Book Suggestions?

Discussion in 'Photography 101' started by jbwolffiv, Dec 10, 2010.

  1. jbwolffiv

    jbwolffiv Member

    I am getting an Amazon Kindle in 2 weeks and have been looking for books to get on it. ; Anyone have any suggestions for books? ; Maybe a book any photographer should not be without? ; Or any book that you found to be super helpful? ; Is it the type of book that the photographs in it are a must or the reading is the real learning? ; This is coming from a guy (me) that considers himself more on the amateur side of using a dSLR. ;
     
  2. mSummers

    mSummers Member

    I have all of the Joe McNally books (The Moment it Clicks, The Hot Shoe Diaries and the Life Guide to Digital Photography) and they're all awesome. ; The Moment it Clicks and the Life Guide to Digital Photography both have great general photography tips. ; The Hot Shoe Diaries has great tips as well but it is focused on flash tips. ; I have one of the Scott Kelby books and I hear it is great, but I haven't read it yet.
     
  3. Paul

    Paul Member

    I second Michael's suggestions. ; I also really Like David duChemin's books since they focus more on developing your photographic vision rather than the technical aspects of photography. ; I believe his title Within The Frame is available on the kindle and that is the one I would start with. ; He also has several e-book titles available in PDF at the Craft and Vision store ; I've reviewed a couple of these on my blog.
     
  4. Scottwdw

    Scottwdw Member

    Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure (3rd Ed.) is a must if you haven't read it yet. ; Brenda Tharp's Nature & Outdoor Photography is a good companion to Peterson's book. All of the Digital Photography books by Scott Kelby which would probably read well on a Kindle due to how they are designed (sort of like a blog article per page).

    For something beyond techniques, David duChemin's Within the Frame will take your photography to a new level. I have reviews of Tharp's and duChemin's books on my blog. (Written while Paul posted).
     
  5. gary

    gary Member

    second the kelby suggestion, tharp is also good, just getting into mcnally here. but i have to fess up, i'm strictly a print and pages man myself, there's something right about the feel of a good book in the hands, like the warm touch of a lover, the rich soul satisfaction of a good read. well i'm a bookworm, what can i say
     
  6. RocketTom

    RocketTom Member

    I'm going to chime in about Scott Kelby's Digital Photography books. Well written, very practical (although you can ALWAYS skip the first page of each chapter. His sense of humor is, well, Scott.)

    McNally's books are amazing. I got to go on a photo shoot where he (and Moose Peterson) were leading the class. Watched him go from nothing to perfect shot (setup and everything) in 5 minutes. Including setting up the comptuer (shooting tethered). Amazing stuff. (And his sense of humor is great!)
     
  7. jbwolffiv

    jbwolffiv Member

    Re: Book Suggestions? A new Question!

    Thanks so much for the suggestions, I have been saving many of them to my Amazon wish list! ; Now for my new question, I was looking at the 3 Scott Kelby books (vol 1,2 and 3). ; I assume that they are all different? ; I should begin with the first one? ; Or should I only get volume 3? ; Thanks again for the help!
     
  8. ELinder

    ELinder Member

    If it's the series I think it is, yes, each one is different. You can get a package with all 3 books in it at a discount (check Amazon).

    Erich
     
  9. jbwolffiv

    jbwolffiv Member

    Thanks again for all the suggestions! ; I ordered 3 books yesterday, Peterson's Understanding Exposure, DuChemin and McNally's Within the Frame and the 1st Kelby book. ; I have a bunch of gift cards from students to a local book store and that is what I am using them on. ; Will look to get some other books but I am a slow reader!

    Side note: ; I love my Kindle but after looking at some photo books in B&N I decided that I needed the "hard copy" for those types of books.
     
  10. Im seconding (or thirding?) Understanding Exposure. I got Beyond Portraiture (since I love people pictures) but havent sat down to crack it open yet.


    The good part of being a teacher- GIFT CARDS!!!!
     
  11. jbwolffiv

    jbwolffiv Member

    LOL! ; I get a stack of them each Christmas and then again at the end of the year!
     
  12. You should see what I got! Nearly 400 dollars in Target gift cards. About 150 for Kohls and about 200 in Visa cards - which saved me! ; I was planning on saving those for a new flash or something but that was not meant to be. ; Had an accident with my computer so had to break down and get a new one. VERY happy to have those gift cards to help defray the cost a little. ; Yes, went with a Macbook again - once you go Mac you never go back! The 50 dollar teacher discount helps too!
     
  13. goofmick

    goofmick Member

    John, did you buy the hard copy of Understanding Exposure or the Kindle version. ; Curious how the Kindle version is. ; I just got my Kindle and excited about downloading the first book.
     
  14. jbwolffiv

    jbwolffiv Member

    I ordered the hard copy. ; I was in B&N and looked at many photography books and decided then that I would always get the hard copy for photo books. ; I love the kindle but I is not that easy to "pick up" a book and flip through it to find a particular chapter or page or topic (or I dont know how to do that well yet) on the kindle.
     
  15. jbwolffiv

    jbwolffiv Member

    Just picked up Kelby's first book, Within the Frame and Understanding Exposure. ; Now I just need the time to read them!
     
  16. Scottwdw

    Scottwdw Member

    I'd suggest reading Understanding Exposure first. ; If possible, have your camera with you and just the 50mm on it. ; That way you can see the effects he writes about in the book better. ; I'd save Within the Frame for last and give that one time. ; It has a lot to soak up.
     
  17. jbwolffiv

    jbwolffiv Member

    Thanks for the advice on what to start with. ; I was pondering which one, but that decided it for me.
     
  18. haunteddoc

    haunteddoc Member

    If you are at all interested in off camera flash, try 'Speedliter’s Handbook" by Syl Arena. ;
     
  19. jbwolffiv

    jbwolffiv Member

    I will keep that in mind, still working though some of the suggestions above.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

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