I noticed that more and more young amateurs prefer still life photography instead of going out in nature or on the streets. “Still Life and Special Effects Photography” by Roger Hicks and Frances Schultz is a wonderful choice for those looking for an entry point into the professional or fun end of this type of photography. Some of the photography is quite dated and old fashioned, but it’s proving a good base in this field.

As for how the book presents the shooting techniques, there is one page with the image as final product and on the opposite page a detailed drawing and explanation of how everything was set up in black and white sketch (a 2-D plan view of the lighting and studio setup, a 3-D illustration of the studio setup), plus technical details of each image, the photographers comments and other informations.

To understand this book you must have a solid base of photography already build (it’s hard to learn from it if you are a beginner) – not just because of all the studio facts and shooting techniques, but mostly because still life and special effects photography is far more complex than snapshotting.

Tags: still life photography, still life and special effects photography, photography book, special effects in photography

Barbara London, Jim Stone and John Upton wrote a book to help amateur photographers to move on to a higher level. Photography teachers use this book as a reference in classrooms. Before reading more, you should know the book is about film photography even if later it teaches ho to get you photos from film to the computer and to the Internet. In a few words, it’s a solid technical foundation.

This best-selling introductory photography text teaches students how to use the medium confidently and effectively by emphasizing both technique and visual awareness. Comprehensive in scope, this book features superb instructional illustrations and examples in its clear presentation of both black and white and color photography. Barbara London offers extensive coverage of digital imaging and the latest technological developments, such as Web page design and formatting photos on CD-ROMs.

Some of the things covered include cameras, lenses, exposure, film, and darkroom. There are many wonderful photos to illustrate all concepts and techniques. Still, the Photography Book does tell you that the technicalities of photography is not what makes a good photographer. However, it gives the ability to better critique self-made photos. As a 9th Edition, it has become better and better and I heard people can’t put it down.

Tags: photography book, photo book, barbara london, john upton, jim stone

The Books starts with this author’s statement: “Each year, I travel the Globe to take pictures, often leading photo tours or workshop. The people in these groups are specifically interested in photographing the natural world, yet it’s on these trips that I inevitably hear the question – what is there to photograph?. Truly this is a wrong question to ask.”

John Shaw then gives state-of-the-art instruction. Using his own exceptional work as examples (frequently featured in National Wildlife, Outdoor Photographer, Natural History, Sierra, and Audubon magazines, as well as in calendars, books, and advertisements), the author discusses each type of nature subject and how to approach photographing it (however, he talks more about close-ups but aren’t they lovely?).

His target, a large one: this field guide is useful to every photographer -beginner, serious amateur, semi pro, and pro. Where most books are vague, the author recommends specific equipment to purchase, when to use it and when to avoid it (with a heavy Nikon emphasis).
A seasonal guide to shooting locations, mostly in the United States is included in the book.

Tags: photography book, nature photography book, nature photography, nature photography field guide

Art Wolfe, the author of this Photography Book about the art of nature, is America’s most renowned nature photographer. The other author of the book is Martha Hill.
The inside of the book (192 pages) is filled with full color photos, each of them accompanied by explanations about how they were made and tips about how to compose a nature scene.
When more than one photo is illustrating the same subject, the authors compare the scenes, telling the reader why one is better than the other one, advantages and disadvantages of a certain angle of view for that particular subject.
There are not many technical informations, but “The Art of Photographing Nature” does cover some natural lighting and exposure issues.
The short explicit text in the book teaches the reader lessons from the examples – a pleasing and effective method of understanding artistic concepts of nature photography.
More than that, the text covers both perspectives of photographer and photo buyer – recommended for those considering selling their nature photography.

Tags: nature photography book, nature photography, the art of photographing nature, photography book, art wolfe

Skin: The Complete Guide to Digitally Lighting, Photographing, and Retouching Faces and Bodies, written by Lee Varis, is a highly recommended book for serious students. The author “begins with a discussion of the right hardware and software and how to configure them, then teaches digital color management and lighting techniques as they apply to portraiture.
He also provides in-depth chapters on retouching and special effects, including such techniques as skin smoothing, beauty retouching, screen diffusion, and depth of field effects.” He covers a range of skin: women and men, young and old, various tones, in-studio and outdoors, tattoos. The 432 pages are step-by-step illustrated. This is indeed a complete guide and also includes a CD (advanced Photoshop users will also find something provocative in this book).
One thing you should know is that Lee tells us not to alliterate reality too much, but just some needed adjustments such as retouching eyes, scars, dark spots. And another thing: it does not just cover the retouching, but also color, lighting, and printing, makeing sure that your final portrait will result in a magnificent print on the wall. I warmly recommend everyone photographer to have this book, no matter if he shoots on film or digital.

Tags: Skin: The Complete Guide to Digitally Lighting, Photographing, and Retouching Faces and Bodies, skin, lee varis, retouching skin, photoshop book

Kathleen Hawkins, the author of Professional Techniques for Digital Wedding Photography, Bride’s Guide to Wedding Photography, and Professional Marketing and Selling Techniques for Wedding Photographers, also wrote Digital Photography for Children’s and Family Portraiture.
This 128 pages book covers the rule of thirds, lighting tips, subjects position and angel, all illustrated with lovely kids and family pictures. The needed equipment is explained in deep, including hardware and software, camera features and accessories, and scanners and printers needed for image output. The author gives tips for studio owners and clients as well.

Tags: children photography, photographing children

Complete Digital Photography is indeed a complete book, covering every aspect on digital shooting and post processing. Previous editions have brought to Ben Long, the author, a huge success. The book explains the digital technology behind the functions and features of the digital cameras, which is why traditional photographers who moved to digital choose it. Filled with step-by-step tutorials, clearly-written examples, and easy-to-follow explanations, it’s a great tool for beginners as well as intermediary photographers.
The book has 4 sections:

• basic technical foundation,
• choosing the right camera and software according to the readers needs,
• the actual shooting (focusing, metering, exposure, using histograms, flash, and all other stuff),
• digital editing and correction techniques (for both jpeg and raw files) – Tone and color correction, masking, compositing, and retouching.

However, even if it answers all possible questions in the best manner ever, it’s most of all technical. If you are searching for a book that illustrates with plenty of examples the use of the camera settings and when to apply them, well,that would be something else. The target for this book is the people want to learn about the digital and technical aspects.

Tags: complete digital photography book, complete digital photography, digital photography book, photography book, ben long

Two of the most appreciated, most used SLR digital cameras needed special attention from the photography books writers. No matter if you purchased a digital rebel from Canon or a d80 (d70, d50) from Nikon, you can find a Field Guide of over 250 pages on the market.

The advantage of having one of these books is that it explains the exact functions of your camera. Unlike a manual that comes with the camera itself, these functions are explained with pictures, you’ll find step-by-step techniques that enhance exposure, composition, and perspective, plus professional advice for photographing children, pets, sporting events, concerts, street scenes, landscapes, even fireworks.
The books guide you in the creepy job of finding the right lens for each situation, and, also goes a bit into the post shooting explaining the easy way of downloading photos to the computer and basic editing functions.
Nikon D80 Digital Field Guide is writen by David D. Busch and Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi/400D Digital Field Guide by Charlotte K. Lowrie.

Tags: canon EOS digital rebel, canon field guide, canon digital rebel field guide, nikon digital field guide, nikon d80 digital field guide

Adobe Camera Raw for digital photographers only by Rob Sheppard is extremely informative on a limited aspect of Adobe Photoshop Software: working with RAW file format. Anyone above the level of rank amateur will find this book helpful and it is also is a great book those who are moving from film to digital photography.
The first thing you should know is that Adobe came on the market with Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) which helps digital photographers to gain more control over the image parameters. The author of this book relates the technique to the artistic purpose, after a discussion of the Raw format itself, he tells you how to use the in-camera histogram to obtain the best possible image. He explains how digital camera captures the image and what limitations of the digital camera can be encountered. Step by step images sustain the explanation, and there is also a chapter discussing other Raw converters that are available on the market, covering advantages and disadvantages.
Examples of some titles covered:
“The Histogram, Key to RAW and Camera RAW”
“Challenges of the Small Sensor”
“The Noise Problem No One Talks About”
“Post Camera RAW Processing”

Tags: Adobe Camera Raw for digital photographers only, Adobe Camera Raw, raw

If the previous two books (Understanding Exposure and Learning to See Creatively) by Bryan Peterson enlarged your knowledge of photography and exited more your passion for this art, here’s another book written by this master of photo explanations: Beyond Portraiture: Creative People Photography, which, obviously, addresses to those of you who want to specialize in portraits.

In Beyond Portraiture, renowned photographer Bryan Peterson shows how to spot those “ah-ha!” moments and capture them forever. A teary child…old people laughing together…a smiling girl with big, big hair. Everyone remember pictures like these, usually taken by a mother, a father, a friend holding a camera, forever preserving small yet revealing vignettes of our personal histories. But we always relied on pure luck and chance to catch those moments. Peterson’s approach explains what makes a photo memorable, how to spot the universal themes that everyone can identify with, and how to use lighting, setting, and exposure to reveal the wonder and the joy of everyday moments.

In these 160 pages, it is assumed the reader already knows the basic photography rules regarding composition and exposure, but, you shoot in fully automatic mode, you will get something out by applying the information in this book, but you won’t be too sure about why and how. This book will take you to the next level of photography, inspiring to examine the faces of the people being photographed.

Tags: Bryan Peterson, Learning to See Creatively, photography book undersanding exposure, Beyond Portraiture