Book recommendation

[aam1234]

I hope it wasn’t covered before, but I’d like to start a new thread about your favorite photography book(s). The book(s) could be about any aspect of photography that you find useful and think that others can benefit from it.

I don’t have any book so I can’t start.

Thanks in advance.

[Digital Prophet]

Sorry I had to regurgitate these from another forum. But I am pressed for time.

Since I am learning to get the most out of my camera I have been looking for good books that speak simple english. So I was very pleased to find Lee Frost. I have browsed through many of his books at the stores. And even though I wish I could get them all I did finally purchase The Photographer's Guide to Filters.

This is a fantastic book that really examines the use of photographic filters in great detail. He examines the construction, effect and uses of filters suchs as polarizers, color compensators and nuetral density just to name a few. The book itself is good quality with high quality paper and full of great "with and without" pictures. This isn't one of those books that talks the talk but is printed on newsprint with grainy pictures.

Lee Frost really exemplifies what a good "how to" or "learn to" writer should be. To me any book that not only answers a question or teaches an aspect of photography but makes its reader excited about running out and applying its lesson is a great book. And all for a $24.99 cover price. A real bargain compared to some less useful books that can cost twice as much.

I highly recommend all of his books.

- Digital Prophet -

And ...

I don't think that any photography bookshelf could ever be complete without at least one John Hedgecoe book. This guy is a photographing and book writing machine. I have bought two of his books and I can't even begin to tell you how highly I recommend any book he has his name on.

The Photographer's Handbook - Third Edition is a fantastic book that I have been reading. In fact I have been toting it around in my backpack everywhere I go. This is more like a photography almanac. From a brief history of the camera, to the different types of cameras, to the science (in brief) of lenses and lens construction. It examines just about every aspect of photgraphy with some really great sections on working with light, working in b & w and also color along with specific info on special scenarios such as wildlife and portraits. And this thing is crammed full of pictures and diagrams (but most are black and white). And another great value at $24.99 (retail, 17.00 Amazon).

So what could be even better than that book? The New Manual of Photography. The copy I picked up tonight is hardbound and printed in 2003. It was considerably more expensive than my Photographer's Handbook, but this book is even better than the first. If that was possible. With fairly current information on digital cameras this book has all the information that anyone could need to understand the act of taking a photograph. From the mechanics of how a camera (compact, SLR, digital SLR, TLR and others) work to fanstatic A/B photos. And the photos. Where the first book was probably 90% black and white this book has gorgeous color photos and fantastic diagrams. A definate must have. And I am damn glad I have it. I bought it tonight and barely put it down to write this post. ($40.00 retail, $27.20 Amazon).

- Digital Prophet -

I have more but I will have to add them later.

- Digital Prophet -

[Olegis]

I got the two books from Bryan Peterson that were recomended here (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=29954) - "Understanding exposure" and "Learning to see creatively - design, color and composition in photography" - and these two are just great !

[aam1234]

Thanks Olegis, been looking for this guy's books but couldn't remember his name.

[robekert]

Mastering Digital Photography http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1592001149/qid=1085691945/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/002-8690591-3677656?v=glance&s=books is by far the best book that on digital photography that I have read and I constantly go back to it. It is the best nuts and bolts digital photography and general photography book I have.

This book does what I wished the others had done. From this book I actually began to understand the process of general photography. I have read "film photography" books in order to understand the basics of photography, but I always felt ripped off because half of the book did not apply to me.

This book is very current. It was published in 2004. This is one of the problems with some other books. If it is 2yrs. old it might as well be the Rosetta Stone.

It has an outstanding section on lighting. The best thing that I like about the book is the "Pro Tips". Throughout the book there are boxes of text labeled "Pro Tips" that cut to the chase and explain how to do, what the "Pros" do. If the book was just the "Pro Tips" it would be worth the price.

If you have not figured it out yet. This is the book to buy. I will go out on a limb and say, every non-pro should buy this book.

I know what you are thinking............no David D. Busch is not my dad, uncle, or me.

Buy it, You will not regret it.
Rob

[Olegis]

Thanks Olegis, been looking for this guy's books but couldn't remember his name.

Bryan Peterson is amazing, both as photographer and writer. His vision brings you something new every time you read new section of the book and he has many great ideas about what to shoot and how to shoot it. His ideas about patterns, colors and graphical arrangements and presentation of things on photographs are really inspiring.
Moreover, he writes in a language so simple, that I have no problem to fully understand his intentions (English isn't my mother tongue) ...

Highly reccomended !

[scottbergerphoto]

Mastering Flash Photography by Susan McCartney
The Nikon Flash Guide by Thom Hogan
Secrets of Lighting on Location by Bob Krist
Regards,
Scott

[PaulN]

Absolutely any book by Freeman Patterson. Just google his name to get his web site or type his name into Amazon's search.

He has excellent books on photography that will always remain relevant regardless of how many megapixels camera X has.

[htbyron]

From a post I made in another thread (lightly edited):

One is another title by John Hedgecoe (does he really write all these, or is there a franchise?): The New Manual of Photography. It's published by DK (Dorling Kindersley) & has lots of great photos & illustrations. It covers the universe of photography & was a useful starting point for me as I needed to (re-)learn lots of basics & get tips & techniques for a variety of situations. It was also on sale at Costco recently for $23.99, instead of the $40 cover price!

Like you, I also found lighting very confusing. I found a book called Light and Lighting by Michael Freeman, part of a series called Digital Photography Expert by Lark Books. It's good & gives lots of tips particularly helpful to the digital world.

Finally, I have seen lots of recommendations for a book called Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. The original version may be out of print (I'm not sure), but I believe there's a new edition coming out this summer, updated to address digital cameras as well. So I'm anxiously awaiting that release!

Happy reading!
Tom

[Olegis]

The Understanding exposure by Bryan Peterson is still available (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0817437126/qid=1085763420/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/104-7389703-1461518), that's the edition I bought.

[Bluelens]

Bryan Peterson's book "Understanding Exposure" was fantastic. I read it and when I finished it I startede at the beginning again.

I don't know if this has been mentioned, but he has a new version of the bok coming out. As anyone who has read the book knows, all his instruction is film camera based. His new book coming out "Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs With a Film or Digital Camera" will as teh title says, also incorporate the digital format. Here is the link for the Amazon listing

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0817463003/qid=1085763595/sr=8-3/ref=pd_ka_3/104-8837335-5814338?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

[msvadi]

Michael Freeman has an excellent book on photographic composition "Image". It's out of print since late 80s. Absolutely amazing. Second hand book stores usually want $100-200 for a copy. Bu one can find it for $25-50.

The book was a part of his Amphoto (Collins in the UK) workshop series. Parts of other books, "Light" for example, are now being used in his new series of books "Digital Photography Expert".

[aam1234]

Keep them coming guys/gals

[WestFalcon]

I have read a lot of photography books but the best I've ever read are by Scott Kelby. I'm a teacher/part time professional photographer and Scott's books have taught me so much that I sometimes feel like I owe him some tip money. His style is clear and very well illustrated not to mention a great sense of humor. His books should be a must for any digital photographer. Buy one and you'll be hooked.

[hmhm]

"The Camera" and "The Exposure" by Ansel Adams. "National Geographic Photography Field Guide".
-harry

[MazerRakhm]

"The Camera" and "The Exposure" by Ansel Adams. "National Geographic Photography Field Guide".
-harry

The National Geographic Field Photography Field Guide was great! As a beginner I've read it twice and it was the most all around helpful book I've seen so far. It covered a wide veriety of topics/ shooting situations and was very informative.

[psk4363]

I'd take a look at 'Photoshop CS Studio Techniques' by Ben Willmore, or, indeed, any book by Scott Kelby.

Barry

[aam1234]

Great suggestions, might be doing some ordering tonight.

Thanks to all

[rick barclay]

I recently bought Scott Kelby's The Photoshop CS Book for Digital Photographers, and I certainly have learned much from it even though I've only scanned about 3/4 of the book to date. Before reading Kelby's book I never used the file browser. Now I use it all the time. Before, I never used the magic wand tool, nor even knew what its use is for. I know now and use it frequently to colorize blown sections of a photo, such as traffic lights, for example. Before I only used Unsharp Mask for sharpening. Kelby has shown and explained to me in a style I can understand and follow other methods for sharpeing. I never used brushes or any kind of color correction before reading Kelby's book. All I can say is Scott Kelby is one hell of a Photoshop instructor, and I would recommend this book to any novice photographer who wants to improve his post processing skills using Photoshop CS. The only criticism I have of him is his use of stupid wise cracks, which really don't do anything but take up space better relegated to instruction. But that's just me, and I certainly can and do forgive his sorry sense of humor, because this man has much knowledge that I don't, and maybe most importantly, he has the knack to explain in a way that penetrates even thickest of heads, like my own.

[aam1234]

Seems Scott Kelby is very popular guy and knows what is he doing. I order his book for PS Elements last night along with Bryan Peterson's (as recommended here).

[stevekwiz]

I highly recommend Rick Sammon's Complete Guide to Digital Photography: 107 Lessons on Taking, Making, Editing, Storing, Printing, and Sharing Better Digital Images by Rick Sammon.

I got this book on Amazon ($30.60 after 30% discount.) I am new to Canon digital photography and Photoshop. Rick uses both, and the book is pretty darn complete for the beginner. I'm sure there's a few hints for the intermediate to advanced as well.

At nearly 500 pages I felt I got my money's worth.

[cowman345]

I have to throw in a vote for John Hedgecoe's New Book of Photography. (NOT the same as John Hedgecoe's New Manual of Photography.) It's completely full color and chock full of outstanding examples. Not only does it offer a great basic intro to how cameras work (optics, mechanics, chemistry) but more than half the book is dedicated to technique and learning to see artistically.

One comment on Learning to See Creatively by Bryan Peterson - I bought this book after flipping through it in the bookstore thinking WOW this is just FULL of useful stuff. However, when I actually read through it I got bored. Unique ideas, but better left as a coffee table book, IMO.

-dave-

[Lagged2Death]

A copy of something I posted to the G-series group:

I picked up two books the other day that I thought looked much more interesting than most of the photography books I've seen. It's easy to find books that blather on forever about lenses and film types, but I've seen fewer books that are focused (heh) on the pictures themselves.

The first is The A-Z Of Creative Photography (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0817433139), by Lee Frost. This book has one short chapter on each of over 70 different special techniques or project ideas. For example, there's a section on stained glass windows, a section on colored flash light, a section on floodlit buildings, etc. Each section offers not general photography advice, but tips specific to the subject or situation the chapter is about. This isn't meant to turn the reader into an expert at any particular technique, it's intended to show the reader something new to try, with enough advice to get started, and in that capacity, it works. Probably 80% of the sections are as applicable to digital as to film.

The other is the National Geographic Photography Field Guide (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/079225676X), second edition, by Peter Burian and Robert Caputo. About the first half of this book is a concise overview of equipment issues, written with an emphasis on the results, not the gadget-factor, and chock-a-block with example photos to demonstrate the difference between one piece of equipment and another. The rest of the book consists of short chapters on specific photography subject types and profiles of NG photographers. The book actually reads a lot like an issue of NG, and I think that's a good thing. This book includes advice on how to interact favorably with the people you'll meet while traveling and how to keep an eye out for a compelling subject.

[aam1234]

Shameless bump

[blinking8s]

has anyone read Ansel Adams Guide: Basic Techniques of Photography, Vol. 1? maybe somoene mentioned it, but my blind skim reading eyes didnt pick it up

i skimmed through it once, it had sections with assignments or something, looked pretty interesting...didnt know if it was any good though

i will def pick up Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs when io get a chance though

[aam1234]

Nobody bought/read a new book lately?

[aam1234]

Just received Scott Kelby's book about PSE. WAW, it's soo good. He practically takes your hand and leads you through the various (but not all) tasks / functions in the program. He makes it look so easy.

The good:
- as above
- takes away the intimidation of using PSE (was nervous to get my feet wet in post processing, so to speak)

The bad:
- makes you wonder how many books you need to read to fully use PSE, this program is loaded.
- would be nice if he cuts the jokes a bit.

[Kabz]

Heh....
I bought
Top 100: Simplified Tips and Tricks: Digital Photography

apparently it features the "5 star learning system"

It isn't the best book compared to the other listed, but it is nicely laid out, and easy to follow. Not that IN DEPTH on certain things though.
Its quite a general type book that HAS helped me, but I think I'll be looking for something a little more informative and helpful. Funny thing is, I found a lot of typos here and there.

It is written by a Canadian family.....
www.maran.com

anyways, Its fun to read...its sort of like cliff notes. Over 200 pages, though.
good bathroom reading too.

[aam1234]

Can't wait for the updated version of Bryan Peterson "Understanding exposure" heard alot about this book. The new one is supposed to come out in August (anybody know if it's been released yet).

[tamash]

I bought the original [Understanding Exposure] book in the mid-90s and thought it was great (having bought my first film SLR - Elan IIe).
It covered a wide variety of techniques with an emphasis on application vs theory (my favorite way to learn).

Amazon is advertising the updated book (for digital photography) for $16.97 and is taking advance orders. The release date is still listed [on other sites] as Aug 1, 2004. If it's anything like the original (which is likely) I strongly recommend it.

Regards,
Bill

UPDATE: I just ordered the updated Understanding Exposure book. Amazon estimated the ship date to be August 10th. I also ordered the book recommended by Rob Ekert (above) and am looking forward to it.

For an intro to studio lighting, I found '50 Portrait Lighting Techniques' by John Hart to be useful.

[aam1234]

Hi tamash,

Can you give us your thoughts on "Mastering Digital Photography" after you read it.

Thanks

[utkik]

Getting down to more specifics, can anyone recommend a good book on portraits? Specifically I'm thinking about those stylish B&W ones that you see in cafés etc. Having said that, any good portrait book would be much appreciated!

Scott Kelby's 'Photoshop Elements Book' was quite good, but I preffered Barry Beckham's 'Guide to Photoshop Elements'.
'An Intermediate Guide to Digital Photography' by John Clements is also good.
I found John Hedgecoe's 'New Manual of Photography' to be a brilliant all-rounder - I learned loads from it.

[tamash]

Hi tamash,

Can you give us your thoughts on "Mastering Digital Photography" after you read it.

Thanks

Will do.
Though I may not get the book until early August (since I also ordered the as-yet-unreleased update to 'Understanding Exposure').

Regards,
Bill