Photography book recommendations

[sschu717]

Bryan Peterson has a new book out -- Understanding Photography Field Guide. The book covers more than UE, but includes the info found in UE.

 

[ssanders79]

I liked reading Scott Kelby's books on Digital Photography. I also went to my local library and just grabbed a few books on Photography. Old film based books have great information and the fundamentals are the same. Don't feel you need a new digital only book. I feel most of the books now spend little time with the fundamentals of photography and more time in post production. There are a million photoshop books so I started to get older books were the focus was simply on the shooting.

Aside from books I look at the exif data of images I like on Flickr to see how the photographer got the shot. I've learned a lot from studing the exif data.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I go to places that sell used books to buy some of my photography books. They're usually pretty cheap and you never know what you're going to find. Some are older, series even, but even though they're about film, a lot of the principles are still the same. I also like to buy the Time-Life "The Year In Photos" type books just to study the images and see what makes them great. I've gotten some interesting books and have got quite the collection going, all for next to nothing cost wise (aside from the new books I've bought). So keep your eyes open!

 

[flying_babyb]

HELP! I bought a landcape book (then relized it was film) and bout a national geographic photography feild guide for film camera. Its got good principals but I want a guide on digital tips and tricks. Any idea of a cheap one?

 

[seashoreCM]

As far a composition and also basic camera settings and concepts* go, digital cameras work the same way as film cameras.

Exposure compensation is like the lighten/darken control on Polaroid cameras.

For resolution I always use the maximum.

I have not mastered finer points such as white balance, which is in some ways comparable to use of filters, and things like shooting modes with names like "kids and pets" or "snow scene". Then there are tint settings like sepia tone or vivid color that take me too much time to do multiple shots and see what looks better.

* Aperture, shutter speed, ISO, depth of field, infinity lock, flash guide number, zoom, focal length in 35mm film equivalents, self timer, spot metering, bracketing exposure.

 

[cpbjgc]

This thread has some suggestions.

 

[annnewjerz]

I have Understanding Digital Photography by Bryan Peterson. I haven't read it yet (DH got it for me for Christmas), but if it's anything like all of the other Bryan Peterson books I've accumulated, I'm sure it's full of lots of helpful information and will probably only cost around $15 on Amazon.

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

Hi! I am simply amazed and overwhelmed by this board. I love the talent and dialogue. I even love reading the advice that is way over my head and look forward to one day being able to participate in the discourse.

I am so excited to now own a Canon Xsi. Thank goodness for the basic zone while I learn. I already have David Busch's . . . Guide to Digital SLR.

Knowing myself as a learner, I am interested in a book that has photos with the EXIF information next to them. I think that this will be a good way for me to mimic styles to learn about exploring the "creative mode." This will be a good companion for me to the explanations offered by Busch.

Any suggestions? And thanks for the amazing resource!
Debby

 

[AndrewWG]

You can never go wrong with Bryan Peterson's boot Understanding Exposure. I can't remember if it has the EXIF info per se but he does go into how he shot each photo in detail. It is a great starting point book for all beginners and I also still find it very useful. It can be seen here:

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259249406&sr=8-1

 

[Phil'sFrontier]

x2 I always hear that book recommended.

 

[JoeDif]

You can never go wrong with Bryan Peterson's boot Understanding Exposure. I can't remember if it has the EXIF info per se but he does go into how he shot each photo in detail. It is a great starting point book for all beginners and I also still find it very useful. It can be seen here:

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259249406&sr=8-1

I agree with this choice. It's a great starting point and I do believe it has basic EXIF data

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

Thanks!

 

[SrisonS]

x2 I always hear that book recommended.

I've always heard it recommended too.... so I bought it. And I'm recommending it myself. It's a great book for anyone starting to really get into photography.

 

[C&B Young]

You can never go wrong with Bryan Peterson's boot Understanding Exposure. I can't remember if it has the EXIF info per se but he does go into how he shot each photo in detail. It is a great starting point book for all beginners and I also still find it very useful. It can be seen here:

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259249406&sr=8-1

It does have the basic EXIF info, and what it also has, which I really liked starting out, is different versions of the same photo shot with different settings. Gives you a very good introduction to how different apertures, shutter speeds, ISO, etc. effect the photo. Highly recommended!

 

[saturndb]

you can get it for a little bit less on Overstock:

http://www.overstock.com/Books-Movi...id=146609&fp=F&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=3142495

it is a good book...


Dave

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I'm a huge fan of Scott Kelby's series The Digital Photography Book. The first book is my favorite intro book for digital photographers.

I just got the third book in the series. It's another great book. I have a huge reservation, however. Each book in the series is geared towards increasingly skilled and series photographers. This third book spends a lot space on studio shooting, which is probably outside the scope of most shooter's interests.

One of the things that I like about Scott's book is his candor. He doesn't shy away from comments that are out of fashion. For example, he advocates the use of UV filters for lens protection.

Another strength is that he leverages the web. In many places in the book, he sends you to a website where you can see setups, final pictures, etc. All of this could have been crammed into the book, but doing so would have significantly increased the size and price.

Kelby is best known for his Photoshop training. The book does a good job in guiding you towards what things should be done in camera and when it is easy to do things in post-production. Like most sensible people, he stresses trying to get things right before shooting rather than cleaning up later, but he's not a zealot about it.

Like all of his books, it is infused with his sense of humor. He's not really that funny, but he's not offensive either. He comes across as a pleasant jokester.

 

[NostalgicDad]

I'm a huge fan of Scott Kelby's series The Digital Photography Book. The first book is my favorite intro book for digital photographers.

I just got the third book in the series. It's another great book. I have a huge reservation, however. Each book in the series is geared towards increasingly skilled and series photographers. This third book spends a lot space on studio shooting, which is probably outside the scope of most shooter's interests.

One of the things that I like about Scott's book is his candor. He doesn't shy away from comments that are out of fashion. For example, he advocates the use of UV filters for lens protection.

Another strength is that he leverages the web. In many places in the book, he sends you to a website where you can see setups, final pictures, etc. All of this could have been crammed into the book, but doing so would have significantly increased the size and price.

Kelby is best known for his Photoshop training. The book does a good job in guiding you towards what things should be done in camera and when it is easy to do things in post-production. Like most sensible people, he stresses trying to get things right before shooting rather than cleaning up later, but he's not a zealot about it.

Like all of his books, it is infused with his sense of humor. He's not really that funny, but he's not offensive either. He comes across as a pleasant jokester.

Thanks for the timely review Mark. I'm about to buy this one but it's on my Christmas list and I'm waiting to see if it shows up under the tree first. I enjoy all of his books and videos and especially interested in his studio lighting coverage in this version.

 

[hillview]

If you don't have time to take a class to use a new fantastic DSLR, is there a book you experts would suggest?
TIA!
/hillary

 

[mabas9395]

Understanding Exposure. The best $15 you can spend towards your photography.

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-Photographs-Digital-Updated/dp/0817463003

 

[SrisonS]

I second that suggestion. No other book gets recommended anywhere as much as this one does.