Photography Books

The Digital Photography Book

Scott Kelby

Amazon Price: $13.59 List Price: $19.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Peachpit Press Amazon Marketplace: 61 new & used starting at $11.85

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 494 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Scott Kelby, the man who changed the "digital darkroom" forever with his groundbreaking, #1 bestselling, award-winning book The Photoshop Book for Digital Photographers, now tackles the most important side of digital photography--how to take pro-quality shots using the same tricks today's top digital pros use (and it's easier than you'd think).

This entire book is written with a brilliant premise, and here’s how Scott describes it: "If you and I were out on a shoot, and you asked me, 'Hey, how do I get this flower to be in focus, but I want the background out of focus?' I wouldn't stand there and give you a lecture about aperture, exposure, and depth of field. In real life, I'd just say, 'Get out your telephoto lens, set your f/stop to f/2.8, focus on the flower, and fire away.' You d say, 'OK,' and you'd get the shot. That's what this book is all about. A book of you and I shooting, and I answer the questions, give you advice, and share the secrets I've learned just like I would with a friend, without all the technical explanations and without all the techno-photo-speak."

This isn't a book of theory—it isn't full of confusing jargon and detailed concepts: this is a book of which button to push, which setting to use, when to use them, and nearly two hundred of the most closely guarded photographic "tricks of the trade" to get you shooting dramatically better-looking, sharper, more colorful, more professional-looking photos with your digital camera every time you press the shutter button.

Here's another thing that makes this book different: each page covers just one trick, just one single concept that makes your photography better. Every time you turn the page, you'll learn another pro setting, another pro tool, another pro trick to transform your work from snapshots into gallery prints. There's never been a book like it, and if you're tired of taking shots that look "OK," and if you’re tired of looking in photography magazines and thinking, "Why don't my shots look like that?" then this is the book for you.

The Digital Photography Book, Volume 2

Scott Kelby

Amazon Price: $16.49 List Price: $24.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Peachpit Press Amazon Marketplace: 51 new & used starting at $14.05

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 130 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Scott Kelby, author of the groundbreaking bestseller “The Digital Photography Book, Vol. 1” is back with an entirely new book that picks up right where Vol. 1 left off. It’s more of that “Ah ha—so that’s how they do it,” straight-to-the-point, skip the techno jargon; packed with stuff you can really use today, that made Vol. 1 the world’s bestselling book on digital photography.

In Volume 2, Scott adds entirely new chapters packed with Plain English tips on using flash, shooting close up photography, travel photography, shooting people, and even how to build a studio from scratch, where he demystifies the process so anyone can start taking pro-quality portraits today! Plus, he's got full chapters on his most requested topics, including loads of tips for landscape photographers, wedding photographers, and there's an entire chapter devoted to sharing some of the pro's secrets for making your photos look more professional, no matter what you're shooting.

This book truly has a brilliant premise, and here’s how Scott describes it: “If you and I were out on a shoot, and you asked me, ‘When I use my flash, the background behind the person I’m shooting turns black. How do I fix that?’ I wouldn’t give you a lecture on flash ratios, or start a discussion on flash synchronization and rear curtain sync. I’d just say “Lower your shutter speed to 1/60 of a second. That should do it” Well, that’s what this book is all about: you and I out shooting where I answer questions, give you advice, and share the secrets I’ve learned just like I would with a friend—without all the technical explanations and techie photo speak.”

Each page covers a single concept on how to make your photography better. Every time you turn the page, you’ll learn another pro setting, tool, or trick to transform your work from snapshots into gallery prints. If you’re tired of taking shots that look “okay,” and if you’re tired of looking in photography magazines and thinking, “Why don’t my shots look like that?” then this is the book for you.

This isn’t a book of theory—full of confusing jargon and detailed concepts. This is a book on which button to push, which setting to use, and when to use it. With nearly another 200 of the most closely guarded photographic “tricks of the trade,” this book gets you shooting dramatically better-looking, sharper, more colorful, more professional-looking photos every time.

Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition)

Bryan Peterson

Amazon Price: $16.47 List Price: $24.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Amphoto Books Amazon Marketplace: 56 new & used starting at $13.29

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 459 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Excellent Resource 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Great book to read to learn how to take accurate exposures. The author does a fine job of explaining the concepts clearly with good enough illustrations (photographs or exposure if you will) to buttress his point. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to go beyond the point and click auto paradigm of modern DSLRs.

Love it! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I love photography, and have traded my "hobby" for a "job" and books like this help me take better pictures, therefore making my customers happier. These type of books are very helpful.

Editorial Review:

For serious amateur photographers who already shoot perfectly focused, accurately exposed images but want to be more creative with a camera, here's the book to consult. More than seventy techniques, both popular and less-familiar approaches, are covered in detail, including advanced exposure, bounced flash and candlelight, infrared, multiple images, soft-focus effects, unusual vantage points, zooming, and other carefully chosen ways to enhance photographs. The A-Z format make sit easy for readers to find a specific technique, and each one is explained in jargon-free language. Top Tips for each technique help readers achieve superb results, even on the first attempt.

The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter)

Scott Kelby

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 106 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Scott Kelby was honored with Professional Photographer magazine’s highly coveted 2008 Hot One Award for The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers. Here’s what Jeff Kent, the Hot One Editor at Professional Photographer, has to say about the book: “In a how-to published by Peachpit Press, Scott Kelby, best-selling author on Adobe Photoshop, delves into CS3 to uncover the most important and useful techniques for digital photographers. Our judges liked Kelby’s direct approach with step-by-step instructions. In this new edition, Kelby shares even more secrets from the top pros.”

Shutterbug magazine chose The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers as a Top Digital Book of 2007. Here’s what Joe Farace of Shutterbug has to say about the book: “Scott Kelby’s name on a Photoshop book is like the Dodge brand on the front of a pickup truck. You know it’s built RAM—or pixel—tough. Combining his famous twisted wit with unwaveringly straight tutorials, Kelby takes you through a detailed tour of Photoshop CS3 by showing how to use the new features. No fluff; just page after page of well-illustrated tutorials showing photographers how to get the most out of the new features, commands, and effects found in the latest version of Adobe’s flagship. It will get you up to speed on CS3’s new features faster than you can all by yourself.”

Scott Kelby, the #1 best-selling Photoshop author in the world today, once again takes this book to a whole new level as he uncovers the latest, most important, and most exciting new Adobe Photoshop CS3 techniques for digital photographers. This major update to his award-winning, record-breaking book does something for digital photographers that’s never been done before–it cuts through the bull and shows you exactly “how to do it.” It’s not a bunch of theory; it doesn’t challenge you to come up with your own settings or figure it out on your own. Instead, Scott shows you step-by-step the exact techniques used by today’s cutting-edge digital photographers, and best of all, he shows you flat-out exactly which settings to use, when to use them, and why.

That’s why the previous editions of this book are widely used as the official course study guide in photography courses at college and universities around the world, and this new edition for Photoshop CS3 exposes even more of the top pros’ most closely-guarded secrets.

Learn How The Pros Do It
Each year Scott trains thousands of professional photographers on how to use Photoshop, and almost without exception they have the same questions, the same problems, and the same challenges–and that’s exactly what he covers in this book. You’ll learn:

• The sharpening techniques the pros really use.
• The pros’ tricks for fixing the most common digital photo problems fast!
• How to get great looking prints (that actually match your screen!)
• A whole chapter on the latest, most requested Photoshop special effects!
• How to color correct any photo without breaking a sweat.
• How to process Raw images, plus how to take advantage of all the new Camera Raw features in CS3!
• The portrait retouching secrets only the pros know about!
• How to add real automation to your work.
• How to show your work like a pro!

Plus a host of shortcuts, workarounds, and slick “insider” tricks to send your productivity through the roof! If you’re a digital photographer, and you’re ready to learn the “tricks of the trade”–the same ones that today’s leading pros use to correct, edit, sharpen, retouch, and present their work–then you’re holding the book that will do just that.

The Photoshop Elements 6 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter)

Scott Kelby, Matt Kloskowski

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 47 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Good Book 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I use this as a reference book. So, I have read the chapters and articles that relate to the problem or concept I am trying to accomplish with photoshop elements.

Book is very well written and very easy to follow. He doesn't necessarily lead you through each keystroke needed, but if you are at all computer literate and have an understanding of the bare basics of photoshop elements this will do the job.

In otherwords, if you are looking for a book to give you insight on how to use photoshop elements at an above absolute beginner level, this is it. If you want a book on how to get started with photoshop elements and tell you every keystroke step by step by step, this isn't it.

I highly recommend the book.

Editorial Review:

Best-selling author Scott Kelby pairs up with Matt Kloskowski to deliver the definitive book on using Photoshop Elements 6 to create the best possible images. With this newest release of Photoshop Elements, Scott and Matt show readers how to work with their images like a pro, from importing to organization to correction to output. Readers will learn all they need to know about the digital photography workflow, as well as the latest secrets of the pros to help them create the best special effects, apply the most useful sharpening techniques, and avoid many of the hassles and problems that are encountered in digital photography (such as digital noise and color halos).

Stone by Design: The Artistry of Lew French

Lew French

Amazon Price: $19.77 List Price: $29.95 By: Gibbs Smith, Publisher Amazon Marketplace: 11 new & used starting at $18.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Beatifully Detailed 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Absolutely Wonderful Book! His art is amazing itself and understanding Lew French's connection to his work and how he works with rocks gives even more meaning to his designs.

True Beauty 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This book is pure pleasure. The artfulness in creating the spaces we live in with stone in pattern, an organic extension of this earth. This is not a 'paint by numbers' how-to book, rather, like looking at a
Rembrandt, ultimate examples of stone taken to true art.

Stone By Design 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Caught a TV article on Lew French - CBS Sunday Morning. What a fabulous
artist! I bought the book based on the show. The book was not as good
but not bad. It's still very interesting stuff with some beautiful photography.

Picture quality leaves something to be desired 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 8 people found this review helpful.

I was disappointed by the quality of the paper and the pictures in this book. The subject matter was of great interest to me, but I don't think this book did it justice.

Editorial Review:

More than 125 gorgeous photographs showcase the beauty of award-winning stonemason Lew French's work in eight different homes, illustrating how rounded fieldstone, gray slate, rough granite, and even curvy driftwood can be incorporated into stunning pieces of functional art.

Canon EOS 40D Guide to Digital Photography

David D. Busch

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 57 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

As the new owner of Canon's most advanced intermediate digital SLR, you want to get started taking professional-looking photographs using all of the exciting features at your fingertips. "Canon EOS 40D Guide to Digital SLR Photography" is a concise introduction and guide to your camera's essential controls and functions, such as Live View, built-in dust reduction, and the blistering 6.5-frames-per-second continuous shooting mode that is an action photographer’s dream. The book provides detailed instructions showing you how, when, and why to make optimized settings with the Canon EOS 40D’s enhanced menus, which include a half-dozen versatile new custom functions. You'll learn about the camera's improved automatic focus, flash synchronization tricks, how to choose lenses that will provide the perspective and effects you want, and which exposure modes are ideal for each picture-taking opportunity. Packed with full-color images and examples that illustrate the recommended techniques and settings for your Canon EOS 40D, this book helps photographers of any skill level begin maximizing their equipment as soon as you open the cover!

The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter)

Scott Kelby

Amazon Price: $29.69 List Price: $44.99 Not yet published By: New Riders Press

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Editorial Review:

Written in concert with Adobe's development of the Photoshop Lightroom 2 Beta, The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers - by #1 bestselling computer and technology author, Scott Kelby - is the most complete and concise Lightroom "how-to" book for digital photographers of all skill levels.

In The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers, Scott walks readers through the basics of Lightroom use, leading them to a brilliantly devised and super efficient digital photography workflow that dramatically improves productivity and allows photographers to spend less time processing photos and more time shooting them.

Throughout the book Scott shares his personal camera and Lightroom settings, as well as the studio-tested techniques he's developed for his own photography workflow. The book is written in his trademark step-by-step, plain English style, and because he knows what really works and what doesn't, he isn't shy to tell you flat out which tools to use, which to avoid, and why. This allows digital photographers of any skill level to jump right in using Lightroom like a pro from the very start, sidestepping a lot of the frustrations that typically haunt those unfamiliar with new applications…especially those as powerful as Lightroom.

What really sets The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers apart from other Lightroom books on the market are the last two bonus chapters where Scott answers the questions, "In exactly what order am I supposed to do things in Lightoom," and "Where does Photoshop fit in to the mix?" Both chapters start with an on-location photo shoot, including full details on the equipment, camera settings, and lighting techniques. Readers then witness as he takes the photos from each shoot through the entire workflow process, to the final output of the 16"x20" prints. And, because he incorporates Photoshop seamlessly right into this workflow, you'll learn some of the latest Photoshop techniques for portrait and landscape photography as well.

If you're one of those people who learns best by actually doing the projects yourself; who learns best without all the complicated technical explanations and confusing jargon, and if you really want to start using Lightroom today to unlock the productivity secrets of "The new digital photography workflow,"---there is no faster, more "straight-to-the-point" or more fun way to learn than this groundbreaking new book, and you are absolutely going to love it!

David Busch's Nikon D300 Guide to Digital SLR Photography

David D. Busch

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 47 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Have you unpacked your new Nikon D300 digital SLR camera and want to get started right away taking professional quality pictures? David Busch’s Nikon D300 Guide to Digital SLR Photography will show you how, when, and why to use all the cool features, controls, and functions of your camera to take great photographs of anything. After a brief introduction to the camera to help you get your bearings, you’ll dive right into all the exciting, innovative capabilities of the D300 including the focus controls, flash synchronization options, how to choose lenses, and which exposure modes are best. Beautiful, full-color images illustrate where the essential buttons and dials are, and you’ll find tips and techniques that can be applied to any type of photography to help you take better pictures with your new digital SLR. Whether you are new to digital SLR photography or an experienced pro, David Busch’s Nikon D300 Guide to Digital SLR Photography will help you maximize your camera’s capabilities.

The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world's top shooters (Voices That Matter)

Joe McNally

Amazon Price: $34.64 List Price: $54.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: New Riders Press Amazon Marketplace: 49 new & used starting at $30.64

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Total reviews: 116 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

THE FIRST BOOK WITH ONE FOOT ON THE COFFEE TABLE, AND ONE FOOT IN THE
CLASSROOM
Joe McNally, one of the world’s top pro digital photographers, whose celebrated work has graced the pages of Sports Illustrated, Time, and National Geographic (to name a few), breaks new ground by doing something no photography book has ever done—blending the rich, stunning images and elegant layout of a coffee-table book with the invaluable training, no-nonsense insights, and photography secrets usually found only in those rare, best-of-breed educational books.

When Joe’s not on assignment for the biggest-name magazines and Fortune 500 clients, he’s in the classroom teaching location lighting, environmental portraiture, and how to “get the shot” at workshops around the world. These on-location workshops are usually reserved for a handful of photographers each year, but now you can learn the same techniques that Joe shares in his seminars and lectures in a book that brings Joe’s sessions to life.

What makes the book so unique is the “triangle of learning” where (1) Joe distills the concept down to one brief sentence. It usually starts with something like, “An editor at National Geographic once told me…” and then he shares one of those hard-earned tricks of the trade that you only get from spending a lifetime behind the lens. Then, (2) on the facing page is one of Joe’s brilliant images that perfectly illustrates the technique (you’ll recognize many of his photos from magazine covers). And (3) you get the inside story of how that shot was taken, including which equipment he used (lens, f/stop, lighting, accessories, etc.), along with the challenges that type of project brings, and how to set up a shot like that of your own.

This book also gives you something more. It inspires. It challenges. It informs. But perhaps most importantly, it will help you understand photography and the art of making great photos at a level you never thought possible. This book is packed with those “Ah ha!” moments—those clever insights that make it all come together for you. It brings you that wonderful moment when it suddenly all makes sense—that “moment it clicks.”