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Complete Digital Photography
In this thoroughly updated eighth edition of COMPLETE DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY, popular photographer, writer, and teacher Ben Long is your guide through the creative and challenging world of digital photography. In this book is everything you'll need to know in order to create great digital photos, from how a camera works and how to choose the right camera for you, to all the details of shooting, image editing, output, and workflow. The step-by-step tutorials included here offer great tips and techniques on improving your processes from start to finish; you'll learn about exposure theory, composition, lighting, complex masking, image adjustment, and much more. No prior experience is needed or assumed, and by the end of the book you'll be tackling complex photographic challenges with your own growing expertise. And the results will astound you.
577 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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486 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
November 24, 2014
As a complete newcomer to photography ( digital and traditional ) I found the author's approach to teaching both the craft and the art useful; most of the books I looked at prior to this one concerned themselves with one or the other, but not both.
The writing style is casual and easily understood, making it ideal for a beginner. The author covers the foundations of the craft and then spends the latter half of the book going over specific editing tasks in Lightroom and Photoshop. Software changes rapidly, but the descriptions of how to accomplish particular effects are clear enough that they should be useful for the foreseeable future.
I don't have any significant criticism of the book beyond wishing that came in two volumes; it's a massive tome and physically unwieldy to handle. But I also have some familiarity with publishing, so I understand the reasoning behind putting everything in a single book.
Overall, recommended for newbie photographers.
The writing style is casual and easily understood, making it ideal for a beginner. The author covers the foundations of the craft and then spends the latter half of the book going over specific editing tasks in Lightroom and Photoshop. Software changes rapidly, but the descriptions of how to accomplish particular effects are clear enough that they should be useful for the foreseeable future.
I don't have any significant criticism of the book beyond wishing that came in two volumes; it's a massive tome and physically unwieldy to handle. But I also have some familiarity with publishing, so I understand the reasoning behind putting everything in a single book.
Overall, recommended for newbie photographers.
December 22, 2024
The 9th edition of this introduction to digital photography is becoming a little old and doesn't cover new camera features or new software, but it remains very relevant.
The book covers most of the important topics and isn't too in-depth nor too shallow. However, I've been concerned several times while reading the more technical parts because the information is sometimes outright wrong. For example, the description of the human vision is completely erroneous on several points, which made me wonder if it was made up.
More annoyingly, the author doesn't seem to have a good grasp of some more fundamental notions of digital photography. For example, he claims that the ISO setting is one of the three exposure variables, along with shutter speed and aperture. The confusion comes from his belief that the gain amplifiers on the sensor work during the exposure and not after the image has been captured, which was true for films but isn't true for digital sensors. In reality, the 3rd variable is simply ambient light, not ISO; those amplifiers act on the charges left after the exposure, an important difference.
Sadly, I couldn't find any errata, and the book's website has been abandoned. So, while the factual errors won't stop you from learning the basics and making good photos, it's worth being aware of them and checking some of the facts in other books or online, since some of them may be the key to improving the skills further or choosing the right camera for the job.
The website associated to the book contains a few additional PDF documents or web pages, some of which are worth reading. For example, one debunks the usual belief about depth of field and shows the parameters that really matter. It's not entirely accurate, again, but has the merit of pointing to a video by someone very knowledgeable. One or two are missing, though, and I didn't get any answer when I contacted the editor.
The software put forward in the post-processing chapters is unfortunately Adobe Lightroom, which wouldn't have been my first choice for a beginner, but it's not impossible to transpose the process to other, more appropriate tools. To be fair, the book was released in 2018 and a lot has changed since - both in Adobe tools and what's available elsewhere.
In conclusion, it is worth reading if you're new to photography or if some aspects aren't understood yet, but you'll definitely need to complement this book by a more accurate source of information for several of its more technical topics.
The book covers most of the important topics and isn't too in-depth nor too shallow. However, I've been concerned several times while reading the more technical parts because the information is sometimes outright wrong. For example, the description of the human vision is completely erroneous on several points, which made me wonder if it was made up.
More annoyingly, the author doesn't seem to have a good grasp of some more fundamental notions of digital photography. For example, he claims that the ISO setting is one of the three exposure variables, along with shutter speed and aperture. The confusion comes from his belief that the gain amplifiers on the sensor work during the exposure and not after the image has been captured, which was true for films but isn't true for digital sensors. In reality, the 3rd variable is simply ambient light, not ISO; those amplifiers act on the charges left after the exposure, an important difference.
Sadly, I couldn't find any errata, and the book's website has been abandoned. So, while the factual errors won't stop you from learning the basics and making good photos, it's worth being aware of them and checking some of the facts in other books or online, since some of them may be the key to improving the skills further or choosing the right camera for the job.
The website associated to the book contains a few additional PDF documents or web pages, some of which are worth reading. For example, one debunks the usual belief about depth of field and shows the parameters that really matter. It's not entirely accurate, again, but has the merit of pointing to a video by someone very knowledgeable. One or two are missing, though, and I didn't get any answer when I contacted the editor.
The software put forward in the post-processing chapters is unfortunately Adobe Lightroom, which wouldn't have been my first choice for a beginner, but it's not impossible to transpose the process to other, more appropriate tools. To be fair, the book was released in 2018 and a lot has changed since - both in Adobe tools and what's available elsewhere.
In conclusion, it is worth reading if you're new to photography or if some aspects aren't understood yet, but you'll definitely need to complement this book by a more accurate source of information for several of its more technical topics.
October 7, 2009
Splendid read. Great coverage of the entire photography workflow from taking pictures to processing them in Photoshop to printing them. There's a good deal of information on how cameras actually work, how to work with RAW files, color management, calculating photo print sizes, etc. Pretty comprehensive. This book is a little light on the 'art' side of photography though, for which I would recommend any of Bryan Peterson's books.
July 6, 2009
Simply put - this is the best how-to book I've ever read. Plus, it doesn't call me a "dummy" in the title. It's a little technical if you're a beginner (which I am) but if you really want to learn, this is a great resource. I got a copy from my library, and just purchased it on Amazon - great addition to the permanent bookshelf.
August 6, 2016
This book is very appropriately titled, it is a complete treatment of the subject. It explains how digital photography works, how it's different from film photography, and it covers the many features high end digital cameras offer and how to use them. It also goes into how to process the images in Photoshop with many very helpful examples and pictures. I found this book very helpful.
June 26, 2017
Very broad general, comprehensive amount of knowledge is mentioned in this book. I really like the way author talked about the DSLR and its setting/functions. The part about Lightroom and Photoshop is pretty basic, not much outstanding things to learn. 3-star is suitable for this book.
January 7, 2016
i think it is really benefit for my future job, my passion. Anyway, i would like to say Thank You
August 29, 2017
کتاب بسیار خوبیه برای کسی که میخواد عکاسی رو شروع کنه
نویسنده از ساده ترین چیز ینی دیدن شروع میکنه به توضیح، درباره ساختار چشم، مکانیزم کاری دوربین، کار با دوربین، ، ترکیب بندی در عکاسی، تنظیمات مختلف دوربین، انتقال فایلها به کامپیوتر، پردازش تصویر و چند فصل آخر کتاب هم آموزش خوبی از فتوشاپ و گرفتن خروجی داره.
کتاب نسبتا کاملیه برای افراد آماتور و میتونه خیلی کمک کنه به ادامه کار عکاسیشون
فقط شاید ترجمه کتاب یه مقدار اذیتتون کنه!
نویسنده از ساده ترین چیز ینی دیدن شروع میکنه به توضیح، درباره ساختار چشم، مکانیزم کاری دوربین، کار با دوربین، ، ترکیب بندی در عکاسی، تنظیمات مختلف دوربین، انتقال فایلها به کامپیوتر، پردازش تصویر و چند فصل آخر کتاب هم آموزش خوبی از فتوشاپ و گرفتن خروجی داره.
کتاب نسبتا کاملیه برای افراد آماتور و میتونه خیلی کمک کنه به ادامه کار عکاسیشون
فقط شاید ترجمه کتاب یه مقدار اذیتتون کنه!
May 28, 2020
This is a very comprehensive and informative photography book, written in a very readable style. I really appreciate the tremendous amount of effort the author put into preparing this publication. It is clear he has a passion for the subject and wants to share that passion and knowledge with others. I highly recommend it.
April 29, 2022
حدود ۶ سال قبل که تا نیمه خوندمش به نظرم مدینه فاضله اومد اما بعد از گذشت این مدت و مطالعات جانبی و... دوباره بنا به دلایلی رفتم سراغش و خیلی با چیزی که توی ذهنم بود فاصله داشت
حتما باید موقع خوندن این کتاب از مطالب و ویدئوهای تکمیلی هم استفاده بشه
شاید برای کسی که تنها علاقه به عکاسی داره همین کفایت کنه ولی اگه حتی کمی جدی تر به این هنر فکر میکنید نه...
حتما باید موقع خوندن این کتاب از مطالب و ویدئوهای تکمیلی هم استفاده بشه
شاید برای کسی که تنها علاقه به عکاسی داره همین کفایت کنه ولی اگه حتی کمی جدی تر به این هنر فکر میکنید نه...
February 1, 2024
Ben Long went above and beyond to explain the world of photography to beginners. This book is a must-read for those starting out.
While it doesn’t delve into advanced topics in detail, it covers all the basics. If you want to learn photography, this is the book to turn to.
While it doesn’t delve into advanced topics in detail, it covers all the basics. If you want to learn photography, this is the book to turn to.
April 7, 2018
It is so hard to understand for me, and I hate this course....so it's probably just that and not because the actual book is bad, but I'm done with this.
May 24, 2019
Good book, but too heavily focused on lightroom
July 25, 2019
Lots of this book are Photoshop related. If you use Photoshop this would be a great aid. I can't afford it.
September 25, 2019
Exceptionally thorough. Highly recommended.
June 24, 2021
Very technical, detailed, and very helpful. I'm sure I'll be referring to it in the future...
May 18, 2025
Naprawdę super podręcznik.
October 23, 2010
Exactly what you want to know in terms that are neither too complicated or too simplistic. Includes explanations of EVERYTHING you need to know about digital photography, including some great Photoshopping techniques. I highly, highly recommend!
Read
September 9, 2008Awesome for beginners and intermediate photographers
June 17, 2010
This book was great for techinical advice. I learned more about my camera from this book than the manual that came with it.
January 6, 2012
Very informative, interesting to read. Explain digital photography in a clear and useful way!
September 22, 2011
Have 5th Edition. So worth it... covers photography and editing.
May 7, 2012
This book is very very comprehensive. It touches all aspects of photography and is a must for all beginner to intermediate photo enthusiasts.
October 17, 2012
Good for beginners.Not much useful for advanced photographers.
November 16, 2015
Eighth edition currently out.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews