May 102013
The Digital Photography Book, Part 2
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, s
List Price: $ 24.99
Price: $ 13.23
Outstanding digital photography book,
The digital photography handbook,
This is the most helpful book on digital photography I have seen in a while. Each page of the book has some scenario and a ways to work with is to get the best possible shot. It’s also covers many different ways to overcome what ever adverse shooting situation you might be. Kelby Talks about cheap ways to overcome situations. He also talks about more expensive ways to overcome situations. On each subject where he discusses a scenario there are usually multiple photos to show you each effect of each solution will have on the photo. Each subject is covered very well in about two pages. The photography is outstanding and in color.
Kelby covers all types of digital photography from portraiture to landscape, lighting flashes, different types of digital cameras.
Kelby covers using a flash, building a studio from scratch, shooting portraits like a pro, shooting landscapes like a pro, shooting weddings like a pro, shooting travel like a pro, shooting macro like a pro, pro tips for getting photos and more photo recipes to help you get the shot. All of these subject are covered very well.
The book is written in an easy to understand, easy to read and with some humor. Each topic is about one page in length.
I consider myself to me an intermediate photographer and I can say that this is and continue to be very helpful to me. I This is a must for the beginner to intermediate photographer. The book is small enough to carry in your camera equipment bag. This book is packed with information and extremely helpful tips.
Was this review helpful to you?
|Expert Techniques Made Simple,
This book truly has a brilliant premise and here’s how Scott Kelby describes it: “If you & I were out on a shoot & 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 synch. 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 & I out shooting where I answers questions, give you advice, and share the secrets I have learned just as I would 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 are tired of taking shots that are “okay,” and if you are 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 200 more of the most closely guarded photographic “tricks of the trade” this book gets you shooting dramatically better-looking, sharper, more colorful, more professionally-looking photos every time”
Table Of Contents:
CHAPTER 1
Using Flash Like A Pro
10 Things You Wished You Had Known Before Reading This Book!
Here Are Those Last Three Things
Pop-Up Flash: Use It As A Weapon
The Advantages Of A Dedicated Flash
Get Your Flash Off With Your Camera
Making Your Flash Wireless
Going Wireless (Nikon), Part I
Going Wireless (Nikon), Part II
Going Wireless (Canon), Part I
Going Wireless (Canon), Part II
“Drag The Shutter” To See More Background
How To Soften The Light From Your Flash
Softer Light By Bouncing It
Softbox-Quality Light From Your Flash
Tip For Shooting Through A Diffuser
Putting That Nice Twinkle Of Light In The Eyes
Why You Might Want A Stand For Your Flash
Mounting Flashes Anywhere
Rear Synch Rocks (& Why You Should Use It)
The Fourth Secret To Pro Flash Results
Using Gels (& Why You Need Them)
Using Gels To Get That SI Look
If You Have To Use Pop-Up Flash, Do This
Using A Second Flash
Controlling Your Second Flash (Nikon)
Controlling Your Second Flash (Canon)
How Far Back Can You Stand Using Flash?
How To Stand Back Even Farther
Controlling Light To Add Drama
Shooting Sunset Portraits With Flash
CHAPTER 2
Building A Studio From Scratch
Studio Backgrounds
Using Studio Flash (Called Strobes)
Softening Harsh Studio Strobes
Why I Prefer Softboxes To Umbrellas
What A Speed Ring Does (& Why You Need It)
Using A Molding Light
Firing Your Studio Strobe
Firing Your Studio Strobe Wirelessly
Using Contiguous Light Instead
Choosing The Size For Your Softbox
Why You Really Need A Light Meter
How To Use A Light Meter
Adding A Hair Light
Where To Position Your Hair Light
Testing Your Hair Light’s Position
Keeping Your Hair Light From Spilling
Which Mode To Shoot In
Where To Position Your Main Light
Using A Fan For Windblown Effects
Want Softer, More Even Light? Feather It?
What That Extra Panel In Your Softbox Does
Using A Pop-Up Collapsible Background
The Least Expensive Extra Light
Three Backgrounds For The Price Of One
Using Off-Camera Flash To Light Backgrounds
The Advantage Of Shooting Tethered
Getting Super-Saturated Background Color
Lighting A White Background
Which Color Reflector To Use
Where To Position A Reflector
Reflectors Without An Assistant
Seeing The Light From Your Reflector
Keep Light From Hitting Background
CHAPTER 3
Shooting Portraits Like A Prayer
Don’t Leave To Much Headroom
Shoot In Portrait Orientation
Shooting Portraits? Get A Battery Grip!
The “Sun Over Your Shoulder Rule” Is Bogus
Shoot Wide & Zoom In Tight
Shoot Profile Shots In Horizontal
Shoot Long For More Flattering Portraits
Why Diffusers Rock For Outdoor Portraits
Making A Better Background For Portraits
Trendy Composition Tip
Cropping Off The Top Of Their Head
Group Photos Are Easier Outdoors
Tip For Posing Group Portraits
Great Tip For Casual Group Shots
Don’t Light You Entire Subject Evenly
Want Better Portraits? Don’t Count Down!
Window Light: Where To Position Your Subject
Window Light: Where You Should Shoot From
Six Quick Tips For Fixing Facial Challenges
Don’t Shoot With Their Shoulders Straight…
Read more
Was this review helpful to you?
|Short Cuts,
A photography tip is a short instruction on how to do something in photography – “put the softbox as close as possible to the subject for the softest light” – without trying to put the instruction into any larger context.
This is a short book of photography tips that contains tips on using flash, studio photography, portraits, landscapes, weddings, travel, macro, and what should probably be called miscellany. There is a final section in which Kelby shows particular pictures and indicates his considerations in taking them. Each tip is less then a small page in length and includes an illustrative photograph.
Kelby is a Photoshop guru turned photography guru, and his images while nice, certainly are not inspiring. Be warned: many people are put off by his sophomoric sense of humor, which he displays throughout the book (e.g., the Committee for Creation of Complex Sounding Studio Gear Names).
I dislike tip books because they don’t put photography technique within a larger context so that the reader learns a principle which he can apply to any circumstance. “Give a man a fish….” might have been written about tip books. For example, in the space of a few pages, the author tells us to shoot portraits with wide angle lenses and then tells us to use telephoto lenses. What might be called a comprehensive book would help us to understand the considerations involved in making a choice of focal length for portraits.
Most of the tips that Kelby provides are really quite basic, and will be familiar to anyone who has spent any time at all learning techniques. (I acknowledge there is some value in being reminded about a small technique, although one could be reminded as well by reading a more comprehensive book.) Some of the tips are repeated, like telling us to keep shooting after sunset, or to buy a fast normal lens to shoot in dim places where you can’t use flash. Some of the tips are even contradictory, as when he tells the reader not to cut off the chin in a close-up portrait and then does just that later on. I particularly resented a so-called tip to buy a book that Kelby just happens to have edited and which I found to be interesting but not essential reading.
On the other hand, this is a book that you can pick up, read for a few minutes, and then put down. If you feel that’s an essential quality for an instruction book, this certainly fills the bill.
Was this review helpful to you?
|