Photography Board's Good Reads List

[WDWFigment]

I know a lot of us are looking to improve our skills, so I thought it might be helpful to start a thread wherein we share our favorite books, blogs, and online tutorials. Since there is so much content out there, this might help sort out the cream from the...well, whatever it is that's supposed to float to the bottom.

I think it might be helpful to organize these books based on to whom they would appeal the most, and with a brief description of the content offered.

I'll start:

Beginner
Book - Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson - this book is where I learned photography. I would still be using automatic mode if it weren't for someone recommending Mr. Peterson's book to me. Although it's somewhat dated, the concepts inside are very much relevant.
Book - Understanding Shutter Speed by Bryan Peterson - very similar (in some ways redundant) to the above, this book also starts to dive into some creative ways to manipulate shutter speed and aperture.

Intermediate
Book - Scott Kelby's 7-Point System for Adobe Photoshop CS3 by Scott Kelby - this book is great for learning some Photoshop tricks, and it's really helped me process my night images from Disney (1 point did, at least). I don't regularly use all 7 points, but it is very informative. Requires slight background knowledge of Photoshop--can be applied to CS4, as well.

 

[Scottwdw]

Beginner/Intermediate:

I just read a book which is coming out in a revised edition next week so it will be updated for digital by Brenda Tharp called Creative Nature & Outdoor Photography. It is a good book to read after Peterson's as it goes more into the creative side of photography as opposed to the nuts and bolts of getting good exposure. There are excellent exercises she suggests to help get one's creative juices flowing. The photos she uses are not only beautiful but help to illustrate her text.

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

Since we just upgraded to PSE 8 and I am just learning all the nuances of PP, I'm reading 'the photoshop elements 8 book' by Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski. Since I'm learning PSE 8 on the fly, its a book that doesn't have to be read starting on page 1, but look in the index for what you want to do and it gives you step by step instructions. Great for the beginners to PP such as myself.

 

[saturndb]

I just picked up a copy of Photoshop LAB Color: The Canyon Conundrum and Other Adventures in the Most Powerful Colorspace by Dan Margulis

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I am a reader, and have an extensive photography library going.

I have many of the Peterson series as well as many other recent authors and titles.

Some of my favorites to peruse have been the Time/Life "Best Of" books that I've picked up for pennies at used book stores, which allow me to study what makes a photograph great. In the same places, it's also possible to pick up whole series of film photography books for short money. Many of the principles are the same despite our being in the digital age.

I guess you can say I've spent my time focusing more on classic photography as opposed to digital photography. Which I never realized till just now. (And explains a lot. )

 

[WDWFigment]

Thought I'd bump an older thread by asking for some recommendations. I'd really like to learn more about flash and portraiture. So far I have The Hotshoe Diaries, The Nikon CLS, Speedlights & Speedlites, Beyond Portraiture and People in Focus all in my library queue. Traffic may suck in larger cities, but dang the libraries are better!

 

[Geoff_M]

I think it's out-of-print, but you can still find used copies on-line, but The Associated Press Photojournalism Stylebook. Is a great resource tool for learning about composition and how to make photos more appealing to the casual viewer.

A couple of other good photo related books are Shooter and PhotoOp by Pulitzer winner, and former White House photographer, David Hume Kennerly.

 

[JoeDif]

Thought I'd bump an older thread by asking for some recommendations. I'd really like to learn more about flash and portraiture. So far I have The Hotshoe Diaries, The Nikon CLS, Speedlights & Speedlites, Beyond Portraiture and People in Focus all in my library queue. Traffic may suck in larger cities, but dang the libraries are better!

I recently read this one: On Camera Flash Technique for Digital Wedding & Portrait Photography - Neil van Niekerk. It was very informative.

http://neilvn.com/tangents/ Here is a link to his website / blog that has interesting reading as well regarding flash / lighting

 

[GoofyontheHiSeas]

I recently read this one: On Camera Flash Technique for Digital Wedding & Portrait Photography - Neil van Niekerk. It was very informative.

http://neilvn.com/tangents/ Here is a link to his website / blog that has interesting reading as well regarding flash / lighting

I will second that Neil's book is wonderful. It is a definite read if you want to learn flash photography. I am waiting anxiously for his next book out later this year "Off camera flash".

 

[JoeDif]

I will second that Neil's book is wonderful. It is a definite read if you want to learn flash photography. I am waiting anxiously for his next book out later this year "Off camera flash".

How can you go wrong with any book that teaches you how to use "The Black Foamie Thing"

 

[KCmike]

Online help for Canon users:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/index.php

 

[MarkBarbieri]

My favorite books about photography (excluding books about post-processing) are:

Light Science and Magic - The best book I've found on lighting. It isn't a recipe book. It explains the fundamentals and why they are what they are.

The Digital Photography Book series - Good beginner books with some useful tips for people that have been shooting a while.

The Hot Shoe Diaries - Only OK at teaching, but good at inspiring.

LIFE Guide to Digital Photography: Everything You Need to Shoot Like the Pros - This isn't actually out yet, but I'm expecting it to be good.

The Ansel Adam's books The Camera, The Negative, and The Print - They're obviously old, but they have a lot of good timeless information in them.

The Photographer's Eye - Not a great book, but the best I've found on composition. For such a critical subject, there is surprisingly little written.

Captured By The Light - I just got this yesterday and am only about 1/5 of the way through it. So far it is pretty good.

I just browsed through our Amazon order history and filtered it to books. It looks like we've ordered over 300 books from Amazon. That's a lot of books. They weren't all photography books, though.

If you really want to improve your photography, you should look at other sources, not just books. I love the Kelby Training Videos, although most of them are on the use of Adobe products rather than just photography. Pick a month when you think you'll have some time and sign up for the month. Even if you don't think it is worth it to keep a subscription, you are bound to learn enough in that month to make it worthwhile.

I also like the Luminous Landscape video journals. They aren't really training videos. They are more or less videos about photography related subjects.

Another great way to learn is through photography clubs. They usually have informative guest speakers, interesting outings that can be great learning experiences, and often some form of critiquing/competition for those that are interested in such things.

I've also learned a lot from workshops, classes, and seminars. I'm going to David Ziser's Captured by the Light Tour next week. I'm going to Joe McNally's Grand Master of Flash Workshop later this month.

Another great way to learn and to keep up with what is going on is by reading blogs. Many great photographers have blogs. Scott Kelby's is great because he talks about so many things that are going on. Joe McNally's is great because he has so many great shots and shows you how he gets them.

Finally, there are tons of great websites on photography with lots of useful info.

 

[Groucho]

The Photographer's Eye - Not a great book, but the best I've found on composition. For such a critical subject, there is surprisingly little written.

I'll second this, and I actually did find it to be pretty great. It's easily the best of the (admittedly few) photo books that I've read. I also find myself re-reading it before a big WDW trip, including on the plane ride down there! Composition is one of those things that's pretty hard to fix after the fact (you can only reframe via cropping) so it's important to try to get it right.

I also love that the "rule of thirds" is not mentioned at all! :cool1 I find that to be an overused oversimplification of composition.

 

[adidas97]

Thanks for the list and starting this thread. I was just about to post on the tips thread, if anybody knew of any good books for a beginner

 

[Todd_H]

Great thread. I've read a few of the above but am getting ready to add some books to my Santa list, particularly Light Science and Magic.

Thanks for the recommendations!

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Great thread. I've read a few of the above but am getting ready to add some books to my Santa list, particularly Light Science and Magic.

Thanks for the recommendations!

I think you'll like Light Science and Magic, but I should probably stress that this is more like a textbook than the typical lighting book. It doesn't have lots of pretty pictures and recipes. It is for people that want to really understand how lighting works, not for those that just want to be told that "placing a softbox level with their subject's head and 30 degrees to their right will look nice." If you hated math and science classes, this isn't the book for you.

 

[WDWFigment]

Mark - thanks for the detailed descriptions of each book. I've added a few to my library request list. (That Photographer's Eye book is sure popular here!) Looks like I can safely nix Light Science and Magic, too!