# BEST BOOKS FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS



## mula (May 14, 2008)

Whats the best books available today about these subjects?
1. basic photography
2. advanced photography
3. studio lighting
4. photoshop cs3 for photographers

I know that theres a lot of books at market, but most of them are old and just reprinted, with no new stuffs about digital photos and new techniques.


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## Overread (May 14, 2008)

Well here are a few:

1) Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson
a very good book and often refrenced as a good place to start reading.

2) The Digital Photography book  vols 1 and 2 by  Scott Kelby
a pair of books that give simple info and tips on doing photography with a specific focus on digital. Note that the first book (not read the second, but its similar in theme) is not indepth and won't nessessarily explain all the details, but will give you good pointers to how to shoot - good place ot start

3) Langford's Basic Photography: The guide for serious photographers 8th edition

4) Langford's Advanced Photography  7th edition
Both of these are good books for people wishing to further their skills and understandings in photography


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## Yahoozy (May 14, 2008)

ill add The Photography Bible by Daniel Lezano
great for beginning tips and interesting information and techniques


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## MDesigner (Jun 11, 2008)

What about books that focus more on the creative (composition, etc.) as opposed to the technical?  Any suggestions?


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## Dweller (Jun 11, 2008)

MDesigner said:


> What about books that focus more on the creative (composition, etc.) as opposed to the technical?  Any suggestions?



I just picked up "How to see creatively" by the same guy who wrote Understanding Exposure. I have not made it through much of it yet but I already like what I am seeing, and I loved his other book. It always comes up in threads like this, and for good reason.


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## Overread (Jun 11, 2008)

Best way to get ideas about creativity is to look at the works of others - look at top photographers in the fields you are intersted in and see how they capture photos = that will give you some passive ideas and won't bore you with technical laws and details (ps all creative laws can be broken provided that you know what you are doing)

pps - you know what you are doing when the shot comes out right


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## Dweller (Jun 11, 2008)

I hear that a lot Overread, but that does not work for everyone. 

I have looked at thousands of photos over the last few years as I learn photography, trying to determine "why it works" and still struggle with composition. Sometimes learning things like rule of 3rds, golden ratio, leading lines etc can help you start to understand what MAKES a composition. After all you need to learn how to walk before you can see someone running and say "hey, I can do that too!"


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## Chiller (Jun 11, 2008)

The only photography book I own is.  
The New Manual of Photography, by John Hedgecoe.  Has everything, even photoshop tips:thumbup::thumbup:


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## Mav (Jun 11, 2008)

There's some books and a bunch of great links to check out in the FAQ thread linked in my sig.


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## christopher walrath (Jun 11, 2008)

I gotta throw my two cents in here.

Ansel Adams Basic Photography Series has a lot of photography information.  A lot relates to film but I would say that these books have a lot of pertinent technical information on the nuts and bolts of photography, the hows and whys of exposure.

The most informative for an advanced photographer would be 'The Negative'.  Exposure, The Zone System, lighting, filters, light and color.

'The Camera' covers gear.  'The Print' has to do with film printing.  But there is info on dodging and burning and other film based PS effects.


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## silversprej (Jul 7, 2008)

Concerning Photoshop, I've got about 10 photoshopbooks, and the unthreatend no.1 is Katrin Eismann ("Masking and composing" and "Retuch and restoration"). I don't really like Kellbys Superficial style - I want to understand things in dept. Katrin Explains everyting really clearly, and it's an absolute treasure for everyone who wants to expand their PS-knowledge.

Concerning photography, I really do like the classical Ansel Adams "The camera". It's analouge - yeah, but the major funktions described are still the same.


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## icassell (Jul 7, 2008)

I really like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Photographers...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215455610&sr=8-1

and this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Exposure-Ligh...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215455761&sr=1-1

I would also suggest haunting the photography section of your bookstore or library and looking at as many images as possible (picture books rather than techie books).  You can learn gobs by seeing how others have done it.


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## Ptyler22 (Jul 7, 2008)

I don't know if you will be shooting cars or not but I have _How to Photograph Cars_ and it gives you the "behind the scenes" look at how certain pictures are taken and it would probably help with lots of other subjects as well. I think it's worth it. Good luck


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## claned (Jul 7, 2008)

Dweller said:


> I just picked up "How to see creatively" by the same guy who wrote Understanding Exposure. I have not made it through much of it yet but I already like what I am seeing, and I loved his other book. It always comes up in threads like this, and for good reason.



Did you special order, or was this on the shelf somewhere?  I think I want this book next.


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## Dweller (Jul 8, 2008)

claned said:


> Did you special order, or was this on the shelf somewhere?  I think I want this book next.



I picked it up from one of the used dealers on Amazon. I got great service but don't want to spam, so PM me if you would like a link to her store.


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## MyNameIsChris (Jul 8, 2008)

I got a book a while ago at Border's by Tom Ang called Digital Photography Masterclass. Pretty good book for beginners and enlightened me a little bit on some Photoshopping techniques.


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## dhilberg (Sep 3, 2008)

I have a book called _Photography Outdoors: A Field Guide for Travel and Adventure Photographers_, second edition. It's by Mark Gardner and Art Wolfe.

It's geared for beginners and experienced photographers alike. It focuses on getting the most out of what you have, whether it's a point-and-shoot or SLR, etc. It talks about everything--too much to go into in this post.

I'm actually reading through it a second time right now.

Here's a link to it on amazon.com:
[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Photography-Outdoors-Travel-Adventure-Photographers/dp/0898868882/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220502165&sr=8-1[/ame]


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## undergroundquasi (Sep 4, 2008)

good thing you posted this forum up. it helped me out too


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## srsuser (Sep 5, 2009)

Going to pickup The Photographer's Eye soon. 
Thanks for the links guys.


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## Hardrock (Sep 5, 2009)

Overread said:


> Well here are a few:
> 
> 1) Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson
> a very good book and often refrenced as a good place to start reading.
> ...


 

+1 For Understanding Exposure. Just finished reading and is a excelent book for new photographers like myself!


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## KmH (Sep 5, 2009)

Dweller said:


> claned said:
> 
> 
> > Did you special order, or was this on the shelf somewhere? I think I want this book next.
> ...


A link isn't spam because people have the choice of clicking the link or not.

Amazon.com: Learning to See Creatively: Design, Color & Composition in Photography (Updated Edition) (9780817441814): Bryan Peterson: Books


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## KmH (Sep 5, 2009)

I would recommend for beginners, Scott Kelby's 3 book series.

Starting with: Amazon.com: The Digital Photography Book (9780321474049): Scott Kelby: Books


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## YPV (Oct 23, 2010)

Here are two useful books I have in pdf format. The first is "*The Art of RAW Conversion*" telling about RAW basics, leading RAW converters, and how to get optimal quality when processing RAW files: Deposit Files

The second is "*Master of lighting technology - Portrait*" by Christopher Grey, it's about how to set up light for portraits of people: Deposit Files


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## kelbow (Oct 23, 2010)

Just purchased _The Photographer's Market Guide to Building Your Photography Business_ and it's a great book that has a lot of helpful information about how to approach copyright violation, networking with other photographers, pricing, and even tips from photographers. I'd suggest this book for anyone looking to make a business out of it!


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