Books on Photography

[pjaye]

Hi Everyone.
Since joining, I've learned a ton from this board. (Thank you!). I'm not sure I'm putting this question in the right forum.

I'm looking for suggestions on books about learning more about photography. Any books that have helped you in your journey.

I shoot Nikon (D80), mostly nature and landscapes, very interested in learning how to shoot people better. Not so interested in editing yet, some day I'll get there but not yet. I'm still struggling a bit with settings but working hard on it. I'm nowhere near professional and doubt I will ever get there. I've done some photo sessions for friends and shot one (disasterous) wedding. I had to deal with mother of the bride from hell on that one. I'm really interested in pet photography too. But the books don't have to be specific to any of this, general is good too.

I own DSLR Fundamentals by Brent Betz and Composition Form Snapshot to to Great Shots by Laurie Excell. Looking for other suggestions. Thank you!

 

[Designer]

I am still gaga over this book:

The Craft of Photography: David Vestal: 9780060144975: Amazon.com: Books

And even though I don't use film these days, I have loved this book for decades.

I don't think much of it will translate to digital, but you can find these really cheap now. I bought a second copy at my library's book sale for 50 cents. Just because.

As for recent books, I like them once, then I regret having bought them. My library always gets several boxes of books from me for their sale. Can you taste the regret?

 

[pjaye]

I am still gaga over this book:

The Craft of Photography: David Vestal: 9780060144975: Amazon.com: Books

And even though I don't use film these days, I have loved this book for decades.

I don't think much of it will translate to digital, but you can find these really cheap now. I bought a second copy at my library's book sale for 50 cents. Just because.

As for recent books, I like them once, then I regret having bought them. My library always gets several boxes of books from me for their sale. Can you taste the regret?

Thank you, I'll look into that one.

I know that feeling of regret. All my books are now digital (I have a kobo). I am a ferocious reader and pound through books. I got tired of moving them since I never seem to stay in one place long.

I have about 1000 books on my kobo and I love the fact that I can carry them all in my purse. It's also nice to be able to refer back to them if needed. I learn best by reading, rather than taking a course. I have some short term memory issues, I was in a coma for 5 days a few years back and it caused some memory problems. Having the books allows me to read them over and over until it *sticks*.

 

[TheFantasticG]

Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera
http://amzn.com/0817439390

Helped me a lot and I recommend it to all people who want to learn something about photography.

 

[pjaye]

Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera
Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera: Bryan Peterson: 9780817439392: Amazon.com: Books

Helped me a lot and I recommend it to all people who want to learn something about photography.

Thank you!

 

[rasmussen4]

I have to say that I have found Scott Kelby's books to be fantastic for beginners and intermediate shooters! A great set to start with is his "The Digital Photography" series. Volume 1 is SO accessible and easy to understand. He doesn't get super technical, he just tells you how to take great shots. I highly recommend it!

The Digital Photography Book: Part 1 (2nd Edition): Scott Kelby: 9780321934949: Amazon.com: Books

 

[imagemaker46]

Ted Grant: Sixty years of Legendary Photojournalism. It is a recommended read for anyone that truly appreciates photojournalism. It was released a few weeks ago.

 

[pjaye]

Thank you everyone. Looking at those books now.

 

[KmH]

There are a bunch of threads with essentially the same title.
Scott Kelby's Digital Photography Boxed Set, Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4, Updated Edition


The one thing that usually separates good and mediocre images is the lighting.
Light Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting
Available Light: Photographic Techniques for Using Existing Light Sources
Direction & Quality of Light: Your Key to Better Portrait Photography Anywhere
On-Camera Flash Techniques for Digital Wedding and Portrait Photography
Off-Camera Flash Techniques for Digital Photographers
Minimalist Lighting: Professional Techniques for Location Photography

Online:
Strobist: Lighting 101
http://neilvn.com/tangents/flash-pho...hy-techniques/

And for an online broad stroke at quite a few of the technical aspects one needs to know:
Digital Photography Tutorials

 

[TheFantasticG]

Please feel free to ignore my posts in the future as I'm sure I'll make the same grave mistake again. That you also for the list and link. Much more appreciated.

A way to try to stop that mistake from happening again is using multiple search terms on this forum, others, and Google. That usually takes effort, much more so than posting a new thread on a subject already posted on many times.

Have you decided on which books you are going to get after?

 

[Juga]

Time-Life Library of Photography is a pretty good series from what I've read thus far. It is more geared towards film rather than digital but most of the same concepts apply still. I thought Scott Kelby's Digital Photography book was good but lacks a ton of technical details.

There are a ton of repeated themes with threads which is why anyone said anything but the point of using Google isn't or shouldn't be discarded. Most online stores you can read reviews from people who have actually purchased said item which helps out more than posting to the forum. Some books aren't for everyone so what you will get here are suggestions of what worked for one specific person whereas if you search a search engine like Google you can read much more reviews which will be more detailed than a quick suggestion. No one means any harm...just trying to give some advice.

 

[shefjr]

I don't think anyone was "hand slapping". Maybe just trying to educate someone who is new to the forum. The forum actually has a search function at the top of the page.
Here is a search I just did for photography books.

 

[amolitor]

I really really dislike this "you could just search' attitude. You can always "just search", you can always just go to the library. Telling people to just do that is to negate the point of the forum. What are YOU doing here? Are YOU here mainly to berate people for not searching, or what?

This is a FORUM. We discuss things. A new thread allows new information to be mentioned, it allows a discussion to occur, it allows nuanced and specific answers to be developed. That's kind of the point. Yes, I know some people think a forum is mainly for swapping in-jokes with imaginary friends, and far be it to prevent you from doing that. It's not the only thing. Go swap some in-jokes, and let other people discuss photography and related topics in this, The Photo Forum.

Thanks!

 

[Juga]

I really really dislike this "you could just search' attitude. You can always "just search", you can always just go to the library. Telling people to just do that is to negate the point of the forum. What are YOU doing here? Are YOU here mainly to berate people for not searching, or what?

This is a FORUM. We discuss things. A new thread allows new information to be mentioned, it allows a discussion to occur, it allows nuanced and specific answers to be developed. That's kind of the point. Yes, I know some people think a forum is mainly for swapping in-jokes with imaginary friends, and far be it to prevent you from doing that. It's not the only thing. Go swap some in-jokes, and let other people discuss photography and related topics in this, The Photo Forum.

Thanks!

I don't think anyone really had the 'just search' attitude albeit for perhaps one post. Everyone that posted offered some sort of suggestion besides you.

 

[amolitor]

It's not just this thread, it's dragged out regularly. People posting silly lmgtfy links and so on. Search for "lmgtfy" using the much vaunted search function, for instance!

But you are quite right, I did not propose any books.

The Photographer's Eye, Szarkowski
The History of Photography, Newhall

are two classics everyone should own and look at from time to time. They will teach you nothing directly, but will teach you a great deal indirectly.