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Good books for a newbie?

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darkandtwisty

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So after alot of thinking, googling, umming and ahhing I bought a Canon EOS 450D/EOS Rebel XSi with twin lens kit. I'm about to travel overseas and so I was thinking the long flight (ahh 14 hours!) would be great for reading up on some techniques.

Now as I've gotten my camera now and have less than 48hours before I leave, I don't have much time to play. The two lenses I got are EFS 18-50mm IS and EFS 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS (I know the IS stands for image stabilizer so that's all i know about lenses.). I'm not planning on taking my new camera everywhere and will leave it at the hotel and use my old compact for spur of the moment sort of stuff (like in restaurants etc). Will definintely be using my awesome new camera at the grand canyon! I have been thinking of just leaving the larger lens at home as I know pretty much nothing and don't anticipate changing lenses at all... would that be a good idea?

I know that you can't learn solely from books but it can't hurt. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to have a reference type book while I'm away as I won't be on the net much.

So does anyone have any recommendations for great general photography reading? I'm a newbie with my dslr so I want to learn EVERYTHING!

I won't be able to get my hands on any specific books (don't have bookstore and not enough time for delivery) but I do have a kindle and ipad so ebook recommendations preferred. I'm even looking for websites because I can always print stuff out. Would a 'For Dummies' book be a good thing?

Thanks for any help and I can't wait to get to know people as I develop my skills :D
 
The book that was suggested to me on a similar thread was "understanding exposure" by peter bryson (could have the first name off). Look it up on youtube. I don't know if it is oversized. I also started an over seas trip with my first canon. The general composition tricks you will learn in the manual will help.
 
Understanding Exposure is by Bryan Peterson. IMO it is a dog.

Kindle is not ideal for photography books: the pictures don't come out well, especially if they are in colour. The classic books are Ansel Adams "The Camera", "The Negative", and "The Print"; most of the content applies to digital, especially "The Camera". For reference "The Manual of Photography", edition 10 (take care - Amazon will still sell you the 9th edition) by Allen & Triantaphillidou will answer any technical question you have and although there are some colour pictures you miss out on it works pretty well on the Kindle.
 
I would definitely recommend "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. I have it in book form. You can get the kindle edition here: http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Edition-ebook/dp/B004FEFS5E/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1326632650&sr=1-1

I don't think that this will work for your trip (as your iPad doesn't have a DVD drive, right?) but after you get back, I would recommend the 'Get The Picture' series of DVDs by Emanuel "Manny" Pontoriero. There are 3 sets (beginning, intermediate and advanced). Each set contains 3 DVDs, and costs about $70.

Here is the link for the first set: http://www.amazon.com/Jump-Start-Your-Photography-DVD/dp/B002S0FR6M/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1326632971&sr=8-2

Here is a little bio on Manny: http://southfloridacameraclub.com/2009/08/01/guest-speaker-emanuel-manny-pontoriero/

Enjoy your trip!
 
lakensea said:
This one was suggested to me a few years ago and I still refer to it. Very enjoyable to read, and very informative. Get the whole set.

http://www.amazon.com/Scott-Kelbys-Digital-Photography-Volumes/dp/0321678737
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I think Scott Kelby's "Digital Photography" series is rubbish. Little real information, end enough nonsense to confuse beginners. Avoid. There is a longer review of it here: http://dpanswers.com/content/books_rev_kelbytdpb.php
--
– gisle [ See profile/plan for equipment list ]
 
darkandtwisty said:
The two lenses I got are EFS 18-50mm IS and EFS 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS (I know the IS stands for image stabilizer so that's all i know about lenses.).
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Wide angle is the traditional lens for landscapes. Google for "near-far" composition to make the most of it.
darkandtwisty said:
So does anyone have any recommendations for great general photography reading?
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I've been doing this for a few years, but my most recent favorite read is "Understanding Photography Field Guide" by Bryan Peterson. Couple new tricks in there. I also like the Kelby series, for a different reason, but again a couple new tricks. "Guide to Digital Photography" by Joe McNally is a very close third, his concept of a "who cares aperture" was familiar but presented from a different perspective.

Mike

PS: are you lost in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike? Or lost in a twisty little maze of passages, all alike? Or lost in a maze of little twisty passages, all alike? I wold be really, really curious to know.
 
gisle said:
lakensea said:
This one was suggested to me a few years ago and I still refer to it. Very enjoyable to read, and very informative. Get the whole set.

http://www.amazon.com/Scott-Kelbys-Digital-Photography-Volumes/dp/0321678737
Click to expand...
I think Scott Kelby's "Digital Photography" series is rubbish. Little real information, end enough nonsense to confuse beginners. Avoid. There is a longer review of it here: http://dpanswers.com/content/books_rev_kelbytdpb.php
Click to expand...
You have to consider the OP's situation. He has to start taking photos right away and Kelby's volume one can get you started. it does not teach you photography but just gets you snapping and using your camera with some helpful tips.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions. I've bought a few of them and, while I understand they won't be as great on my kindle as actual print, I think I'll get by. I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up buying them in print later on if I get alot of use out of them.

So my plan of not playing much before the trip didn't happen. I took a few photos of some of the family late last night but spent ALOT of time playing around with focussing. I was piling up clothes and things so I could work on depth of field and stuff. It got to the point where I was made to hand in my camera so I would sleep. It must be pointed out that I am well past the age where things are confiscated! Probably didn't help that I took it with me when I went to feed the dog!

This morning I ventured outside. It is really quite overcast but I just went out to play around. Took some photos of things in the garden and was quite pleased with the results. In a few months I'll probably look back at them and think I was crazy for thinking htese were half decent shots!

Anyway, thanks again for the help, both in the leap and picking a camera and with learning.

I'm looking forward to using it on the trip now that I've played with it more. When I first turned it on I freaked out a bit but now I think I can safely take some photos and get decent enough results. I'm sure all the books will most definitely help!

I've also put CameraSim on my ipad. It's fun and could possibly help... what more could I want :P
 
darkandtwisty said:
In a few months I'll probably look back at them and think I was crazy for thinking htese were half decent shots!
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I still do that, more often than not.
darkandtwisty said:
I've also put CameraSim on my ipad.
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I've not personally tried that yet, but I've heard very good things about it from some of my co-workers.

I asked about the "twisty little maze" because your on-line name, darkandtwisty, reminded me of an ancient computer game that I used to play in the long ago. If you've got a moment, go here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossal_Cave_Adventure

And then scroll down to "Memorable Words and Phrases". It has absolutely nothing to do with your post, I was just hoping that maybe you were familiar with the game and we could reminisce about the good old days.

Sorry, I digress.

Best of luck on your trip, always trust your instincts when it comes to shooting.

Mike
 
If you need to "guarantee" that you don't mess up all your travel pictures, park your camera in P, and use exposure compensation as necessary. Reserve the messing around with other modes (especially manual) for static scenes.
 
ah I meant to reply to that before but forgot!!

My username is taken from Grey's Anatomy. I have it as a username for something else with friends and they always try and guess what it's from. They've guessed it's my hair, my soul and all sorts of things.

After the username became my go-to I found the song 'This Dark and Twisty Road' by a Steampunk band... and who doesn't love steampunk.

Now I've found your explanation and I like it even better! I don't think I've played that particular game but we played similar games in an IT class a few years back, something about the history of computer games. I really enjoyed them, even though they were really oldschool. The only game I remember by name from that class was Hugo's House of Horrors. Man I loved that game!
 
Sir SnapaLot said:
Graystar said:
Sante Patate said:
Understanding Exposure is by Bryan Peterson. IMO it is a dog.
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I agree. It's not a good book.
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I really like this book, and have recommended it to others. Can you tell me where you find fault with it?
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My biggest problem with the book is that Peterson spouts the same “manual mode means total control” garbage that you get from people who don't really understand what manual exposure means and who don’t understand how to utilize auto modes. In fact, he starts the book off with an example of how manual mode is supposed to be better than Program mode. He has a portrait shot of an old man with backlighting. In the P mode shot the subject is underexposed...supposedly caused by automatic metering messing things up. Of course, the shot taken in M mode is correctly exposed. He then explains that to get the correct exposure, he moved in close to the subject and metered his face.

However, Peterson fails to explain why the same process wouldn’t work with P mode. In fact, it DOES work with P mode! I can move in, point the camera at the subject’s face, and press AE-L to lock exposure...it’s the same exact thing. When I step back and take my shot in P mode, I’ll have correct exposure, just like Peterson did in M mode. So the guy is unfairly trashing auto modes just because he doesn’t understand how to use his camera.

There are other issues...nice images with no explanation as to how exposure was arrived at...a laughable white-balance section...people point them out here at DPR and in the Amazon.com reviews.

Setting exposure manually does NOT mean to use M mode. It means to determine the necessary exposure compensation yourself. Before 1983, all exposures were manual, even if you had a P or A mode on your camera. That's because the camera only has one meter inside, and all shooting modes use it. And if the meter reading was off it would be off for all modes, and would need correcting in all modes...by either shifting the meter indicator in M mode or applying Exposure Compensation in auto modes.

But that all changed in 1983 when Nikon introduced Matrix metering. Now, the camera tried to apply a little intelligence to the metering in an attempt to come up with its own Exposure Compensation value. Today, My Nikon D90 breaks up the image into 1,005 segments (the new Nikon D4 breaks up the viewfinder image into 91,000 segments) and tries to match the distribution of luminance and color to one of over 30,000 scenes in its database. If it gets a match, it applies an EC that was previously determined for such a scene by some Nikon photographer. THAT is the real auto exposure mode. Anyone who says he has total control over his camera because he uses M mode, but uses Matrix or any other form of evaluative metering, is really just fooling himself. He's just one notch above using his camera like a P&S.

As I said...to set exposure manually means to determine your own EC. That requires knowledge and experience. It's part of a photographer's core knowledge to know the EC of common tones. Blue sky and green grass are 0; light skin is +1, snow is +2; etc. As you work, you learn compensations for the tones of your favorite subjects. On his website, photographer Jim Doty Jr. lists some EC values he uses in his photography...

White sand : +2
Birch bark : +1½
Yellow aspen leaves: +1
Grass : 0
Dark green evergreens : -1
Buffalo mane : -1½

This is what it means to set exposure manually...you meter precisely and then apply a correction that you know will now give you standard exposure. Then, you can manipulate that exposure further to suit your artistic vision.

What's important for beginners to realize is that setting exposure has nothing to do with aperture or shutter or ISO. Here's the way I like to put it...exposure is set by the meter and executed by aperture/shutter/ISO. The expanded version goes like this...you set exposure using the meter and your knowledge. You execute your desired exposure with a selection of aperture/shutter/ISO that implements your desired photographic intent. Stated again via example...if I'm at a night game at a stadium, and I'm under stadium lighting, I know that the lighting is about 9 EV (at ISO 100). That's my exposure. No matter what aperture/shutter/ISO combination I use, that combination will equal 9 EV (at ISO 100.) Using auto modes and exposure lock, I can lock my exposure at 9 EV, and then use my auto modes to easily manipulate the aperture or shutter I desire for effect. I set the exposure, set either the aperture or shutter for the effect I want, and then execute that exposure knowing that my camera will set the other parameter so that my desired exposure and my desired effect are both achieved.

This viewpoint teaches to think of exposure in terms of EV...in terms of light. A sunny day is 14.5 EV; stadium lights are 9 EV; office lighting 7 EV; indoor household lighting is 5 EV; etc. This view separates exposure from the functions that execute the exposure. Once you've determined and set your exposure, you can then decide how you would like to implement that exposure. Do you want background blur, motion blur, stop-action, deep DOF, etc. This is where auto modes really shine...you can make small changes in your effects while maintaining your desired exposure. In manual mode, every time you want to make a change to effect, you then have to fix exposure...it's such a waste of time.

.
 
Graystar said:
Sir SnapaLot said:
Graystar said:
Sante Patate said:
Understanding Exposure is by Bryan Peterson. IMO it is a dog.
Click to expand...
I agree. It's not a good book.
Click to expand...
I really like this book, and have recommended it to others. Can you tell me where you find fault with it?
Click to expand...
My biggest problem with the book is that Peterson spouts the same “manual mode means total control” garbage that you get from people who don't really understand what manual exposure means and who don’t understand how to utilize auto modes. In fact, he starts the book off with an example of how manual mode is supposed to be better than Program mode. He has a portrait shot of an old man with backlighting. In the P mode shot the subject is underexposed...supposedly caused by automatic metering messing things up. Of course, the shot taken in M mode is correctly exposed. He then explains that to get the correct exposure, he moved in close to the subject and metered his face.
Click to expand...
+1.

I am a photography newbie, and because of reviews at Amazon, and suggestions here, I read a Kindle 'sample' of this "Understanding Exposure".

I stopped reading it (well, the sample of it), when the author started trashing users of P-mode, as it allowed people to take great pictures without knowing which were the settings used.

Coming from a technical background I find it pathetic the kind of intellectual arrogance that so many learn photography books display when talking about p-mode . We are way into the digital photography era, and all these authors can't grasp / accept how this changed the associated 'knowledge background' for doing photography. More specifically how it reduced the complexity of great many things in photography as a whole.

--
Francisco
 
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