Digital Photography Pocket Guide

by Derrick Story

Digital photography has come of age. Digital cameras are now affordable, easy to use, and provide quality images that rival their traditional film counterparts. Interest among consumers and the technicallly savvy is soaring.Digital images are easier to share, and because you only print the pictures you need, they're much more cost effective and environmentally friendly. But the real attraction is far more human in With digital cameras, you're able to free your creative spirit and take risks that you shied away from with film. Your visual inspiration now flows from your mind to the camera to the LCD screen -- to then be celebrated, adjusted, or discarded for another attempt all together.The Digital Photography Pocket Guide gives you the tools and the knowledge to take the kind of pictures you've always wanted. Consider it your quick-reference photo mentor that explains each of the camera's components, shows you what they do, then helps you choose the right settings to accomplish your goal. When you want to ask an expert, "How can I get that picture?", simply pull this handy guide out of your camera bag, backpack, or back pocket, and you'll find the answer quickly.The book covers everything from image resolution, flash modes, action photography, close ups and portraits, to memory cards, emailing images, and archiving. It's organized by three key "What Is It?" "What Does It Do?" and "How Do I ...?""What Is It?" is a quick reference to all those buttons on your camera. It's organized alphabetically and includes many of the familiar icons you see in your owner's guide and on the camera itself. This section helps you learn the difference between the close up button and the infinity mode."What Does It Do" digs deeper into photo technique. How do you use those buttons and modes to take the photos you want? This chapter tells all."How Do I ...?" includes 15 professional shooting techniques and explains them in easy to understand language. If you've always wanted to know how to shoot like a pro, but were intimidated by photographer's jargon, this section is for you.The Digital Photography Pocket Guide is for anyone who uses a digital camera. Even advanced amateurs forget whether to "overexpose" or "underexpose" in certain lighting conditions, and novices will appreciate the clear explanations of the various camera functions. Regardless of your prior experience, if you want to shoot like a pro with your digital camera, this guide is for you.

Genres: Photography, Reference, Nonfiction, Ebooks, Art

128 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2002

Reviews

[Stephen Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book (although a little dated) for new users of digital cameras. Goes over some of the basics on cameras and equipment and does touch a little on actual photography techniques. Would not benefit experienced photographers.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

While published in several editions in the first decade of the new millennium, this O'Reilly guide is still a helpful book today. Unlike many other publications of the era, this guide does not describe in detail the specifications of cameras and memory cards that today would strike readers as absurdly dated. Instead, it focuses on general feature of digital photography still relevant for any point-and-shoot camera sold today.

If all one wants to do is take photos in the "auto" mode of one's camera, then one hardly needs a guide. The value of this O'Reilly book, however, is that it describes all the other modes, introducing the reader to such photography basics as aperture, ISO value and shutter speed. Understanding this basic principles will allow one much greater control over the result. The guide puts these techniques into practice by giving advice on typical environments like portraits and landscapes. The guide also describes how to edit photos on your computer, namely operations such as scaling down, sharpening and cropping.

Cheap used copies of this book abound, and an ebook edition is easy to come by. I'd recommend it to anyone with a digital camera wondering how to use more of its features. It is not meant to be a complete course in photography, but will satisfy those who don't mind staying outside the field.