Best Photography Books

TheInformer · Nov 28, 2011

So I am looking to expand my knowledge about photography and just get better overall. I found this list of books reccomended on this website. Has anyone purchased any of the following? What did you think?

MLeeK · Nov 28, 2011

ANYTHING by Bryan Peterson is great. That is probably the #1 recommended photography book on the market. Excellent choice.
The posing one I can't tell you about

The Neil Van N book-excellent!!! Both of his flash books are excellent.

Digital Photography 1-4 by Scott Kelby can be found in a boxed set. Great books for beginners.
The Moment it Clicks by Joe McNally

pharmakon · Nov 28, 2011

+1 for Bryan Peterson books.

The Scott Kelby series MLeeK recommended is good as well, I have 1 and 2 and they were a good jump start for me when I was just getting into photography.

Don't know about the posing book, but if you end up getting it please come back and post your thoughts as I might get one in the near future.

Learned everything I know about flash here on this forum and at the strobist "lighting 101" blog. The strobist guy (David hobby) also published a free e-book that might be worth a look.

joealcantar · Nov 28, 2011

Calumet, Adorama , B&H have seminars as well, sometimes for the same price of a book.
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Shoot well, Joe

thierry · Nov 29, 2011

Yes, all those books I wouldhighly reccomend!

luisro · Nov 29, 2011

Personally i have read The Digital Photography Book by Scott Kelby and i can tell you its a great book. His explanations are nice and clean. Great book for overall.

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PhotoJosh · Nov 29, 2011

Hey, I actually put together a selection of photography books that I recommend, but if there was only one book on the list that you could buy, it would definitely be 'The Photographer's Eye' by Michael Freeman. It covers composition beautifully. » Top 20 Photography Books » Expert Photography

TheInformer · Nov 30, 2011

Yea i agree definetly!

Big Mike · Nov 30, 2011

It is true that 'Understanding Exposure' is probably the most recommended photography book (on photography forums anyway). I'm sure it's got lots of great information it in, but I've also heard or seen things from it, that I don't necessarily agree with. That doesn't mean that it's wrong...but I think that the teaching method used isn't the best approach.
To be fair, I haven't read the book myself.

I like Scott Kelby. I haven't read any of his books...but many people have. I think he's the highest selling author in the genre of software (maybe photography as well). The one thing that I've heard several times, is that his teachings (whether books, videos, tutorials, seminars) are too 'tip based'. He gives you little tips, which are great and easy to read...but they don't really teaching you the underlying principles involved. But hey, this is photography (& digital editing), not brain surgery....it's not imperative that everyone understand the principles, as long as they can get the result that they want (or close to it).

One that is certainly on my 'to read' list is 'Light: Science & Magic'. I think it's a lot more technical than most of the others on that list...but the principles in there will apply to all types of photography.

fjrabon · Nov 30, 2011

I've read and really liked the Scott Kelby - The Digital Photography Book vol 1-3 (bought them as a set of ebooks, actually). Highly recommended. Basically gives you the down and dirty on how to do technical things. Kelby isn't a great photographer by any means, but he is an excellent technical photographer who knows what he's talking about. He's just not very creative. These books teach you how to do techniques, and they're very clear about that.

I also really liked the photographer's eye and the photographer's mind by Michael Freeman. Probably the best books on composition and style out there. THough they won't give you crisp, neat little rules to follow (which is a recipe for boring photos anyway). Freeman is an excellent photographer, who manages to be both creative, while still having a strong sense of composing. He is also better than anyone who is good at composing pictures at explaining why they work.

fjrabon · Nov 30, 2011

Big Mike said:
I like Scott Kelby. I haven't read any of his books...but many people have. I think he's the highest selling author in the genre of software (maybe photography as well). The one thing that I've heard several times, is that his teachings (whether books, videos, tutorials, seminars) are too 'tip based'. He gives you little tips, which are great and easy to read...but they don't really teaching you the underlying principles involved. But hey, this is photography (& digital editing), not brain surgery....it's not imperative that everyone understand the principles, as long as they can get the result that they want (or close to it).

Kelby is also very straight forward about that. He correctly states that there are a million books you can buy that explain the theory behind exposure and the like. But a lot of newbies read those other books and are left saying "okay, I guess I theoretically know how this works now, but how do I take this photo?" If you know what the Kelby series is doing, it's great, but they definitely shouldn't be the only photography books you read.

bazooka · Nov 30, 2011

#1 - Have not read.
#2 - Read, learned a lot, but I wouldn't say it's a great book.
#3 - Have not read.
#4 - Have not read.
#5 - Have not read.
#6 - Have not read
#7 - Quite technical, great if you are learning technical lighting. Perfect if you have advanced beyond Lighting 101 at strobist.com...
#8 - Excellent.
#9 - It's been a while and I can't look at it right now, so can't remember what I thought of it.
#10 - Have not read.

TheInformer · Nov 30, 2011

bazooka said:
#1 - Have not read.
#2 - Read, learned a lot, but I wouldn't say it's a great book.
#3 - Have not read.
#4 - Have not read.
#5 - Have not read.
#6 - Have not read
#7 - Quite technical, great if you are learning technical lighting. Perfect if you have advanced beyond Lighting 101 at strobist.com...
#8 - Excellent.
#9 - It's been a while and I can't look at it right now, so can't remember what I thought of it.
#10 - Have not read.

Thank you for your review! Im hoping this thread can help a lot of other people in my situation as well!

Ysarex · Nov 30, 2011

Big Mike said:
It is true that 'Understanding Exposure' is probably the most recommended photography book (on photography forums anyway). I'm sure it's got lots of great information it in, but I've also heard or seen things from it, that I don't necessarily agree with. That doesn't mean that it's wrong...but I think that the teaching method used isn't the best approach.
To be fair, I haven't read the book myself.

I have read it and I'll be happy to say that it is wrong. After seeing Understanding Exposure recommended so frequently here I picked up a copy. I read it and threw it in the dumpster. I think it's an overall positive book for beginners, but it does contain serious errors. Photography can get a little technical and there's a tendency when trying to explain more technical subjects to beginners to oversimplify to the point of using generalities that in the end are wrong. For example, DOF distributes unequally around the plane of focus with more DOF in the back and less in the front. Precisely how that works gets a little complicated so I imagine a long time ago someone was trying to explain this to an art major and just got exasperated and said, "just think 1/3 front and 2/3 back." Understanding Exposure does that kind of stuff. In fact it hands out that silly 1/3 front 2/3 back DOF rule which is fact fallacious.

Understanding Exposure can help a beginner get up and running and help them grasp the key concepts well. Given that I can endorse it. But it's a real shame that, if they read it carefully and really get serious about photography later, they'll have material to re-learn.

Joe

thierry · Dec 1, 2011

Ysarex said:
Big Mike said:

It is true that 'Understanding Exposure' is probably the most recommended photography book (on photography forums anyway). I'm sure it's got lots of great information it in, but I've also heard or seen things from it, that I don't necessarily agree with. That doesn't mean that it's wrong...but I think that the teaching method used isn't the best approach.
To be fair, I haven't read the book myself.

Click to expand...

I have read it and I'll be happy to say that it is wrong. After seeing Understanding Exposure recommended so frequently here I picked up a copy. I read it and threw it in the dumpster. I think it's an overall positive book for beginners, but it does contain serious errors. Photography can get a little technical and there's a tendency when trying to explain more technical subjects to beginners to oversimplify to the point of using generalities that in the end are wrong. For example, DOF distributes unequally around the plane of focus with more DOF in the back and less in the front. Precisely how that works gets a little complicated so I imagine a long time ago someone was trying to explain this to an art major and just got exasperated and said, "just think 1/3 front and 2/3 back." Understanding Exposure does that kind of stuff. In fact it hands out that silly 1/3 front 2/3 back DOF rule which is fact fallacious.

Understanding Exposure can help a beginner get up and running and help them grasp the key concepts well. Given that I can endorse it. But it's a real shame that, if they read it carefully and really get serious about photography later, they'll have material to re-learn.

Joe