Gen. Photog. textbook recommend?

[Bobby Ironsights]

Hi, My sister is getting into photography, much to my pleasure. She asked me to teach her, and after muttering some things about aperture and depth of field, I realized my skills as a teacher are limited.

I don't have the textbook I started out with, nor do I remember the title, so I'm starting from scratch, other than knowing I'll give her Light Science and Magic for the second book she'll read.

Can any of you fine people recommend me a beginners general photography textbook?

Thanks for your time,
Bob

 

[Fred Berg]

Your sister won't go wrong with this: Amazon.com: The New Manual of Photography (9781405334761): John Hedgecoe: Books

or something easier perhaps: http://www.amazon.com/Hedgecoes-Pho...d_sim_b_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=0TQ3DW716A1H07487ZBC

Really, any book of Hedgecoe's.

 

[Torus34]

Learning to make a good picture with a camera requires learning things about both science and art. Beginners can be a bit overwhelmed at first by the mechanics of it all. I've found that it's important to focus [Sorry!] on the art aspects as well. Technical excellence is great to have, but it's ultimately what you do with it that matters.

So ... along with the books that take you through the mechanical basics, do add a book such as Michael Freeman's 'The Photographer's Eye.' What he says is even more valuable than the excellent photos used as illustrations.

 

[Overread]

The Digital Photography books 1-4 (sold in a set these days) by Scot Kelby - ideal for a total beginner these are easy books to read that take you through the steps - the first is very much just giving beginners some starting settings to work with; nothing complex just a nice easy starting point.

Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson - an ideal book that gets people into understanding the exposure and how to control the camera. It also includes case studies they can try which can help them practice and work on their photography and give creative ideas.

Light Science and Magic - 4th edition - the textbook for learning lighting and off-camera flash. Might be a bit much for now, but if she really gets into things then this book is going to be very helpful for learning how to manipulate and control lighting and reflections on a wide variety of surfaces.

edit - Torus raises a very good point. Most learn art and technical side by side in varying amounts. I would say to focus on the technical more so first. Get her to learn to control the tools she has because once you can reliably control the tools then you can really expand into being creative with them (the other way around is a lot harder because you lack the ability and experience to know what is possible and how to do it - it ends up being much more reliant upon chance).

 

[weepete]

Another vote for Keby's books. I read them when I was just starting out with trying to learn about photography and I thought they were great. The aren't as dry as other books on the subject and while we could nitpick about the content here or there they are in my view a good and quick way to grasp most of the basics

 

[Derrel]

I recommend the John Hedcoe books because of the many line drawings that show "the situations" as diagrams, which helps people to come to grips with the world as a series of concepts, of scenarios, of similar situations that apply across the decades. Hedgecoe's books teach people how to SEE light, and then how to find it, and finally, how to position themselves and their cameras in relation to the light, and their subject matter. His books are basically like having a master photographer teaching a student how to approach hundreds of different kinds of scenarios.

 

[Yzerwing]

I like this one a lot but I still haven't finished reading it yet. So far I have learned plenty and it is the first installment in a series of 4 or 5 books so there is opportunity to progress from here.
The Digital Photography Book 1

 

[WayneF]

I would add a strong vote for Petersons Understanding Exposure. Inexpensive, a quick easy read, but invaluable for beginners. Probably in your local library. Beginners need to start out understanding the idea that this is what it is about.

I would downgrade Light, Science and Magic, way down. No good for a beginner, and seems limited for others.

 

[Derrel]

I would add a strong vote for Petersons Understanding Exposure. Inexpensive, a quick easy read, but invaluable for beginners. Probably in your local library. Beginners need to start out understanding the idea that this is what it is about.

I would downgrade Light, Science and Magic. No good for a beginner, and seems limited for others.

Yes, gotta agree, Light, Science, Magic is not a very good generalist photography book in any way.There are literally hundreds of better books for beginning and intermediate shooters.

 

[WayneF]

Yes, gotta agree, Light, Science, Magic is not a very good generalist photography book in any way.There are literally hundreds of better books for beginning and intermediate shooters.

I am convinced that the less readers understand, the more impressed they are, since this must really be some book!

Petersons Understanding Flash is one of those. It is basically about the the GN mode (calculator) in some Nikon flashes. It is 100% about Guide Number, yet it never even explains what it is. You'd be in deep trouble without the right flash model. Yet, the masses think its great. I know they cannot understand.

A beginners book on flash ought to mention TTL, specifically TTL compensation. Yet Petersons book says TTL is sometimes less precise. Does not say why, or explain how to handle it, it just totally disregards TTL in favor of GN. Then it says, for bounce, just open two stops. That is really funny.

But his Understanding Exposure seems to hit the nail squarely, and simply. Not deep, but very helpful.

 

[Scatterbrained]

I would go with "Understanding Exposure"
Follow that up with "The Photographers Eye"

 

[Derrel]

I still think of Bryan Peterson as he was when he first hit the scene, as a young writer, bursting with enthusiasm, but writing very noobish articles in photo magazines that were dominated by older and much better writers...people who eventually were recognized as legends in the fields of both photography and writing. But, over the past 25 years, he's grown into a middle-aged man. But I still think of his writing as it used to be: very lean, very minimal, and frankly, not good. That might be unfair, but that's still my mindset as far as the way I look at his work as a writer.

 

[WayneF]

I think his Understanding Exposure is different though, and with an obvious enthusiasm which is good for newbies... It is certainly not deep, rather short and sweet, an easy read. Too many full page pictures where I would have preferred more text. But the writing is probably just right for this, and very adequate to hold the interest. It covers the most important basic essentials in the right way, and it seems to me to be the absolutely best first $15 a beginner can spend on photography. I mean, why not? I think it must be in most public libraries, it certainly is here.

 

[Torus34]

@ Overread: "Torus raises a very good point. Most learn art and technical side by side in varying amounts. I would say to focus on the technical more so first. Get her to learn to control the tools she has because once you can reliably control the tools then you can really expand into being creative with them (the other way around is a lot harder because you lack the ability and experience to know what is possible and how to do it - it ends up being much more reliant upon chance)."

Yup! Agree whole-heartedly. Thank you for the comment. You can't learn much about the art of driving a car if you can't start the engine and put the rascal in gear. The first big step beyond cell-phone pictures is probably getting an understanding of exposure, whether digital or film. Then, for the digitalistas, there's the huge number of options and controls available on even some of the modestly-priced rigs available these days. Guidance from someone who's been-there-done-that's a big leg up.

 

[Bobby Ironsights]

I would go with "Understanding Exposure"
Follow that up with "The Photographers Eye"

And that's exactly what I'm doing. Thanks for all the helpful responses.