Books/Teaching sessions?

TedBundy · Feb 10, 2014

Hey guys I live in the LA area I was wondering if you guys could recommended any books(That are actually worth buying) or any photography sessions in the LA area. Im really interested in photography I have the Canon 60D with the standard 18-55 Kit lens. I would like to really start getting in to photography again. I used to shoot photos but nothing serious. Baack then I had a 20D. But anyways can you guys recommended anything?

pondball · Feb 13, 2014

Hi tb... Just a forum newb myself and finally getting back into photography after a few decades away but a buddy of mine recommended picking up Scott Kelby's 4 book series , the Digital Photography Book... And I'm glad he did. There is of course some redundancy in the series but it covers many basics and Is written in a style that is both very easy to read and understand (unlike some of the explanations found in this section of the forum, apparently for new photographers.

... Anyway he also recommended Scott's photoshop book for digital photographers and while I've only had a chance to skim it I'm sure it will prove to be an invaluable reference when I get my photos on my computer... See, I really am just barely back into it! I looked in my local bookstores which had some of these books at full retail but ordered them from amazon and they were about 60% less and arrived within just a few days... Beauty, eh!
As per videos I'd recommend heading over to udemy as they have quite a few either very reasonable video series or free series on many aspects of digital photography.
With very little investment for the above you should have enough background and confidence to search for more specific photography related books, vids etc.

JoeW · Feb 14, 2014

TedBundy said:
Hey guys I live in the LA area I was wondering if you guys could recommended any books(That are actually worth buying) or any photography sessions in the LA area. Im really interested in photography I have the Canon 60D with the standard 18-55 Kit lens. I would like to really start getting in to photography again. I used to shoot photos but nothing serious. Baack then I had a 20D. But anyways can you guys recommended anything?

Take a look at Bryan Peterson. He has a lot of books on a range of photo subjects and also a lot of short videos for Adorama TV. If you like his style than you know you'll have a lot of resources to pick from. I also like Joe McNally's writing style as well (the title of one chapter on speed lights is "Say hello to my lil friend"). But ultimately book and seminar recommendations depend upon what it is you want to focus on.

So what are your interests? What do you want to learn more about?

Overread · Feb 14, 2014

Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson is a good start for exposure control (ie getting out of auto/program mode).

The Digital Photography Books 1 to 4 by Scot Kelby are also a good series, although if you've had some prior experience you might find the first a bit overly simple (its very much aimed at people who just started). I can't comment on the 2 to 4 books as to how much difference there is in the advance.

Light Science and Magic 4th edition - fantastic reference book for lighting control and likely one that won't outlive its life on the shelf ever.