Get the Photos Others Can't

This book contains a series of interesting photographs by various photographers, hence a second star. Most of the photographs are matched with each photographer's brief description of how the image came to exist, or some historical information. On this slight framework, the author attempts to develop principles for making better photographs. "Immerse yourself!" "Put the camera down!" etc. I can't imagine who would benefit from these "principles." Even the rankest amateur, like me, would struggle to find value. I gave my copy to the local library. I suggest you pass on it.

I bought this book for my dad for Christmas after he has recently become really into photography. He said that this book had so many useful golden nuggets in, particularly when you’re starting out in the photography world.

The author relies to heavily upon his own life experiences for this book to be really helpful to amateur photographers. He talks about using guides and go betweens to help get the great shot, however for most people this would cost far too much. For most good photographs you have to be in the right place at the right time.

Michael Freeman has produced some excellent books and I'm a fan - books like The Photographers Eye and Photographers Mind are great introductions to anyone taking up photography more seriously. There's little to object to in what is said here - beyond that much is rather obvious (you have to work hard at it and become a little obsessed to 'do well') and much is pretty irrelevant to many enthusiast photographers (hiring a fixer or local guide/making use of good social connections). Those who are competitive - and the (awful) title would seem to indicate that this is a target audience, will not find a great deal new for them here. So a disappointment - I returned it.