What good starting book?

[ExpoMike]

Howdy everyone,

So I have gotten into a better camera (G11), up from the point & shoot level. I am planning to take some classes but would like to find a good, basic beginners book on understanding the typical functions of a camera. Things like F stops, shutter speed, ISO, etc., etc. Basically what does each thing do and how does it relate to the others. Also things like depth of field, exposure times and such. If it talks about composing shots, that would be helpful too.

What would you recommend? Thanks.

 

[tdesanto]

I still think Ansel Adam's book, The Camera, applies. His other books in that series don't apply as much to digital capture and color printing today, even though many of the principles do.

The Camera still applies today. All the functions you list are very well explained in this book.

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

Probably the #1 book I recommend to new photographers wanting to up their knowledge around the camera would be Scott Kelby's book The Digital Photography Book

There are 3 in this series with the 3rd just being released. I have the first two and read through them every day while sitting on the throne

Scott has a style of writing that makes you laugh since he's a major smart *** Its very easy to understand the technical aspects of the camera that most books leave you scratching your head over

 

[Ryanmb21]

"Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera" by Bryan Peterson is phenominal! I recently finished and it has greatly increased my abilities. The way that it is written is easy to understand and imediately applicable I highly recommend it.

Actually, I liked it so much I read "Understanding Shutter Speed: Creative Action and Low-Light Photography Beyond 1/125" by Bryan Peterson which was equally good.

I am now on my third photography book in two months, "The Photographer's Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos" by Michael Freedman but I'm not far enough through it to give a recommendation.

 

[CSG]

Because you're using an advanced point and shoot camera and not a DSLR, much of what Kelby has to say in his three digital photo books will not be relevant IMO. He also spends time on wedding, studio, sports, portrait subjects which may not be of as much interest or use at this point.

The main thing one should learn in photography is composition - the art of composing a pleasing image. Next is when you want to use aperture priority vs. shutter priority. The basics are simple to learn but learning to *see* takes a lifetime. For now, I'd put the camera on auto and work on composition. Stuff about f-stops and their relationship to aperture, equivalents, how to use depth of field, etc. is easily found all over the net.

I'd recommend spending time on the internet googling photo subjects (use your own terms) as there is much good info for free online.

This is all just my opinion but it's based on doing photography for 45 years now.

 

[ThomD]

The series I like for beginners is the Short Courses. Each book is taylored to a specific model of camera, so not only does it answer the question, "What is an f stop and why should I care?" it also answers the question "How do I change it on my camera?" It has been a few years since I looked at one of their books, but I don't think it gets much into how to take great shots - it is about the mechanics of how it works, not the art of seeing.

http://www.shortcourses.com/store/

Sadly, there does not appear to be a book for the G11 yet.

 

[99wj]

Probably the #1 book I recommend to new photographers wanting to up their knowledge around the camera would be Scott Kelby's book The Digital Photography Book

There are 3 in this series with the 3rd just being released. I have the first two and read through them every day while sitting on the throne

Scott has a style of writing that makes you laugh since he's a major smart *** Its very easy to understand the technical aspects of the camera that most books leave you scratching your head over

after reading the reviews on these 3 books, im driving to Barnes and noble to get them right now, i know, i am the worst impulse buyer on the planet

 

[photoman]

All this reading takes away from your shooting time.

Find a photo forum you can relate too. Shoot, Edit, Post, and ask for feedback. Accept the criticism- learn from the criticism. That is what I find works best. I have some books sitting on my shelf above the computer. I haven't read a single one.

I like this forum the most: http://www.dgrin.com/

Good section for anyone looking to improve: http://www.dgrin.com/forumdisplay.php?f=42

 

[ExpoMike]

Thanks so far to all the great recommendations. I am checking them out and will most likely hit a local bookstore to do some hands on time with them. Keep the recommendations coming.

photoman - I understand what you are saying and that is part of what I did this past weekend, just went out to shoot and play with things. Problem is, I will play with a setting, not get what I would like and have no idea what I would need to correct it. Luckily I am figuring out that if I have the setting way out of wack, it will give me a warning. I can still take the pic but at least it knows something was set incorrectly. I'll check out the forums.

If you or anyone else would like to see what I felt were the best shots I took this weekend (out of about 200 so far), check out my gallery http://gallery.lisaandmike.org/randompics

 

[photoman]

photoman - I understand what you are saying and that is part of what I did this past weekend, just went out to shoot and play with things. Problem is, I will play with a setting, not get what I would like and have no idea what I would need to correct it. Luckily I am figuring out that if I have the setting way out of wack, it will give me a warning. I can still take the pic but at least it knows something was set incorrectly. I'll check out the forums.

If you or anyone else would like to see what I felt were the best shots I took this weekend (out of about 200 so far), check out my gallery http://gallery.lisaandmike.org/randompics

Mike-

You might find the forums are an easier source of information than the books. Using some of the assignments linked above will get you to learn the functions of the camera. Direct feedback from photographers is also very helpful. That forum is very user friendly and people are willing to provide information.

If you have specific questions feel free to post here too as there are several accomplished photographers on this site. You can contact me directly as well. More than happy to help a guy get hooked on photography.

I'll check your photos when I get home on a better monitor and provide you with some feedback.

 

[ThomD]

On the subject of learning what works - learn to read the EXIF data in you images. This data is in every shot and tells you all about exposure settings, f-stop, shutter speed, flash use, etc. It is great for looking at 2 similar photos, one that worked and one that did not, and finding the technical differences. Virutally all image editors will show you this data.

 

[ExpoMike]

"Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera" by Bryan Peterson is phenominal! I recently finished and it has greatly increased my abilities. The way that it is written is easy to understand and imediately applicable I highly recommend it.

Actually, I liked it so much I read "Understanding Shutter Speed: Creative Action and Low-Light Photography Beyond 1/125" by Bryan Peterson which was equally good.

I am now on my third photography book in two months, "The Photographer's Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos" by Michael Freedman but I'm not far enough through it to give a recommendation.

Thanks Ryan,

I picked up the first book you recommended, last night at B&N. Based on the reviews I read on this and a few other books recommended, I felt this might give me the best idea of what I was after. I started skimming it over last night and even just reading the info on the captions for each picture, I learned more than I thought I would that quickly. Looking forward to reading this more in depth.

Thanks again! :costumed-smiley-007

 

[Ryanmb21]

Mike - I'm sure you'll like it! Actually this is a great thread because now I have a few additional books to consider. :victory:

 

[mickdaniel]

Photography by Barbara London is a good textbook and reference book. Also photography.pro is a good resource for the best photography books