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10/09/2002 07:29:56 AM · #1 |
I've read quite a few photography books in the past year and
a great deal of them were pretty bad!
Here's a list of some of the good ones, please add any you've found. I'd like
to create a list of recommended titles/ mini-reviews:
Photography
by Barbara London (Editor), John Upton (Contributor)
Pretty much a standard course textbook on photography. This book is
expensive but packed with useful stuff, especially for the beginner who
is interested in the technical side of things. As I said, expensive
but you can find it in second hand university book stores.
Learning to See Creatively
by Bryan F. Peterson
Interesting take on the design elements and composition that go towards
a good photograph. Read this one from the library - interesting but
not a great deal of content.
National Geographic Photography Field Guide: Secrets to Making Great Pictures
by Peter K. Burian, et al
A good, small format field guide. Interesting interviews with photographers
interspersed with good advice.
The Complete Guide to Night and Low-Light Photography
by Lee Frost
More specialised in subject but has lots of good ideas, particularly if you
have a bulb mode.
The A-Z of Creative Photography: Over 70 Techniques Explained in Full
by Lee Frost
Lots of good ideas - I go back to this one a lot.
.
The Tao of Photography: Seeing Beyond Seeing
by Ph.D. Philippe L. Gross, Ph.D. S.I. Shapiro
An interesting take on photography and eastern philosophy. Discusses
how to relax more into your photography and move beyond worrying about
the technical aspects.
Looking forward to hearing what others recommend.
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10/09/2002 08:33:46 AM · #2 |
I also recommend just about any book by John Hedgecoe. "The Photography Handbook" is particularly helpful to me in a lot of instances...
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10/09/2002 08:38:38 AM · #3 |
I have been at the library 2 weeks ago and I picked the HedgecoeJohn book as well. I thought at that time something like, if I need one that would be that one ( but I haven't look for years).
One to check for sure.
Gordon , I like the idea to have book recommandation .... when you go to buy photography books .. sorry but there is a bunch of pretty bad book, looking all the same.
I would give one advice , a photography book has to contain pictures and be on 'glossy' paper .. you have to see the photos and not ony 10 glossy pages in the middle of the book.
* This message has been edited by the author on 10/9/2002 8:37:02 AM. |
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10/09/2002 09:04:24 AM · #4 |
Originally posted by lionelm:
I have been at the library 2 weeks ago and I picked the HedgecoeJohn book as well. I thought at that time something like, if I need one that would be that one ( but I haven't look for years).
One to check for sure.
Gordon , I like the idea to have book recommandation .... when you go to buy photography books .. sorry but there is a bunch of pretty bad book, looking all the same.
I would give one advice , a photography book has to contain pictures and be on 'glossy' paper .. you have to see the photos and not ony 10 glossy pages in the middle of the book.
I second that - there are a lot of really bad photography books. Well
not so much bad, but just really expensive without much interesting
content. Hmm - that does sound like a good definition of 'bad' come to
think of it.
I found my local library was invaluable for this - saved loads of money
by reading a lot of the 'intro' to photography/ composition/ design/ art
books that while interesting, only really hold your attention for a day
or so. They aren't books I'd want to own but I got quite a lot of
useful beginning information from them. The library is definately a
good resource - even old books on composition are still books on
composition - not a whole lot has changed in the basics, even if the
people don't wear the same clothes!
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10/09/2002 11:01:40 AM · #5 |
I tend to do outdoor stuff so my list are going to be different:
Rowell, Galen. Mountain Light. With a ton of photos and a detailed explaination of how each one of them is made.
Campbell, Charles. The Backpacker's Photography. he discusses his method of doing different type of photography at dawn and dusk hours, as well as equipment.
Rowell, Galen. The Art of Adventure Photography. A collection of his essays in OUtdoor Photographer magazine.
But mainly i just look at photographs and paintings to learn more about composition.
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10/09/2002 11:07:49 AM · #6 |
This sounds like the beginning of a new section of the site maybe... Drew should setup the 'partnership' thing with Amazon.com and list all these titles in a section here where the user can click to buy the book... I think Drew would get a small cut on that deal... I don't know how it works...
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10/09/2002 11:15:58 AM · #7 |
I just stumbled on to this one:
Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing
Margaret S. Livingstone
I finally understand why some photos "pop" while similar shots crater. The book is a relatively easy read for the information it covers.
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10/09/2002 11:34:07 AM · #8 |
Originally posted by JohnSetzler :
This sounds like the beginning of a new section of the site maybe... Drew should setup the 'partnership' thing with Amazon.com and list all these titles in a section here where the user can click to buy the book... I think Drew would get a small cut on that deal... I don't know how it works...
I think you can pretty much set this up automatically - its a good
idea though. |
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10/09/2002 11:51:10 AM · #9 |
Books that I have found helpful are:
'Learning to Light' by Roger Hicks and Frances Shultz. Really useful for newbies and intermediate and lots of great examples and easy to understand explanatory text.
'New Product Shots' by Alex Larg and Jane Wood - lots of good examples
'Fashion Shots' by Alex Larg and Jane Wood - again, lots of good examples
But I will have to say I've learned more from online searching and reading of websites than any other source of info (besides practice of course :)).
A particularly good place to explore lighting questions is the "Lighting Techniques" forum on dpreview.com
Hope this was helpful.
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10/09/2002 11:54:45 AM · #10 |
Originally posted by JohnSetzler :
I also recommend just about any book by John Hedgecoe. "The Photography Handbook" is particularly helpful to me in a lot of instances...
I am a huge Hedgecoe fan as well, I currently have his "New Handbook of Photography" and "Creative Photography Work Book" checked out of the local library. They may be renewed for a while! |
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10/16/2002 05:28:33 PM · #11 |
Anybody out there remember
The Complete Photographer by Andreas Feininger?
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10/16/2002 06:12:07 PM · #12 |
| My favorite is still An Ansel Adams Guide Basic Techniques of Photography by John P. Schaefer. I am not sure if it has been updated for digital, but there is a ton of great information in the book regardless of the medium you choose. |
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10/16/2002 06:55:16 PM · #13 |
Reader's Digest Complete Photography Manual by Ailsa NcWhinnie. It includes digital photography and printing. It's a pretty easy read and a pretty good reference source.
T
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10/16/2002 07:07:41 PM · #14 |
I'm gonna swing by the library tonite and see what they have to offer...
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10/16/2002 07:12:02 PM · #15 |
| I'll have to check out some of those books everyone has recommended. I know it doesn't have to do with the technical part of taking pictures, but I got the book "Adobe Photoshop 7.0 for Photographers" it's pretty good with telling you about lighting, colors, and the stuff like that to make your shots look better. |
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10/16/2002 09:00:13 PM · #16 |
| I think that book is very important. Just as important darkroom training used to be. |
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10/16/2002 10:37:22 PM · #17 |
Originally posted by jmsetzler:
I also recommend just about any book by John Hedgecoe. "The Photography Handbook" is particularly helpful to me in a lot of instances...
Yep...I sorta cut my teeth on his books. |
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10/16/2002 10:43:18 PM · #18 |
I second that - there are a lot of really bad photography books. Well
not so much bad, but just really expensive without much interesting
content. Hmm - that does sound like a good definition of 'bad' come to
think of it.
I found my local library was invaluable for this - saved loads of money
by reading a lot of the 'intro' to photography/ composition/ design/ art
books that while interesting, only really hold your attention for a day
or so. They aren't books I'd want to own but I got quite a lot of
useful beginning information from them. The library is definately a
good resource - even old books on composition are still books on
composition - not a whole lot has changed in the basics, even if the
people don't wear the same clothes!
[/i]
I use the public library and also the local community college library. I recently posted this on another site, that the library is a vast resource. The community college libraries are not only accessable to students but also to residents of the communities. Do yourself a favor and check it out...lol...oh my...no pun intended...lol Besides books specifically on photography, and digital imaging, I also look for picture books that contain subjects I'm interested in. I've been going to the library every 2-4 weeks since my childhood. ONe of my better habits...lol |
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12/15/2002 10:30:18 AM · #19 |
Thought that this was a useful thread, as I have just spent ages on the Amazon site looking at books, but unable to chose from the huge selection! Any more additions to this list?
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12/15/2002 10:38:34 AM · #20 |
I've been thinking of getting some photography books from the library. Now I have some titles to look into. I already had the 'photoshop 7 for photographers' on order from our local library.
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12/15/2002 10:46:26 AM · #21 |
this is a very valuable book to have in your collection: UNDERSTANDING EXPOSURE, by Brian Peterson. Explains the concept of exposure in an easy to understand language.
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12/15/2002 11:47:37 AM · #22 |
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12/15/2002 01:52:32 PM · #23 |
In rummaging around in the second-hand stores, I have found the complete Time-Life photography series. These books are old and somewhat dated (digital wasn't born yet), but the photography is exquisite.
-- shohn |
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12/15/2002 02:12:20 PM · #24 |
As far as Portraits go there is one book that I read recently and I suggest it to anyone who wants to do these types of shots. It is one of the books in the Amherst Media collection called Portrait Photographers Handbook by Bill Hunter. It goes over all the different lighting techniques and gives in depth diagrams of the five basic lighting setups that you can use. It is not for the guy who wants to shot with one light at 45 degrees. This is a great book for people who want to know the real deal of portraits. Not the guy who just wants to do a decent Senior photo. Explains the true art of portraits in depth.
And so far this book has come in handy in my judgeing some shots I have seen here. Hope what I just wrote was helpful. This book sells for 29.95 at Barnes and Noble.
John (TurboTech) |
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12/15/2002 02:57:07 PM · #25 |
I recommend "digital photographer's handbook" by Tom Ang. It addresses equipment, techniques and effects. Tom has projects for the reader to apply all that he discusses.
I also recommend "The Digital Printing Handbook" by Tim Daly.
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