Basic Photography, 7th Edition

Learning photography is both easy and difficult. One of the first steps is to learn the tools of photography. Learning the tools of photography includes, understanding the basic concepts of what photography is. It also includes understanding the concepts that allow cameras to work as well as learning how to manipulate the camera to yield a desired result. I've taken several steps to learn and understand the concepts related to photography. The first is to take lots of pictures. When I was a kid going to basketball camp I learned a very valuable lesson -- if you practice wrong, you play wrong. The first step is completely worthless until you do the other things -- learn the concepts and get hands-on advice. The second step in learning photography is to either take a class or read about the tools of photography. It's NOT a good idea to pick up photography magazines, read a few articles and BAM, you're a photography expert. This book, Basic Photography, is in its 7th edition. One thing that you should understand is that photography concepts haven't changed with the introduction of digital cameras. Photography is the manipulation of light to create an image. Nothing in that statement mentions the word 'film'. In the first chapter, the author tries to move you away from the gadget concepts and get you into an understanding of what photography really is and how you can create an image that you have in your mind. What you'll get from this book is an introductory lesson in how to take pictures that you can imagine in your head. If you'd like to get beyond a 'point-and-shoot' camera where you pick the camera up, point it at a subject and push the button, this is a great place to start. You can get something out of reading only a few chapters -- don't treat this like a textbook, although if I was giving a photography course, I'd use this as a text book. You'll understand what the aperture is and how you can use it to take and alter the presentation of an image. You'll learn the various ways that a camera uses and brings in light. You'll learn how to focus the viewers attention only on the key subject in your photographs. If you own no other introductory photography book, I honestly haven't found a better one than this. [If you're interested in purchasing this title, head over to Amazon from the link on the left.]

Back to Book Reviews