The Digital Photography Book
by Scott Kelby
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Book Reviews of The Digital Photography Book
Book Review: A Good Book That Begins Beyond the Basics
Summary: 5 Stars
Since I'm offering an opinion (and review) on the book, The Digital Photography Book, I think a brief look at my background may give what follows a bit more veracity. I am an enthusiastic advanced amateur photographer with roughly 40 years of experience that includes a goodly number of awards and published photos. I shut down my wet darkroom a few years ago and have happily traded film and silver-based images for electrons, pixels and ink jet printing.
Enough about me; now let's look at the latest book by Scott Kelby (of National Association of Photoshop Professionals fame): The Digital Photography Book.
This is a different kind of animal in the world of self-help photography books. The author describes the experience of reading the book as having your good friend--who also happens to be an expert in digital photography--standing besides you while you're taking pictures.
The book lives up to Scott's description--complete with the frequent interjection of his quirky sense of humor. (Warning, watch out for the first page of Chapter One.)
I don't feel this is a book for complete novices--either in photography or in the use of digital equipment. Scott assumes the readers already know the basics of how their cameras work (what and where the controls are) and have used their cameras long enough to know what else they want to learn to take better photographs.
Another reason some basic knowledge of photography is necessary to get the most from this book is that Scott doesn't shy away from including the terms in common use by digital photographers today: ISO, white balance, focal length, lens aperture, etc. He also assumes the readers have the desire to move up in the ranks from point-and-shooters to at least competent amateurs. Therefore, Scott includes numerous suggestions about photographic gear he feels can help any photographer take better pictures--and, although he breaks his suggestions down by price range, much of the gear still comes with a hefty price tag.
A look at the chapter titles also confirms that Scott was not writing a teach-everything book for all readers. The 11 chapters include specialized topics, such as, Shooting Flowers like a Pro, Shooting Weddings Like a Pro, Shooting Sports Like a Pro and Taking Advantage of Digital Like a Pro. For me, the final chapter, Photo Recipes to Help You Get "The Shot", was the best part of the book. This is where Scott puts everything together and takes his readers into the field to practice what they've learned.
So, do I like The Digital Photography Book? More importantly, do I recommend it? Yes, to both of these questions; but, as I mentioned above, to get the most out of the book, the reader should have at least point-and-shoot digital experience and a basic vocabulary of photographic terms.
One final note. The book can be read front to back, or chapters can be sampled at random to learn just the techniques each reader needs. At the offered price, I think The Digital Photography Book definitely has a place in a well-rounded photographer's library.
Book Review: Good read for intermediate DSLR user, bad jokes aside
Summary: 4 Stars
It's obvious Kelby's book was too short and he needed lots of fluff to get his minimum word count. The jokes are absolutely terrible. It's a classic example of someone who's not funny trying to be funny. Hey Scott, leave the jokes to Deke ok?
This is an intermediate book. Advanced users aren't going to get much out of it, just a basic reminder of what they already know. Beginners are going to enjoy it, but they'll also need another book such as Understanding Exposure by Peterson.
One thing I really liked is he didn't waste too much time on basics, especially aperture etc. This was a relief. The second thing I really liked is it was written as if we were out shooting together and I was asking questions. I love this casual format and the book was extremely easy to read (I read it all in one sitting). He also turned me on to some equipment I wasn't aware of (the stop down filter, which goes from 2 to 8 stops is very cool until I almost had a heart attack when I saw the $300 price). He really stresses the importance of a tripod and shooting at dawn & dusk. I've heard these before but for some reason am still disappointed with my hand-held midday photos. I think this is a big one, because most people want magazine quality photos but don't have the time for it (myself included).
The section at the end describes why some of the photos "work". I found myself thinking I don't want to take a photo like that on several of them (he is famous for his photoshop skills, not his photography skills) but it was a good wrap-up of the basics presented throughout the book.
Finally, there were a few bits of information that I found controversial. Such as using f11 for portraits. That usually puts the background in focus. Another, he recommends a shredder to shred your old photo CD/DVDs before throwing them away. Wouldn't a pair of scissors do just as well? But it gets more serious: He states that "you" (the reader) will never be able to get the types of shots you see in magazines. And why is that? Because even if you get up at 5:30am all the good spots will have already been taken. And I don't think this was another one of his bad jokes. I found it very negative and discouraging.
Overall, I liked this book much better than many of the others I've seen but it did frustrate me nonetheless. I think it's helpful for beginners and intermediate users. Even if you know all of that (who doesn't know one should use a tripod?) it's a good reminder with plenty of examples. I think the book could have went a little farther and gave some really useful information instead of describing all the Epson printer models.
It's a shame, because this book really had the potential to be a 5 star
book, but it falls short. Kelby brags about having written 37 books. I would prefer a few outstanding ones than 37 that are just good enough to get published.
Book Review: This is a great results-oriented book.
Summary: 5 Stars
As Scott Kelby himself says on the back cover of this book, his approach is to share how-to tips as if you were out with him on a photo shoot. The approach is very accessible and easy to follow. I've read a few other books that were very helpful in terms of creating a good composition, getting a "creative" exposure, but Scott's book really helped me with some nagging questions I've had. For example, I got into digital photography so that I could photograph my kids' sporting events to take better portraits. I've always wondered how to get better sports pictures in low light and his section on shooting sports gave me the answers I needed and identified a "sweet spot" shutter speed and optimal ISO settings. Also, in a section on "Avoiding Problems like the Pros" he provides important tips such as the fact that batteries have shorter lives in cool weather, or how to change your lens and avoid dust, or other reasons the pros use lens hoods.
I've been very curious about the use of RAW format, but didn't know the first thing about what is possible in terms of post-shot processing with RAW vs. JPEG formats. I've been shooting in JPEG-Fine for quite some time, and I've been running into some problems with my shots related to over/under exposure with limited options for fixing the problem with my current software. Scott talks quite a bit about what you can do in Photoshop and I found it very intriguing. He didn't get into the how-to details surrounding Photoshop in this book, but he did get me interested in it by showing some great effects created in Photoshop. In fact, I've decided to buy Photoshop Elements 5.0 (better for a newbie like me...) and his step by step book on the product (The Photoshop Elements 5 Book for Digital Photographers - Scott Kelby) because his book appears to have the same no nonsense, tell it to me straight, type of approach that I liked so much in this book - at least that's what the reviewers are saying...
Scott also has a great section at the back of the book entitled "Photo Recipes to Help You Get 'The Shot'" where he'll show a particular type of photo effect, such as single subject shot of a flower, portrait with soft directional light and natural skin tones, or smooth and silky water and dramatic skies in a landscape shot, and tell you step by step what you need to do to replicate the exact shot demonstrating the affect on that page. It's really great and it's given me some ideas on things I'd like to try. For example, I want to try playing with slower shutter speeds for more dramatic movement shots necessary to capture people dancing, or a band playing a concert. He shows how to do this in the book.
Scott also has a great sense of humor. I won't spoil any of his jokes, but in addition to giving you some great advice on photography, the book is an enjoyable read.
Book Review: New to Digital Photography? This One's for You!
Summary: 5 Stars
Kelby's book is a great start if you are new to the world of digital photography. The book is divided into topical sections which covers each of the major issues surrounding photography in general and digital photography in specific. This book is not a lengthy technical exposition of optics and camera hardware; rather, it is a hands-on guide that helps us both compose and capture the best photographs we can from even our sometimes diminutive and inexpensive cameras.
Although the book is aimed at novices, there are some nice tricks and tips that even seasoned photographers may not have considered. But its main audience is the novice or mid-range user who simply wants to make sense out of the process photographers use to take great photographs. For example, we learn about aperture, shutter speed, and exposure, and how these three are related on to another. But more importantly, we learn what effect CHANGING aperture and/or shutter speed will have on the resulting photo. We learn about how to take sharp, crisply-focused photos, and what it means to say a photo is "tack sharp." We learn about some basic and inexpensive add-on hardware that can completely alter the quality of most any digital camera (some costing as little as three dollars), and as a person who as actually tried most of these suggestions, I can say that knowing and learning these things really can move your photos into an area of quality that is surprisingly good. Kelby's suggestions are born out of years of experience, and his ability to explain exactly what does and doesn't work is clearly demonstrated on most every page.
The introduction of digital technology to the analog camera has revolutionized how we view and take photographs. I, for one, could never get "into" photography while it was in its film variant, the process being too cumbersome and intricate (and expensive) for me to wish to pursue it to any degree. When Sony introduced the CCD sensor in the mid 1990's and made digital photography available for the average guy, I, like millions of others, started experimenting with photography for the first time. That means that there are millions of people walking around with relatively sophisticated digital cameras who don't know a whit about how to leverage them to take the best photographs. Kelby's book admirably fits the bill for those people, demystifying the process of simple composition, explaining basic concepts and controls, and then giving us those added tips and tricks that can really serve well on photographing expositions. To boot, the book is beautifully illustrated with full-color photographs and is reasonably priced. Use this book as a stepping stone into the larger world of photography. You might be surprised just how good a result you can achieve with a sub $200 camera using some of these useful strategies.
Book Review: The Only Book I Need
Summary: 4 Stars
THE DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY BOOK
The Digital Photography Book serves as a quick reference guide for beginners to intermediate photographers on issues from focusing to what equipment to purchase; from composition to the digital printing process. The book is relatively short and each point or technique that he discuses, only takes a page to explain. The writing technique of Scott Kelby in this particular book, makes the reader feel as if he were out on a photo shoot with you. As Kelby says in his introduction, he is giving tips as if you were a buddy of his out shooting photos with him. He is trying to give pointers for everyday situations such as weddings, people, landscapes, and travel. He gives almost 200 tips. Some of his tips are oversimplified and not every situation he describes can use his "technique", but his general rules will help produce better photos for the everyday photographer. The tips he does give can also be used for film photography. When Scott does explain a technique, such as shooting flowers, he does it in a straight-forward, easy to understand practical method without a lot of technical jargon. Yet, each tip has enough detail that I got a better idea of how F-stops and focal lengths affect my photos. I also learned how and what lenses to use. Not only does the book give shooting tips for special situations, it talks about aperature speeds, macros shooting and a page about sport shooting.
At the back of the book, there is a Chapter entitled "Photo Recipes to Help You Get the Shot", where Scott shows a particular type of photo effect, such as smooth and silky water and dramatic skies in a landscape shot, and tells you step by step what you need to do to replicate the shot.
Along with Scott's helpful hints and techniques, he offers suggestions for equipment that can be used to help make the photos you are taking turn out better. Scott talks about the equipment you need over and above your camera to get the shots you want; i.e, tripod, ballhead, cable release, and level. He gives suggestions from the most expensive to the least, even gives alternatives you can use in a pinch. When he does recommend new equipment, he is very specific about the band and model.
After reading this book, I have it in my camera bag and take it everywhere with me. I look at it at least a couple times a week. There is always a situation where I pull it out and refer to it. It is a great resource book without all the technical jargon. As a beginning photography lover, this is just the book I needed, but I would also recommend it to more experienced photographers, just for insight into how another photographer shoots certain situations.