The Digital Photography Book, Volume 3
by Scott Kelby
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Book Reviews of The Digital Photography Book, Volume 3
Book Review: Kelby does it again with a great book
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm starting to *think* I know what I'm doing when it comes to photography. I took that as a sign that I should go back to basics and learn from ground zero. I know from previous experience that Scott Kelby writes really impressive books (his Lightroom book, for example, is awesome), and this continues the same tradition.
The problem with learning photography in general is that it's intimidating. Most books will describe esoteric theory, and that drives most people nuts. If I'm any representation of a normal photographer, I'll look at a photo and go "that's awesome - how did they do that?" and want a nice example without having to dive into theory and other things. I just want to take the best pics possible that I can with what I have.
The layout of the book is rather simple - like a cookbook. There's a great photo, and then a description of how that photo was taken. The strength of each example is that it's not only easy to follow, but it explains enough theory for you to understand concepts and apply that in other situations. Most books don't do that - they'll tend to lose you on specifics.
Kelby's books are written with the beginner in mind and would even reach into those with intermediate skills. I don't think that seasoned professionals would learn much from these books, but they're worth their weight in gold. The Digital Photography book series is what I recommend to those who are interested in doing more with their cameras and photos. Not all of us can be professional photographers, but we can make our images look better than they are now.
Book Review: New DSLR student rates Scott's books
Summary: 5 Stars
I want to send you hugs, for great work, Scott Kelby! I just cannot express well enough the benefit I have gotten from each of the three of Scott's books called "The Digital Photography Book" Vol. 1, Vol. 2, and Volume 3. In Volume 1, I got my camera still, and got my finger off the shutter, and began shooting flowers, people and landscapes, and studied ISO changes, why shooting low ISO is great...
Volume 2 was light, flash, diffusers, people photography, flower macros and much more such as: When is the best time of day to shoot landscapes and to take outdoor portrait shots?
I enjoyed these two volumes so much, I had to buy a set for my nephew, a photographer who uses a Nikon D3 and has taken great photographs in our National Parks. He inspires me and Scott Kelby inspires both of us...
Scott's Vol 3 of The Digital Photography Book visited subjects like such as flash, studio photography, backgrounds for studios, studio lighting, grid spots, when to use a laptop, backup devices, when to use a particular lens, the correct way to change a lens, prime lenses vs. zoom lens, and just all the more topics needed by any level of photographer.. I would honestly recommend that you buy all three volumes of The Digital Photography Book. Then make your favorite photographer happy with a gift of any one or more of the volumes... I am so amazed at how much these books have improved my choice of exposure, (including aperature, shutter speed and ISO), but the improvement in my lighting, sun angle, depth of field, knowledge of lenses and ad infinitum. Cheers, Scott!
Book Review: Decent book, but not for those who already own first 2 volumes
Summary: 2 Stars
First of all, if you already own or have read the first 2 volumes, this book is not for you. A lot of the material is recycled from the first 2 books. The little truly new information this book does contain is quite a bit less profound than those contained in the first 2 books. So if you have those 2, skip this one.
If you have never read vol. 1 & 2, this book is probably still not ideal. It constantly refers back to those 2 books, which make it quite annoying to read and not very comprehensive. You kind of have to read the other 2 books to get the whole picture, but then again, if you have the other 2, there is no point to get this one.
Unlikely the first 2 books, many tips included in this book are completely trivial. They served no purpose and were probably put in just to make the book thick enough to justify its selling price. The author tells you, for example, to always download the latest firmware, or to format your SD card before first use, etc. There are common sense stuff, everyone who has been around for the last decade or so should have known this already.
This book contains little or no useful information. If you already own the author's other books, you can safely skip this one. If this is your first photography book, I would suggest that you look for a book by another author or get vol. 1.
Book Review: Volume three, a good addition
Summary: 5 Stars
If you're considering your first Scott Kelby, How to take great photos book, then this one isn't for you. Go and buy volume 1, then when you've finished that grab Volume 2. This is the logical third volume. It is packed with simple advice given as if you were sitting with Scott and he's known you for ever. He writes as if he's talking to a friend, which seems from every other book he's written, is his style. It may not work for everyone but it does work for me.
This book is broken into areas logically that are easy to navigate, he recommends good equipment, and good technique too.
One thing I do like especially from an Adobe Photoshop expert is that he still preaches to get it right in the camera, something that was taught back in the old film days.
The book includes online addresses to watch video tutorials which too are very handy.
This book would be a great gift for the budding photographer who doesn't want to read a 300 page how to book, and would prefer to be able to find the page telling him how to do something, or show him [or her] what they're doing wrong and how to nail their photos like a professional.
Will I buy volume 4 when he writes it? Probably!
Book Review: Third Book is the Worst
Summary: 3 Stars
I thoroughly enjoyed the first in the series. The second book was even better. But, the third book seemed a bit forced.
The author's goal of building upon each book was true in some sections. But, an entire chapter dedicated to lenses in the third volume was definitely something that seemed beneath me. The section on product photography was also 20 or so pages telling the same story. How to format a memory card, the importance of firmware updates, etc. all seem like Volume 1 material, not Volume 3.
There are many different times in the book that Scott Kelby references his website for more information, which makes me wonder if this book was more of a vehicle for his website. Why not just include the information in the book instead of making me put a book down and going off to some URL.
That said, the entire 3 part series are still a wonderful selection, and on their own make you an expert in any type of situation. I'm sure the author, if he knew that these books would be so succesful, would have indexed them differently. But, I already felt like an expert after volume 2, and felt like I didn't learn very much from volume 3.