Painting with Light (ISBN 0-520-08949-9) by John Alton is the first book written on cinematography by a major cinematographer.

Painting with Light
AuthorJohn Alton
LanguageEnglish
PublisherMacmillan Publishers
Publication date
1949

The book was first published in 1949. The book's primary focus is on light and the many complex ways a camera crew can manipulate it for effect. Although much of the technical information is now obsolete, Alton, who worked on the films noir classics T-Men, He Walked by Night, The Amazing Mr. X, and The Big Combo, explains how lighting, shooting locations, and various camera techniques can be used to create a visual mood in film.

It was reviewed in The Times Literary Supplement no. 4845, (1996): 18 [1]

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