Best books to start out with?

MML2007 · Mar 17, 2007

I've recently discovered John Hedgecoe's The New Manual of Photography. This book covers all the basics.

Highspeed · Mar 18, 2007

jepry said:
The Digital Photography Book by Scott Kelby.

I just got this book and it is not a theory book if thats what you are looking for. The idea of the book is that he is talking to you as if you were on a shoot with him. He doesn't tell you how shutter speed/aperture, etc work...he just says do this and that to get this shot.

If you are looking for more explanation on photography, I am taking an online class right now and the textbook we are using is called "Langford's Starting Photography, A guide to better pictures for film and digital camera users" It pretty much covers everything, and as a beginner myself I found this to be very helpful, and then try reading the Scott Kelby book.

http://www.amazon.com/Langfords-Sta...206466-9940607?ie=UTF8&qid=1173982155&sr=11-1

http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Photo...206466-9940607?ie=UTF8&qid=1173982200&sr=11-1

Hope this helps!!

I really enjoyed this book.

machangezi · Mar 20, 2007

billyboy said:
I've been unable to find a reasonably priced photography course in my area and have decided that perhaps the best thing to do is buy a good book on the topic.

Practice makes the men perfect! To get started with your photography you need to learn a lil about basics which you can find on the internet. After that it's all experimentation. The more you experiment, the higher the chances to improve. Make sure to take note of your each and every shot.
I started with a book, I can't recall the name, which seemed great. All the technical info was there, step by step. There was a great picture of a girl silhouette and the camera settings were also given. I was very happy and soon I popped out to get the same great picture using the camera settings provided in the book. Guess what? I was disappointed. I had no idea what I was doing. Just because the writer of the book, a famous photographer, took a great shot at certain settings doesn't mean it would work for my shot. I was lost, as lost as can be!
I hope you got my point.

usayit · Mar 20, 2007

I personally like "Shoot!" by Liz Harvey. Covers all beginner to advance topics in a collection of articles from various photographers. Not dry like some text books and organized well. It goes beyond just talking about the technical aspects of photography and does not drone with long winded chapters. Amazon has it and you can take a peek inside.

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Shoot-Everything-Wanted-about-Photography/dp/0817458697/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-8980668-1015820?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174400220&sr=1-1[/ame]