Read This If You Want to Take Great Photographs

Wow. I had no idea a relatively short photography guide could be so impactful. It pairs practical advice on using your camera’s features with iconic photos that illustrate the concepts at hand. It was exactly what I needed to refresh myself on concepts such as composition, depth of field, exposure, and shutter speed. This is the first nonfiction book that I immediately wanted to reread, just to embed the concepts in my brain. The guidance is just so good!

If you are taking your first step into photography as a hobby, then is probably as good as you could do. He will give you a quick grounding in the numerous aspects that make photography an art form. He gives you key compositional concepts; from leading lines and framing, to rule of thirds and depth of field. Really making you think about your photographs while helping you develop your photographer's eye. There is an excellent chapter on light which every photographer should be thinking about constantly. One of my favorite things from this book with the fact that the author includes the "tip" and an example of a well photograph that applies the concept. Also covered are the technical aspects such as the trio (aperture, shutter speed and ISO) and details of the various lens types and their differences. There are some stunning pictures throughout which exemplify all the points made in the book which I found inspiring. They were helpful in solidifying the different concepts in my mind. All things considered, I think this book is a damn good introduction to photography. Gives enough information to get you out taking good photographs without drowning you in formulas and jargon. Admittedly, further reading will be required as you develop as a photographer; but that is true of your journey into any art form.

Photographically, I'd describe myself as a barely advanced beginner. I've got a lower end DSLR and I've learned as much as I can about it, but I just haven't had the time to use the camera enough to get over the initial learning curve that comes with experience. I ordered this book in hopes that it would give me a kick start on some of the important topics and cut down the time I'd need to spend on the curve towards taking great photos. For the most part, it's done just that. Some specific thoughts: - The jargon/vocab level seems right on point towards the target audience (assuming I'm pretty representative of the target audience). Nothing too technical at all, but at the same time not so simple that it takes too long to go through any one topic. - The organization is great. You could easily read this all the way through and enjoy, but any of the topics are accessible by themselves. - Content coverage: the sections on lenses, exposure, and especially composition are exceptional in my opinion. Short enough to get through in a snap, but just enough info to cover what you need to know. The composition section has a ton of great pointers that would take a lot of time and mistakes to learn on your own, but they're presented here clearly and succinctly, with great examples. The section on light was good as well, but only briefly touched on use of the flash, something that I think needed a little more coverage for amateurs like me. The "Seeing" section at the end was a lot more esoteric, and seemed to be mostly take-it-or-leave-it inspirational tips for people looking to take more artistic shots. Which leads to my last point... - If I have one complaint, it would be that though geared towards the amateur, it still seems to lean slightly towards people trying to take artistic shots. I'm not the type who's going to plan a trip to my local park or abandoned railroad track to take photos as art for a gallery. I just want to take pictures of my life as it comes, during trips, family events, that sort of thing, and I'd wager that most amateurs are more in that camp. At the most basic, the fundamentals are the same, which is why the composition and exposure sections are so incredibly useful. It would have been nice to get just a little more coverage of less artistic and more traditional amateur photography. This is an incredibly useful book, with a lot of information packed in briefly and clearly. If you're looking to pursue photography as art, this is probably just about as perfect a resource as it can get. If you're looking to take pictures along a more traditional line, there may be some superfluous information, but overall, almost all of the information you could ask for is still in there, and it's very very good.

Very helpful! Definitely worth the read. Great perspective from the author. Easy read as well and full of great ways to start or further your photography skills.

This book is a pretty good read, the author simply explains some of the techniques used in photography today with examples of photographs. Theres no complicated language or technobabble. Just plain and simple this is what you should look for, this is how to make your photos look more impactful, and this is what you should do to get the image to tell the story you want. I would recommend this book to beginners. Anyone with loads of experience shooting photos may already know most or all of the content found in this book. Other than that, there are some great pictures.

I've searched for years for a book I could use to help my friends take their first steps in photography. It has just the right amount of information to help new photographers understand what all those controls on their new DSLR do without swamping them with too much information. I recommend reading a few pages and then going out and experimenting with what you have learned. Then read a few more pages and experiment, and so on. Your photography will improve painlessly. Pros and advanced amateurs: this might be too simple for you. Beginners who want to explore what your camera can do to help you express yourself photographically: this is for you.

Good book for beginners to get some ideas about framing and perspective. Has some very cool photos to example these principles.

I can’t say enough good things about this book. I wanted to learn how to take better pictures once my daughter was born, so I spent a lot of time on Pinterest reading blog articles about it. Then I found this book and realized I wasted a lot of time. Everything I needed to know was right inside. If you have a DSLR, he explains how to use something other than your “auto” mode in simple, easy to understand language. You actually UNDERSTAND how a camera works. The bulk of the book is about composition, or how tot ale a good picture in general: Lighting, poses, general rules (and how to break them effectively). Each concept is illustrated with pictures. While you might think this part isn’t important, it absolutely is. In fact, it’s the most important thing you’ll learn about photography. Yes, knowing how to use your camera is important, but your pictures will stink if you don’t know how composition works.

Esse livro é maravilhoso, ensina tudo o que tem que ensinar. Fala de coisas técnicas mas não se prende a isso!

Fantástic book. Straight forward, easy to understand and perfect for those keen to learn basic tips and techniques without being overwhelmed.

A great book for introducing my wife to the DSLR world and for reminding myself of some of the basics of photography that I'd forgotten.Very easy to read and provides the technical stuff in such an easy to read manner that you might not even realise that you're reading technical 'stuff'. I highly recommend this book.

It's a short and sweet little reference book to have on hand and go over from time to time of you fond yourself lacking in inspiration or needing a new way to look at things. If you're a total beginner It's not everything you'll need, but you dont need much more.

Les examples sont très clairs, il n'y a pas de complication pour les débutants.