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The Exposure Field Guide: The essential handbook to getting the perfect exposure in photography; any subject, anywhere
No one knows better than world-renowned travel photographer Michael Freeman how important it is to achieve great exposure in each and every image. In this handy field guide that you can tuck in your pocket and take along on your next photo adventure, he shares his secrets for getting a good exposure every single time - tips that are just as relevant for the hobbyist and home shooters as they are for someone with expertise ability. Lighting, technical information, and creative inspiration are discussed side-by-side in this essential guide for understanding exposure - the most fundamental aspect of photography. Michael Freeman is the author of the global bestseller, The Photographer's Eye. Now published in sixteen languages, The Photographer's Eye continues to speak to photographers everywhere. Reaching 100,000 copies in print in the US alone, and 300,000+ worldwide, it shows how anyone can develop the ability to see and shoot great digital photographs.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 25, 2011
23 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
About the author
Michael Freeman
308 books126 followersLibrarian note: There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database.
Michael Freeman is a professional photographer and author. He wrote more than 100 book titles. He was born in England in 1945, took a Masters in geography at Brasenose College, Oxford University, and then worked in advertising in London for six years. He made the break from there in 1971 to travel up the Amazon with two secondhand cameras, and when Time-Life used many of the pictures extensively in the Amazon volume of their World's Wild Places series, including the cover, they encouraged him to begin a full-time photographic career.
Since then, working for editorial clients that include all the world's major magazines, and notably the Smithsonian Magazine (with which he has had a 30-year association, shooting more than 40 stories), Freeman's reputation has resulted in more than 100 books published. Of these, he is author as well as photographer, and they include more than 40 books on the practice of photography - for this photographic educational work he was awarded the Prix Louis Philippe Clerc by the French Ministry of Culture. He is also responsible for the distance-learning courses on photography at the UK's Open College of the Arts.
Michael Freeman is a professional photographer and author. He wrote more than 100 book titles. He was born in England in 1945, took a Masters in geography at Brasenose College, Oxford University, and then worked in advertising in London for six years. He made the break from there in 1971 to travel up the Amazon with two secondhand cameras, and when Time-Life used many of the pictures extensively in the Amazon volume of their World's Wild Places series, including the cover, they encouraged him to begin a full-time photographic career.
Since then, working for editorial clients that include all the world's major magazines, and notably the Smithsonian Magazine (with which he has had a 30-year association, shooting more than 40 stories), Freeman's reputation has resulted in more than 100 books published. Of these, he is author as well as photographer, and they include more than 40 books on the practice of photography - for this photographic educational work he was awarded the Prix Louis Philippe Clerc by the French Ministry of Culture. He is also responsible for the distance-learning courses on photography at the UK's Open College of the Arts.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 9, 2025
Very detailed, covers the entire spectrum
No pun intended. The author touches on virtually every possible situation where a photographer has the opportunity to choose camera settings to mitigate exposure challenges in the field. Some situations can be simplified by reframing the composition while others require choosing what post-process is most appropriate. The reader is reminded that capturing the best possible in camera exposure (in a variety of example images) should be the goal. Post-processing, when unavoidable, is okay. But reliance on fixing exposure later could contribute to “lazy technique” and is a potential waste of time reworking numerous images. Well done overall however one chapter was laborious for me (assigning low key/high key analysis to characterize examples). Also, discussion of editing software regrettably is limited to the most popular software from the era when the book was written.
No pun intended. The author touches on virtually every possible situation where a photographer has the opportunity to choose camera settings to mitigate exposure challenges in the field. Some situations can be simplified by reframing the composition while others require choosing what post-process is most appropriate. The reader is reminded that capturing the best possible in camera exposure (in a variety of example images) should be the goal. Post-processing, when unavoidable, is okay. But reliance on fixing exposure later could contribute to “lazy technique” and is a potential waste of time reworking numerous images. Well done overall however one chapter was laborious for me (assigning low key/high key analysis to characterize examples). Also, discussion of editing software regrettably is limited to the most popular software from the era when the book was written.
April 29, 2011
This is the compact, pocket sized version of Michael Freeman's Perfect Exposure: The Professional's Guide to Capturing Perfect Digital Photographs.
I have become a convert for the most part to this form of photographic exposure 'calculation' in the digital realm. There are some quirks, for me anyway, in the flow of decision making that result in variation from the step driven part of Freeman's method. That is fine as Freeman's work is meant to guide the photographer towards a uniformly successful product.
The large book is perhaps more useful to start but this smaller guide fits well in my photo backpack and has been pulled out more frequently than I thought it might. The large book I devoured a year and a half ago and found a lot new and useful ideas therein.
Think of this as a companion guide. Along side other works where the author/photographer Freeman showcases his approach to thinking about and constructing photographs this manual is the portable notes version.
Recommended highly for use with other books by the Michael Freeman.
I have become a convert for the most part to this form of photographic exposure 'calculation' in the digital realm. There are some quirks, for me anyway, in the flow of decision making that result in variation from the step driven part of Freeman's method. That is fine as Freeman's work is meant to guide the photographer towards a uniformly successful product.
The large book is perhaps more useful to start but this smaller guide fits well in my photo backpack and has been pulled out more frequently than I thought it might. The large book I devoured a year and a half ago and found a lot new and useful ideas therein.
Think of this as a companion guide. Along side other works where the author/photographer Freeman showcases his approach to thinking about and constructing photographs this manual is the portable notes version.
Recommended highly for use with other books by the Michael Freeman.
September 6, 2020
Very Helpful For Me.
Read
December 13, 2017Pithy tips on how to make choices about exposure settings in different conditions and for different subjects. Probably would be more useful to a reader with better working knowledge of the other settings and how they interact with exposure.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews