The Digital Photography Book
by Scott Kelby
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Book Reviews of The Digital Photography Book
Book Review: Learn to be a PRO PHOTOGRAPHER in a COOL way
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a must buy book. I am not a book reader fan, but when it comes to Scott Kelby way of arranging the book flow it becomes interesting.
Personally I don't like to read but this book was pulling me to read every chapter and wanted to complete it in order to know what is hidden in the next topic.
The book goes straight to the point, it's like going to a photo-shoot spot with a professional photographer. When you have a question of how to take a particular photo, what lens to use, what accessories you need to use, what is the camera setting that your camera must be, etc. and need a pro to answer it, then you can simply take out this book, check the index for the title you need, go to that page and wala you will get your answer.
The only thing you need to keep in mind is that this is a practical and not theoretical book, i.e. this book will not give you what is ISO, Shutter Speed, Aperture, Exposure, etc. in details and what are the difference between them and shows you the result between each ISO setting and so on, rather it will provide you how to use all this in order to get the desired phot result.
In conclusion, my advice if you are new to photography and want to know the basics in order to be a pro, first buy a book that explains the basics of photography (such as: The Betterphoto Guide to Digital Photography by Jim Miotke, which I have and it's a very useful book), and then buy this book because as I stated above this is a practical and not a theoretical book.
Book Review: How you can get professional results with your equipment.
Summary: 5 Stars
I have enjoyed photography as a hobby for 50+years. I own a Canon 20D and am a Scott Kelby fan. He is a great photoshop expert, yet emphasizes the importance of getting the best possible shot when taking the picture, to make your time in photoshop more enjoyable. You don't have to work as hard if you make the correct exposure to begin with.
Scott approaches each chapter with some humor, and really understands what you really need is a clear bottom line on how to approach the person or subject you want to photograph.
I received my book Sept 4th, read it and used some of his tips shooting 500+ volleyball pictures Sept 5th. I think I can see some improvement in my pictures already.
He has equipment recommendations and shooting tips for the person that has just bought a digital camera to the person that uses it to make a living.
He has worked alongside of professionals learning tips on how to process the digital photographs and how to best print them. Scott believes photography can be more fun if you get results you like by using some of the basic principles used by professional photographers.
I have unhesitatingly recommended this book to several of my friends.
This is one of the least expensive camera related purchases that I have made to bring my excitement of photography to a new level.
I am quite certain you won't be disappointed, especially if you own a Nikon or Canon digital SLR.
I expect my copy to become dog eared from use.
Book Review: Might "Lighten Up" be a photographic term?
Summary: 5 Stars
C'mon folks, have some fun! Sure, Scott's humor is incessant and sometimes over the top, but his advice and writing is, as he would say, "tack sharp." I have several of his books and find them all terrific, allowing for the fact that they would be much shorter without all the humor.
For the Digital Photography Book, about half the ideas are things that I have already thought about or are parts of my routine, so the validation value is good. Most of the rest of the ideas and pieces of advice are really valuable to me. He says that the premise of this book is that he and the reader are on a photo shoot together, and he is providing advice on-the-spot. I found this a very useful approach. He acknowledges that with this book, he is not providing theory, just practice. It works for me.
There were a few things that I probably will not follow, but I found it worthwhile to think things through to figure out why something won't work for me, so additional value added.
If you read the reviews of his books on the Amazon site, you will find a lot of discussion going back and forth about his humor, and, somehow, I suspect that he enjoys this controversy. One of the great reviewers of Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, etc., Conrad Obregon, has some great reviews focusing on the content.
If you are not adverse to being entertained in an albeit flaky manner while you learn, I think you'll find this a valuable and fun read. Good luck and keep shooting!
Book Review: Better for the less experienced (and less gullible)
Summary: 3 Stars
Yup, I liked this book, it had some great ideas and some small tips that proved very eye-opening. I do, however, feel it should be read with a grain of salt (as should all things, really) because often it reads less like a tutorial and more like an extended shopping list. After learning from so many photographers that "It's not about the equipment you have, but more about how you use it," it's surprising to see this experienced photographer pushing equipment much more than important techniques. Sadly the basic techniques that he advises are somewhat... basic. Then some of the other tips (like where to position the camera when taking a full body portrait, a torso shot, or a head shot) really opened my eyes and had me saying "Oh! I get it now!" If you don't know anything about the rule of thirds or how to use the 'P' setting on your camera then this book is for you, however, don't run out and buy everything he suggests, and definitely read this book ALONGSIDE some more maturely written works like Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure;" one of Kelby's reccommendations which I thoroughly agree with (I say more maturely written because, sadly Kelby is one of the more annoying authors I've read.) I will continue to read the next two installments in this series, because I feel the next volumes may be more targetted to my level of ability, however I will do so with the same grain of salt, and strive to ignore his AWFUL (I really can't stress that enough) puns.
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Book Review: Decent info, horrible sense of humor
Summary: 3 Stars
This book can be quite useful as a learning tool for budding photographers. It is frustrating to read, however, mainly due to the countless time-wasting "gotchas". I was immediately annoyed to learn that he lied about the term "tack sharp" in the opening chapter. He said: "TACK stands for Technically Accurate Cibachrome Kelvin, and SHARP stands for Shutter Hyperfocal At Refracted Polarization". Now this may seem like technical terms, but it was actually all made up. There are countless, plainly stupid gotchas like this all over the book. Half the time you spend reading this book will be wasted on these not-so-funny, lame, jokes.
I also do not like the tone of the book. For example, the author simply tells you to shoot landscape only in around sunrise and sunset. (He then proceed to tell a lame joke about Joe McNally killing a person who dared to break this rule with a tripod). This may be the norm in professional circle, but I think a beginning photographer may want to at least explore during day time. In other books, the author generally patiently explains the different results from different lighting condition. While they tend to urge the reader to shoot during twilight, they also give helpful tips on what to do should you want to shoot in broad daylight.
This book is a time waster, go buy Understanding Exposure and The Photographer's Eye. Both books are awesome and they do not waste your time with senseless jokes.