eared, spine cracked, full of margin notes from someone who clearly worked through every exercise. I thought of that book when I listened to James Carren’s Photography: Portrait Photography, because both share that approachable, entry-level energy. The difference is that the physical book I found was actually long enough to teach something substantial. At fifty-seven minutes, Carren’s audiobook is a listening experience closer to a well-organized YouTube video than a course.
Let me be direct about what that means before anything else: a listener named BC in the reviews flagged that the print version runs thirty-five pages and covers most topics in two to three paragraphs. That tracks with the audio duration. This is a primer, and a short one. If you go in knowing that, and calibrated for it, there is still something here, but the value proposition depends entirely on where you are in your photography journey.
What Fits Inside 57 Minutes
Carren covers a surprising range of topics for the runtime. The audiobook moves through different portrait types, camera settings relevant to portraiture, lighting approaches including natural, available, and studio setups, posing fundamentals for individuals and groups, self-portraiture, and a brief section on retouching basics. There’s also a passage on building trust with your subject, which is genuinely the thing most technical photography books neglect. The fact that it’s included, even briefly, reflects a sensible priority ordering.
The photography history section is a gesture rather than a treatment. Carren advises doing your own research in that area, which is honest, if slightly deflating when you’re listening to a book that presumably should do some of that work for you. The advanced techniques section at the end, aimed at listeners with prior experience, is the thinnest part of the audiobook. At this duration, calling anything here advanced stretches the word considerably.
The Beginner Listener Who Benefits Most
A reviewer named Amy articulated the ideal listener profile accurately: someone who doesn’t yet own an exceptional camera, finds portraiture interesting, but hasn’t made time to study it seriously. For that person, this audiobook is a well-organized starting map. It identifies what questions you should be asking and gives you enough vocabulary to ask them. It won’t make you a portrait photographer, but it will make you a more informed beginner.
John Edmondson’s narration serves the material appropriately. He reads with clarity and no affectation, which is the right tone for instructional content. There’s no performance flair here, but instructional prose doesn’t need it. The pacing is measured enough to let the practical points land without feeling like you’re being talked through it at a crawl.
The Case Against Blind Recommendation
The honest counterargument to this audiobook is that BC’s one-star review is not wrong, it’s just written from a different expectation. If you come to this expecting depth, breadth, or the kind of worked example that actually builds skill, you’ll be disappointed. The topics described in the synopsis are each treated at the level of introduction rather than instruction. You learn what the concepts are more than you learn how to execute them. You understand why posing matters more than you understand the biomechanics of a flattering pose.
There’s also the matter of what an audiobook format does to photography instruction. The genre fundamentally benefits from images, diagrams, and visual examples. Without those, even solid technical writing becomes abstract. Carren’s writing is clear enough that the concepts transmit, but you’ll need a screen open to a reference site while you listen if you want to actually internalize anything beyond the conceptual level.
Who Should Listen and Who Should Pass
If you have years of photography experience, no part of this audiobook will give you anything new. If you’re a working portrait photographer looking to sharpen your craft, this is too foundational to move the needle. But if you’re a complete beginner who has never picked up a camera with serious intent, or someone who primarily shoots landscapes or street and wants a concise survey of what portrait photography involves before committing to a deeper resource, the fifty-seven-minute investment is low-risk. Think of it as a preview of a subject, not a course in it. At that scope, it delivers what it promises.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this audiobook long enough to actually teach portrait photography skills?
At fifty-seven minutes, it’s a genuine introduction rather than a course. You’ll come away with a map of the subject and the right questions to ask, but you’ll need longer, more detailed resources to develop actual technique.
Does John Edmondson’s narration work for purely instructional content with no images?
Yes, his measured and clear delivery suits the instructional tone well. The absence of photographs and diagrams is a limitation of the format rather than the narration, and Edmondson does what he can to make the technical descriptions follow logically.
The reviews are split between beginners who loved it and more experienced photographers who felt shortchanged. Which camp should I expect to be in?
It depends entirely on your starting point. Complete beginners to portraiture will find it accessible and useful as a first orientation. Anyone with prior photography experience, even casual experience, will likely find the coverage too surface-level to offer much value.
Does the book cover both smartphone photography and DSLR cameras?
The content is general enough to apply across camera types, though the camera settings discussion assumes some familiarity with manual controls. The emphasis is on concepts and approach rather than camera-specific workflows, which makes it broadly applicable but also somewhat abstract.
