The Best Digital Photography Books
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I've found that the best digital photography books are ones that don't try to overwhelm you with technical knowledge. Instead, they take a stepwise, practical approach and teach you concepts and general "rules" rather than the inner workings of your camera. Here's the thing with digital SLR cameras: there's always something new to learn. |
I have been using them extensively now for 5 years (since the very first digital SLR from Canon was available), and there are still many techniques and tricks that I have yet to master.
So what do I do when I want to learn something new?
I find the best digital photography book on the subject I'd like to know more about then I read, learn and practice from there.
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Practice Your Technique
I can't stress enough how important it is to practice anything new you learn with your camera.
All digital SLRs are slightly different from each other, and a digital photography technique that works well for one camera won't be ideal for another.
This is why if you really want to learn something new, it's not enough just to read the best digital photography book on the subject.
If you don't take your camera out into the world and apply what you've learned, it won't sink in.
Once you've had the chance to practice a new technique with your own camera and can see the results, then the information presented in the book really becomes clear.
By way of example, I recently found a great book on posing people for portraits.
I diligently read every single page, and carefully examined each one of the sample photos.
But it wasn't until I tried to photograph 7 people all at once that the principles outlined in the book really came into play.
It was immediately clear to me why the author noted that posing 5 or more people and getting them all to look good at the same time is a massive challenge.
Enough preaching about practice. Let's talk about some of the best digital photography books you can get your hands on.
Camera Guides
Camera guides are a great starting book when it comes to digital SLR cameras.
If this is your first digital SLR (or first SLR of any kind) then you'll want to be familiar with all of the controls that your camera has to offer.
The best digital photography books in this category act as an alternative to the camera's manual, which can sometimes be quite difficult to understand (since many suffer from poor foreign language translations).
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Canon Digital Rebel Field Guide ($14.00 or £9)This comprehensive guide to using your digital Rebel camera introduces you to the camera's features and settings and then delves into common photographic concepts like aperture, depth of field and shutter speed. A good handbook for the Canon Rebel owner. |
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Nikon D50 Field GuideLearn about exposure settings, metering techniques, and the adjustments that you can make to your Nikon D50 to maximize the quality of the photos that you capture. |
Landscape Photography Books
I am a huge fan of landscape photography.
There is something about sweeping scenic vistas ablaze with color that makes me sit up and take notice.
I knew when I was starting out that I was going to need some help when it came to my landscape photos if I wanted to improve their quality.
Happily, I was able to find some.
Here are some of the best landscape photography books that I have found:
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John Shaw's Nature Photography Field Guide ($16.50 or £11.50)This is definitely not the book to take on if you're just learning how to use your camera, but it's invaluable for the more advanced photographer who really wants to understand the mechanics of a beautiful nature photo. |
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Creative Outdoor & Nature Photography ($17.00 or £11.20)Brenda Tharp's book is essential for anyone who wants to become an more proficient landscape photographer. One warning: this book is not about camera technique. Instead the focus is on SEEING, and how to train your eye to find really exceptional landscapes. |
Portrait Photography Books
The best digital photography books for portrait work that I've found are packed with photos.
While a lot of the landscape photography concepts can be grasped without a photo to illustrate, understanding portrait work really requies good photo examples.
Moreso than any other style of photography, the quality and tone of a portrait can be changed by making tiny adjustments.
Whether these adjustments are to the lighting setup or the pose of your subject, good photographic examples will help you learn the concepts that much faster.
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Best of Family Portrait Photography ($23.00 or £14.50)The most common problem when it comes to photographing groups of people is one that you have control over: how they are arranged and posed. It's pretty amazing how minor adjustments to the tilt of a head or the position of a hand can make or break a family group portrait. |
Photography Technique and Terminology
I've talked about some of the best digital photography books for specific subjects.
Now let's broaden our horizons and generalize things a bit.
Sometimes you don't want to learn a specific style of photography, you just want to understand how your camera works.
Not to fear.
The books in this section help explain all of the mechanisms of your SLR camera, and will help you become familiar with all of the camera's moving parts and settings.
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Photography ($95.00 or £51.30)A book with the simple title of "Photography" had better cover all the bases and this one certainly does. If you have a burning desire to know EVERYTHING there is to know about your camera, then this is the reference manual you need. The price is steep, but well worth it. |
