Shutter Books for Shutter Bugs...

Sleepy

Every newbie on here gets told to read 'Understanding Exposure' by Bryan Peterson so I thought it might be a good idea to have a thread about for recommending other photography books. Think it'd be great to have a whole thread of recommended books that you could dip into whenever you're looking for a starting point in a particular area or level of photography

I'm currently working my way through Tom Ang's 'Digital Photography Masterclass' and could thoroughly recommend it. It's slightly more in-depth than a lot of the books I've been reading and is a little bit of a challenge so nicely placed for the newbie who's starting to get some confidence in some areas but well aware they're still lacking in technical proficiency... Some gorgeous photos in it and it's nicely 'project' based to get you reading it with your camera at your side.

So, what are you reading or what would you recommend?

Calina

The Photographer's Eye by Michael Freeman would be more my recommendation rather than Understanding Exposure. I've given both as gifts and on balance prefer the Freeman myself. He also has an excellent Mastering Digital Photography which I love for myself.

After that, looking at photographs in genres you like are well worth doing.

Should I list image processing/Photoshop books as well?

DotOrg

I've never read a book about the technical side of photography, exposure, composition etc. My advice is to read the manual of how your camera works, what aperture, shutter speed and iso are and then just go take photos.

I get far more and inspire myself to work at taking better photos from looking at brilliant photographers work, something like

iWitness by Tom Stoddart:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/iWITNESS-Sir-Bob-Geldof/dp/1904563295/

Annie Leibovitz at Work
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Annie-Leibovitz-at-Work/dp/0224087576/

"Vanity Fair" Portraits
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vanity-Fair-Portraits-Century-Iconic/dp/1855143925/

Face by William Ewing
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Face-Photographic-Portrait-William-Ewing/dp/0500287325/

charybdis

Sleepy wrote: »

Every newbie on here gets told to read 'Understanding Exposure' by Bryan Peterson so I thought it might be a good idea to have a thread about for recommending other photography books. Think it'd be great to have a whole thread of recommended books that you could dip into whenever you're looking for a starting point in a particular area or level of photography

I don't understand why Understanding Exposure gets the praise and recommendations it does; it gets blanketly suggested to anyone without qualification or reason. It's not a bad book, it's just not a particularly good one. I think its greatest strength is its narrowness of scope in that it manages to turn a few paragraphs about basic exposure control into a book through the addition of mediocre photographs (both from an artistic and technically demonstrative perspective) and barely-relevant anecdotes, mostly involving how Mr. Peterson's wife is somewhat attractive. That said, if people find it helpful, I can certainly understand its value; I just have doubts about how well it would be received if its reputation did not precede it.

Calina wrote: »

The Photographer's Eye by Michael Freeman would be more my recommendation rather than Understanding Exposure. I've given both as gifts and on balance prefer the Freeman myself. He also has an excellent Mastering Digital Photography which I love for myself.

On the other hand, I really like The Photographer's Eye. It's a much denser book than Understanding Exposure and one that I find myself continually returning to, finding more nuance and understanding than the last time I read it.

I recently bought Ansel Adams' The Camera and The Negative which are refreshingly more technical than most other photography books I've seen and make a welcome change from the repetitive "tips & tricks" style of many other educational photography books.

Fajitas!

charybdis wrote: »

I don't understand why Understanding Exposure gets the praise and recommendations it does; it gets blanketly suggested to anyone without qualification or reason. It's not a bad book, it's just not a particularly good one. I think its greatest strength is its narrowness of scope in that it manages to turn a few paragraphs about basic exposure control into a book through the addition of mediocre photographs (both from an artistic and technically demonstrative perspective) and barely-relevant anecdotes, mostly involving how Mr. Peterson's wife is somewhat attractive. That said, if people find it helpful, I can certainly understand its value; I just have doubts about how well it would be received if its reputation did not precede it.

I'd have to agree. I really don't like the book, but I'm in the minority.

If you want the other other side of reading, don't go for the technical books, but photographic theory. Check out books like; Susan Sontag; On Photography, Roland Barthes; Camera Lucida, John Berger; Ways of Seeing and Geoff Dyer; The Ongoing Moment are more theory based. They can be a bit hard to 'get into', but I find them a lot more rewarding than a book on which aperture to use for this photograph, and how to be creative in such and such a situation.

rahtkennades

charybdis wrote: »

.....It's a much denser book than Understanding Exposure ....

Personally, that's one of the things I like about Understanding Exposure. It's broken out into short simple chapters that give a basic description of the subject, and the user gets to use the topics they've learned very quickly.

It's certainly not an 'advanced' book, but for somebody looking to figure out the basics, it's very good.

Sleepy

Calina wrote: »

Should I list image processing/Photoshop books as well?

Sure!

The inspiration for the thread was both how much more useful I'm finding the Tom Ang book than Understanding Exposure and the fact that a friend of mine is constantly reading photography books - from guides on shooting weddings to editing techniques etc. Thought it might be good to have a thread dedicated to the topic in here.

charybdis

Fajitas! wrote: »

I'd have to agree. I really don't like the book, but I'm in the minority.

If you want the other other side of reading, don't go for the technical books, but photographic theory. Check out books like; Susan Sontag; On Photography, Roland Barthes; Camera Lucida, John Berger; Ways of Seeing and Geoff Dyer; The Ongoing Moment are more theory based. They can be a bit hard to 'get into', but I find them a lot more rewarding than a book on which aperture to use for this photograph, and how to be creative in such and such a situation.

I actually have a copy of On Photography on my bookshelf that I've been meaning to read for some time now, thanks for reminding me I need to get around to actually reading it.

rahtkennades wrote: »

Personally, that's one of the things I like about Understanding Exposure. It's broken out into short simple chapters that give a basic description of the subject, and the user gets to use the topics they've learned very quickly.

It's certainly not an 'advanced' book, but for somebody looking to figure out the basics, it's very good.

I said I think its greatest strength is in how narrow its scope is and that it doesn't complicate things, I just think it has a lot of padding and isn't particularly well written. I think Understanding Exposure takes a roundabout and awkward approach to explaining the basic ideas of how to make decisions about exposure without much consideration to the principles of exposure and the underlying science. It also entertains brief and insubstantial forays into areas of photography unrelated to exposure, such as "Motor Drives". I think the issues I have with the book are evidenced by the number of people, despite the book's near-ubiquity, that ironically don't understand exposure.

MagicMarker

Beginners don't want density, they want an easy read that will tell them what will happen if they take a picture at f8 compared to f2.8, they want to know what ISO is and what will happen if they crank it up.

Understanding Exposure tells them all of this. It's well received because it does the job it sets out to do, and it does it in a clear and concise way. That said, I agree about the mediocre shots, nothing really special in there, his wife is hot though:D

The Photographers Eye by Michael Freeman seems okay, I haven't read enough of it to make an informed decision, however from what I have read I wouldn't recommend it over Understanding Exposure, they don't serve the same purpose as far as I'm concerned.

The Digital Photography Book by Scott Kelby is a good read if you're a beginner, has some good tips in it!

I thought about getting the books recommended by Ansel Adams but tbh from what I've read about them they're just kinda outdated now, they'd probably bore the arse off me.

Fajitas!

charybdis wrote: »

I actually have a copy of On Photography on my bookshelf that I've been meaning to read for some time now, thanks for reminding me I need to get around to actually reading it.

Without wanting to be condescending, if you've not read any theoretic books before, it can be hard to get into. Just bear in mind, it's another persons opinions stated so you can make your own. Just go with it and try enjoy it

AnCatDubh

charybdis wrote: »

I don't understand why Understanding Exposure gets the praise and recommendations it does; it gets blanketly suggested to anyone without qualification or reason.

I think the context of when it is blanketly recommended is that it is usually a newbie or someone looking for a first time read who is wondering at where to start and wants to read a little.

As you said its not a bad book. More so, it's an easy read. Even the anecdotes which maybe a little bit corny are somewhat memorable - I seem to recall bees, buckets, and paint splattering being the source of bokeh - well at least in terms of painting a picture in the mind.

So, I think it's an excellent recommendation in the context of a beginner or a first time reader. You wouldn't recommend it to a seasoned veteran but then again what you may recommend to a seasoned veteran you wouldn't recommend to a beginner.