Read This if You Want to Take Great Photographs (-)

I wish I would have found this book years ago. It's simple and straight forward in its approach to simplifying photography. Too many times I find myself getting tripped up in the nuances of built-in camera controls. This book cuts through most of the noise to get to the essential controls and the basic approaches to photography. It's a quick read, but packed with essential points.Henry applied to a photography book what most good/great photographers do to imagery. He took a complex subject, and distilled it down to the essential elements.

If you are taking your first step into photography as a hobby, then is probably as good as you could do. He will give you a quick grounding in the numerous aspects that make photography an art form.He gives you key compositional concepts; from leading lines and framing, to rule of thirds and depth of field. Really making you think about your photographs while helping you develop your photographer's eye. There is an excellent chapter on light which every photographer should be thinking about constantly. One of my favorite things from this book with the fact that the author includes the "tip" and an example of a well photograph that applies the concept.Also covered are the technical aspects such as the trio (aperture, shutter speed and ISO) and details of the various lens types and their differences.There are some stunning pictures throughout which exemplify all the points made in the book which I found inspiring. They were helpful in solidifying the different concepts in my mind.All things considered, I think this book is a damn good introduction to photography. Gives enough information to get you out taking good photographs without drowning you in formulas and jargon. Admittedly, further reading will be required as you develop as a photographer; but that is true of your journey into any art form.

Photographically, I'd describe myself as a barely advanced beginner. I've got a lower end DSLR and I've learned as much as I can about it, but I just haven't had the time to use the camera enough to get over the initial learning curve that comes with experience. I ordered this book in hopes that it would give me a kick start on some of the important topics and cut down the time I'd need to spend on the curve towards taking great photos. For the most part, it's done just that.Some specific thoughts:- The jargon/vocab level seems right on point towards the target audience (assuming I'm pretty representative of the target audience). Nothing too technical at all, but at the same time not so simple that it takes too long to go through any one topic.- The organization is great. You could easily read this all the way through and enjoy, but any of the topics are accessible by themselves.- Content coverage: the sections on lenses, exposure, and especially composition are exceptional in my opinion. Short enough to get through in a snap, but just enough info to cover what you need to know. The composition section has a ton of great pointers that would take a lot of time and mistakes to learn on your own, but they're presented here clearly and succinctly, with great examples. The section on light was good as well, but only briefly touched on use of the flash, something that I think needed a little more coverage for amateurs like me. The "Seeing" section at the end was a lot more esoteric, and seemed to be mostly take-it-or-leave-it inspirational tips for people looking to take more artistic shots. Which leads to my last point...- If I have one complaint, it would be that though geared towards the amateur, it still seems to lean slightly towards people trying to take artistic shots. I'm not the type who's going to plan a trip to my local park or abandoned railroad track to take photos as art for a gallery. I just want to take pictures of my life as it comes, during trips, family events, that sort of thing, and I'd wager that most amateurs are more in that camp. At the most basic, the fundamentals are the same, which is why the composition and exposure sections are so incredibly useful. It would have been nice to get just a little more coverage of less artistic and more traditional amateur photography.This is an incredibly useful book, with a lot of information packed in briefly and clearly. If you're looking to pursue photography as art, this is probably just about as perfect a resource as it can get. If you're looking to take pictures along a more traditional line, there may be some superfluous information, but overall, almost all of the information you could ask for is still in there, and it's very very good.

I can’t say enough good things about this book. I wanted to learn how to take better pictures once my daughter was born, so I spent a lot of time on Pinterest reading blog articles about it. Then I found this book and realized I wasted a lot of time. Everything I needed to know was right inside.If you have a DSLR, he explains how to use something other than your “auto” mode in simple, easy to understand language. You actually UNDERSTAND how a camera works.The bulk of the book is about composition, or how tot ale a good picture in general: Lighting, poses, general rules (and how to break them effectively). Each concept is illustrated with pictures. While you might think this part isn’t important, it absolutely is. In fact, it’s the most important thing you’ll learn about photography. Yes, knowing how to use your camera is important, but your pictures will stink if you don’t know how composition works.

Enjoyable read. Quick, easy and fun.

This made the perfect addition to a photography themed gift basket I made

This book is considered one of the top books for those who want to start or refresh knowledge about photography.After reading it, most of the time is just a compilation of self opinions more than a “technical” book. So, if what you are looking for is technical details it’s worthless

I've been working on improving my photography skills for the past several years...I'd say I'm an intermediate amateur photographer. This book explains how things work and also gives practical tips, with excellent examples in the form of photographs that clearly illustrate each area. I also have the versions that focus on taking great landscape photographs and portraits, and they are also great.

Wonderfully explained for the ones that simply want to take better pictures out of hobby. Definetely would recommend to my friends.

Easy to read and I learned a lot of from this book

Gillar boken, många bra tips.

Esse livro é maravilhoso, ensina tudo o que tem que ensinar. Fala de coisas técnicas mas não se prende a isso!

Really awesome book to easily understand basic photography concept in very interesting way using examples of iconic photographs by photography masters