Understanding Close-Up Photography: Creative Close Encounters with Or Without a Macro Lens

Disregard the 2009 copyright. This book is a well organized volume that will help photographers from novices to old hands. The book is filled with great photographs and clear writing. I had a copy of this years ago and I lost it. The book is just as helpful today as it was then. Read it from cover to cover and then go back a review parts that help you make better photographs.

Like many people buying books on macro photography, I'm a somewhat experienced amateur who recently bought a dedicated macro lens and feeling underwhelmed with the initial results. After looking for decent free content on the Web, and not finding much, I started looking at books and settled on this one after reading all the good reviews.I'm sure the author is a fine photographer. That's easy to see from looking at the photographs but I have to say this is arguably a better coffee table book than it is an instructional on how to take better macro photos.Like so many photography books, there just isn't enough information on how the photos were taken to allow the reader to go out and try to do the same...One mistake (and I don't know why editors let this go) is listing incomplete information the body, lens, and settings used for each of the photos. In some, he gives you the focal length used but since he doesn't specify whether he's using a full-frame vs. cropped sensor body you don't know specifics, and they can in some cases be important.There are two chapters about the "Canon 500D" but they're so hard to follow I ended up looking online to see what he was talking about. He starts by calling it a "lens" and later a "filter"...Starting out explaining what it is and then showing a picture of it in use would be a much better way to start off. I'm still not sure whether he's recommending using it on a macro lens or just other lenses.There is a lot of great information in the book, I just would have edited it completely differently. Show some great "classic" macro pictures, show the set up you used (ie a photo of the camera, tripod, lighting, etc.), give the exact settings, explain options, and move on to the next one. Flowers, feathers, surfaces, all kinds of interesting stuff is mentioned and his pro results shown, but having finished the book I haven't really added much at all to my knowledge of how to make my photos pop.

Peterson's books on Shutterspeed and Aperature are among the best I've ever encountered so when I saw this book in the soon to be released section I ordered it immediately. After waiting three months, it finally arrived and although I would not put it into the same category as the Aperture and Shutterspeed books, it is certainly a worthy addition.First, I'm not a pro but enjoy close-up and macro probably more than any other type of photography. This book strikes a solid balance between buying advice and explanations sufficient for newbies wanted to get started in close-up or macro and a few creative ideas or style for others with more experience.The emphasis is certainly on close-up above macro but with sufficient appeal to keep both happy. Ample explanations, nice use of comparative photo's and Petersons exceptional style of casual communication that provides insight into the shot itself.Also, he includes wide angle, fish-eye and other less common lens types outside of just the macro itself...for that he gets an extra star as it is a topic rarely included in most close-up discussions. Not every photo is of stellar quality - although there are some beautiful examples.Briefly, topics include equipment, depth of field and aperature, general tips, home studio, framing, magnification ratios, depth of field preview, and other essential information.To sum it up...a worthy addition but not of the same quality or caliber as exposure and shutterspeed. Newbies will benefit the most while more experienced users may pick up a few worthy ideas.

I think the comment on the front of the book pretty much covers it, (Creative close encounters with or without a MACRO lens). I started watching Bryan Peterson's YouTube videos about a year ago, which got me to take a look at this book. I would highly recommend taking a look at some of his YouTube videos also. If you want to be inspired and if you are looking for ideas that lead to other creative ideas, Bryan's books and videos are excellent! He also has many useful tips on using macro lenses, extension tubes and even wide angle lenses in close-up work. His focus is not on trying to document every single detail of how he created each image in the book. I think he is more interested in giving useful guidelines and creative ideas that can be applied to a variety of photography equipment.I will definitely take a look at Bryan's other books and I'm sure I will be referring to this book as needed. I have been dabbling in photography for many years, but I have gotten into it more seriously in the last two years. My current focus is on macro or close-up photography and this book and Bryan's videos have helped me to start getting the kind of photos I was looking for.

I would really recommend this book a must have for anyone with an interest in Macro or Close-Up photography.It is clearly set out and deals with a lot of the aspects associated with close-up photography such as depth of field, aperture, exposure etc. Stressing that to make close-up pictures you do not always have to use a Macro lens and suggesting alternatives. I have actually got a macro lens and love it but as the author says I have also taken very close-up photos with my other lenses and had excellent results.Good advice and a lot of different ideas for a shoot complete with lovely images to explain the text.Glad I bought it as it is an excellent book to dip in and out of, no way have I read it all yet!

Here is another wonderful book by creative photographer Bryan Pearson. I purchased this book for one reason only, I enjoyed learning from Bryan's other books on the subject. I hadn't even considered close-up photography until reading this book. As a result, I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about close-up photography and developing my skills using micro-lenses. Once again, Bryan communicates another aspect of photography with great enthusiasm and expertise. His style of writing encourages you to it least try with the equipment you already have. For anyone interested in close-up photography, this book would be a welcome addition to your library of knowledge. I like it and it has made a big difference to another aspect of my creative vision as a photographer.

I`ve just bought my first Digital SLR camera and Macro lens. I bought this book because of my interest in close-up photography and how different everything seems when its really close.I found this book very interesting and easy to read. The pictures are great too and the author explains how the picture was taken.I`m now trying to copy what he has been doing!Mind you, the author has been doing it for 30 years, so I have a long way to go.For me, its a book I will be referring to in the future, so its not a one-off read.

I have been an avid photographer for many years and decided to learn about close up photography, rather than just picking it up as I went along. I knew most of the equipment available but wanted a detailed review of what to use and when, with tips on how.This book did not do this for me, rather it gave an outline of equipment and a brief introduction together with some pictures.Perhaps I needed a more reference type of book.

Bryan Peterson is one of my favourite authors, not only for his in-depth knowledge, but also for the easy to understand way he has of explaining the subject. This is another great book and as long as he continues to write, I will continue buying. His videos are a joy to watch and any money spent is well rewarded.