New content
+180 pages of studies, tips and impressions bring the total to 488 pages, featuring more than 940 photographs.
New look
An elegant linen hardcover with colored edges makes it a pleasure to hold—something you'll want to touch again and again.
Two languages
Available in print in German or English; additional languages will follow.
The World of Stage Lighting. In One Book.
Light Fantastic – THE COMPLETE EDITION (English Version)
includes:
- printed color-edged hard cover book (24,5 × 31,5 × 4,2 cm – 2,87 kg)
- digital e-book in EPUB3 Fixed Layout format
- access to the movie „A Journey into Light with Max Keller“
For more than four decades, LIGHT FANTASTIC has inspired generations of lighting designers. More than 940 photographs, illustrations and sketches. 488 pages of knowledge, experience and inspiration.
ORDER NOW · DELIVERY FROM OCTOBER 12, 2026
LIGHT FANTASTIC
The Return of Max Keller's Landmark Work on Lighting Design is far more than a technical handbook on stage lighting. It explores how light is conceived, designed and used to create spaces, tell stories, evoke emotions and shape experiences.
The 2026 edition is presented as a large-format hardcover volume comprising 488 pages. Printed on the finest uncoated GMUND paper and produced using a printing process specifically tailored to maximise image quality and tactile experience, it combines exceptional content with exceptional craftsmanship. In terms of scope, presentation and production quality, there is no comparable work anywhere in the world dedicated to the art and technology of lighting design.
Across 488 pages, the book brings together fundamental knowledge, practical expertise and creative design principles with the experience and insights of some of the most influential lighting designers of our time.
But this book does not merely explain light.
It shows light.
Making Knowledge Visible
Lighting design can only be described to a certain extent through words alone. From the very beginning, the connection between text and image has therefore been one of the defining characteristics of this work.
The 2010 edition already contained more than 675 photographs, illustrations and diagrams.
The 2026 edition expands this approach to more than 940 photographs, graphics, sketches and visualisations.
Complex concepts are not only explained but made visible. Lighting moods, spatial effects, technical solutions and creative decisions are illustrated through real-world examples that make the principles of lighting design tangible and understandable.
You do not simply read about light.
You see how light works.
Who This Book Is For
For students.
For lighting designers.
For programmers.
For technicians.
For creative professionals.
For anyone who wants to understand how light works – and how to create with it.
FASZINATION LICHT / LIGHT FANTASTIC is more than a professional reference book.
It is a work, a working tool and an art book to which readers return again and again.
A source of knowledge.
A source of inspiration.
A source of fascination for light.
What You Will Find in This Book
The Fundamentals of Light
How is light created? How do we perceive it? Which physical and artistic properties determine its impact?
Light as a Design Tool
How does light shape space? How does it guide attention? How are atmosphere, depth, tension and emotion created?
Tools and Technologies
From candlelight and conventional luminaires to modern LED systems, moving lights, tracking technologies, networking and digital control systems.
The Creative Process
How does a lighting concept emerge? How does an idea develop from the first sketch to the final production?
International Lighting Design Practice
Experiences, projects and perspectives from leading lighting designers working in theatre, opera, concerts, live entertainment, architecture and events.
The Future of Light
New technologies, automation, artificial intelligence and the question of how lighting design may evolve in the years to come.
History
1985
DuMont's Handbook of Stage Lighting
This first edition marks the beginning of the history of a unique masterpiece that, over the decades, has become one of the most renowned benchmarks in lighting design.
1999-2010
LIGHT FANTASTIC at Prestel
Approximately 40,000 copies sold worldwide international editions in several languages
2026
LIGHT FANTASTIC 2026
Completely revised
New articles and lighting stories
+ 180 pages (total 488 pages)
German & English
Hardcover & eBook
Since 2025, the work has been edited by Ralph Larmann
(LIVE & EVERLASTING) – with the aim of
preserving it for the long term and continuing it with care.
We are incredibly proud to bring this long-awaited new edition to life with passionate partners and supporters.
What lies behind this unique lighting industry project?
Ralph Larmann about a vision.
MAX KELLER
© Christian POGO Zach
Kickstarter campaign a success
117 supporters contributed €23,208 to make this project a reality.
Now live on Kickstarter: Look for the rewards and pre-order your copy.
The international standard work on lighting design returned.
Expected to ship starting in October 12th.