best photography magizine?

[funkychunkymonkey]

Im looking at sucribing ro onw of these. Im a beginer whos eager to learn.

my choices:
popular photography
PC photo
shutterbug
Digital Photo Pro
photo Techniques

 

[YesDear]

I used to read photography magazines back in the day. That was the 70s and 80s. I find them today to more marketing pieces than providing Photography information.

Just my opinion.

 

[AndrewWG]

I currently subscribe to Popular Photography. I got it from a fundraiser a friends daughter was running. I find it to be mildly interesting at best. Usually it has a large article about some sort of "Best DSLR" or "Best Point and Shoot" or something like that more than actual useful photography information.

I don't know the others too much other than Shutterbug which I found to be PACKED with advertisements and LITTLE information. Most photo mags are becoming like that as far as I can tell. The only ones I have gotten useful information from are the ones that are printed in the UK but their price tag is usually in the $12-15 or more per magazine rate.

Just re-read your post and to tell you the truth, a magazine will probably be of little use as a beginner. Books are the way to go. Start with Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" and work your way up from there.

 

[ssanders79]

I read pop photo and shutterbug. They are decently priced compared to some others. I like them both. I wish pop photo had more content as I can get through an issue in no time. I am finding that I am skipping a significant chunk of both mags by not reading all the new equipment reviews as I am not looking to upgrade my dslr or switch from nikon to another brand family.

I just renewed both magazines in the past few months so I still find them worthwhile.

 

[dmccarty]

Save your money and just hang out here and over at http://photo.net/ Photo.net has been around since the 90's and has good basic photography information as well as very active forums on just about every area of photography. You will get better information about photography from photo.net than a magazine.

Later,
Dan

 

[ssanders79]

Save your money and just hang out here and over at http://photo.net/ Photo.net

Websites are great for keeping current, but I prefer the good old magazine in my hand.

 

[boBQuincy]

I used to read photography magazines back in the day. That was the 70s and 80s. I find them today to more marketing pieces than providing Photography information.

Just my opinion.

That's my opinion as well. We can probably learn more from some good websites (such as Luminous Landscape, Strobist) than from the magazines.

 

[disneyboy2003]

I agree that photography magazines nowadays are jam-packed with tons of ads, and it seems that the magazines keep rehashing the same topics: "LENSES!" or "BEST CAMERAS for 2010!" or "10 Photoshop Tips You CAN'T Live Without!", etc. I don't think magazines are a good way to learn general principles of photography. Magazines typically only cover 1 or 2 specific photography topics per issue. For a beginner, I think that's pretty low-yield and the least bang for your buck.

For a beginner, I think you'll learn the most photography from any "Intro to Digital Photography" books.

If you're really set on magazines, however, I'd take AndrewWG's suggestion and read some of the British photography magazines. They're all pretty good and all have many more photography articles vs ads. You can find British / UK photography magazines at your local Barnes & Noble or Borders book stores.

I forget which UK magazine has this, but the feature I really like is when they pair up an amateur photographer with a pro photographer, and they both go on a photo shoot. The pro photographer will give tons of tips during the photo shoot on how the amateur can improve his/her technique. It's like you're right there with them during the 10-page feature. Each month is a different pro, different amateur (a lucky reader), and a different photography setting. They've done landscape photography, street photography, motorcycle racing, etc. It's a great way to "shadow" a pro photographer, who'll give you lots of basic photography tips.