The Digital Photography Book
by Scott Kelby
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Book Reviews of The Digital Photography Book
Book Review: Don't be misled by the overall rating. Read the 1 - 2 star ratings.
Summary: 2 Stars
I didn't give it 1 star for 2 reasons.
Reason 1 - I like quirky humor. I liked the douglas adams reference of 42. The dark humor relating to the profession. ect.
However, I found myself quickly annoyed by the running jokes. I've been known to yell at a movie I'm watching on tv things like "come on, get on with it!" This is the first time I've done that reading a book.
Reason 2 - The book gives equipment suggestions and what you can expect to spend.
However, this becomes outdated quickly. By the time someone decides to invest in better equipment, it will be outdated equipment, but hopefully cheaper.
The rest of the book is junk. Filler. The value stinks. This is an expensive book for what it is.
There are only two "secrets" of photography that are not secrets. And not worth [...] bucks they want for this book. Here they are. Use a tripod/bipod/monopod and a remote trigger. Lighting, shoot at dawn or dusk, and only at dawn and dusk, (or diffused light)
All the rest of the tricks in the book relating to composition ect, are common sense. And not because after you read them you say "oh, yeah, that makes sense" Many newbies will have these same concepts from the beginning.
I'm ashamed of buying this book and contibuting to the writers/publishers pocketbook.
Book Review: Beginner to Intermediate Book for great results.
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a wonderful book for beginning and intermediate photographers who want to know the tricks of the professional photographers out there. Although this book could be useful to those with pocket digital cameras, I believe this book is best suited to owners of DSLR Camera's.
The chapters of the book are as follows:
1. Pro tips for getting really sharp photos.
2. Shooting flowers like a pro.
3. Shooting weddings like a pro.
4. Shooting landscapes like a pro.
5. Shooting sports like a pro.
6. Shooting people like a pro.
7. Avoid problems like a pro.
8. Taking advantage of digital like a pro.
9. Taking travel & city life shots like a pro.
10. How to print like a pro and other cool stuff.
11. Photo recipes to help you get "The Shot".
I found the chapters to be laid out in an easy to understand format and each chapter builds your knowledge for future chapters. This book is also small enough that I can shove it into my camera bag or backpack as reference material for those times when I just can't remember which aperature setting or lens I should be using to get "The Shot", as Scott calls it.
Overall, I can't see anyone except for professional or advanced photographers being disappointed with this book. At $15-20 for the book you really can't go wrong.
Book Review: A good place to start.
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been away from "real" photography for many years, and rather than dust off and upgrade all my old 35mm equipment, I decided to jump in with both feet and go full digital SLR. Unfortunately I came to realize I had forgotten almost all I once knew (or thought I knew) about SLR photography. This as it turns out is an excellent way to get back in, or if you are new to this, a way to get started. Once you get past his rather odd sense of humor, Scott Kelby does an excellent job of making everything about digital SLR photography very plain and understandable. I love his use of "shoot by example" with his simple examples and explanations. Rather than lengthy dissertations about how a camera or lense is made, he simply tells and shows you how to make good pictures happen. Using this book as a building block I have been able to get a toe hold on my SLR photography and will now be able to build upon his teachings and begin rebuilding my photographic skills. Because I read this book before making any purchases, I was actually able to make several decisions on what equipment I bought based on information I picked up within the pages. I have already loaned the book to another neophyte, and have requests from another because of the excellent way in which Scott teaches. I highly recommend this book to anyone at the beginning stages of digital photography.Book Review: Must Have For DSLR Newbies/Amateurs
Summary: 5 Stars
I consider myself a newbie or amateur when it comes to photography, specifically DSLRs. After purchasing my first SLR a few years back I decided to learn some tricks by reading through the owner's manual.
Fast forward a few years later and I've managed to take some great shots with my camera, but I was looking for that next level. I decided to give this book a shot and was thoroughly impressed.
First of all, the book is a quick read. Each page covers a specific topic and the author is straight to the point. The premise of the book is that Scott Kelby shows you a shot, then tells you how to mimic the results using your own camera. If you're just starting out, this is exactly what you're going to want to know. I've been able to put some of the techniques to work and I am looking forward to using a few more. The $12 I paid for the book just made the price I paid for my camera worthwhile.
This book is especially great if you own either a Nikon or Canon DSLR, since Scott shows you the menus and settings you have to go through to take shots. Also, you get some tips on equipment you may want to look into and some Photoshop tricks.
Overall, the book packs a lot of information into a small package with some wit and humor. This is a must-have for anyone getting into digital photography.
Book Review: Irritating style, superficial content
Summary: 1 Stars
The writing style in this book is incredibly distracting and irritating, especially for non-american readers. It begins with 2 pages of gushing thanks to God, Jesus, the author's lovely wife, the author's lovely children, etc, then continues with about 5 pages of absolute drivel in a failed attempt to establish a jokey rapport with the reader. Then finally we get a couple of pages of technical photographic advice, then that's Chapter 1. Chapter 2 starts with more jokey stuff, and so on. I was ready to burn the book by Chapter 3.
The plan for the book is a nice concept: one photographic tip per page. While this makes it very digestible, unfortunately the small page size and the large font mean that each page carries very little information, so the text is superficial and disjointed.
I have read a lot of photography how-to books, and this one did not contain anything new to me. I found most of the technical tips far too basic, too general and sometimes incorrect or oversimplified. On the other hand, I think a beginner in photography would find this book bewildering because there is insufficient detail.
I would recommend The New Manual of Photography over this book in all respects.