Attend this on-the-page digital photography school . . . and become a better photographer Created by an editor for Practical Photography magazine, Digital Camera School offers a unique photography course that's designed for both beginners and experts. Illustrated with more than 400 photographs, it features 25 subject-based projects that start simple and become more challenging. You'll learn all the basic skills needed to shoot fantastic images, from understanding your DSLR and essential camera settings to image editing. Individual modules cover self-portraits, artistic light paintings, landscapes, night photography, nature, reflections, action shots, and much more, so you can hone both your technique and your artistry.
Which lens should I buy for my camera? It's such a simple question, but choosing the right lens or lenses is actually one of the most important photographic decisions you can make. Nothing affects the quality of a photo more than the lens. It's no longer just about the megapixels-it's the glass that makes all the difference! Many first-time buyers of DSLRs don't venture past the basic lens included in the box. While some are reluctant to spend more money, others are confused by all the buzzwords or are overwhelmed by all the choices out there. It's really a shame, because interchangeable lenses give you amazing scope for quality photography. Take in vast sweeping scenes with a wide angle lens. Capture faraway birds with a telephoto lens. Examine the tiniest detail of a flower with a macro lens. Record the perfect portrait with a prime lens. Anything is possible when you choose the right lens for the job! This book isn't a simple catalogue of available lenses. New products are coming out all the time, and comparing specific lenses can be difficult. Instead, author N.K. Guy gives you all the information you need to make smart buying decisions. Optical technology is demystified, arcane terminology is decoded, and practical tips are provided. The Lens will help you build the perfect lens collection to suit your needs-now and in the future.
This newest edition contains all new examples, larger photographs, and plentyof advice for taking top-notch digital photos, dealing with image resolution, archiving, and more.
This ground-breaking book situates research at the heart of photographic practice, asking the key question: What does research mean for photographers? Illuminating the nature and scope of research and its practical application to photography, the book explores how research provides a critical framework to help develop awareness, extend subject knowledge, and inform the development of photographic work. The authors consider research as integral to the creative process and, through interviews with leading photographers, explore how photographers have embedded research strategies into their creative practice.
Learn to ask better, more helpful questions of your work so that you can create stronger and more powerful photographs.
Photographers often look at an image—one they’ve either already created or are in the process of making—and ask themselves a simple question: “Is this a good photograph?” It’s an understandable question, but it’s really not very helpful. How are you supposed to answer that? What does “good” even mean? Is it the same for everyone?
What if you were equipped to ask better, more constructive questions of your work so that you could think more intentionally and creatively, and in doing so, bring more specific action and vision to the act of creating photographs? What if asking stronger questions allowed you to establish a more effective approach to your image-making? In The Heart of the Photograph: 100 Questions for Making Stronger, More Expressive Photographs, photographer and author David duChemin helps you learn to ask better questions of your work in order to craft more successful photographs—photographs that express and connect, photographs that are strong and, above all, photographs that are truly yours.
From the big-picture questions—What do I want this image to accomplish?—to the more detail-oriented questions that help you get there—What is the light doing? Where do the lines lead? What can I do about it?—David walks you through his thought process so that you can establish your own. Along the way, he discusses the building blocks from which compelling photographs are made, such as gesture, balance, scale, contrast, perspective, story, memory, symbolism, and much more. The Heart of the Photograph is not a theoretical book. It is a practical and useful book that equips you to think more intentionally as a photographer and empowers you to ask more helpful questions of you and your work, so that you can produce images that are not only better than “good,” but as powerful and authentic as you hope them to be.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Better Questions
PART ONE: A GOOD PHOTOGRAPH? Is It Good? The Audience's Good The Photographer's Good
PART TWO: BETTER THAN GOOD Better Subjects
PART THREE: BETTER EXPRESSION Exploration and Expression What Is the Light Doing? What Does Colour Contribute? What Role Do the Lines and Shapes Play? What's Your Point of View? What Is the Quality of the Moment? Where Is the Story? Where Is the Contrast? What About Balance and Tension? What Is the Energy? How Can I Use Space and Scale? Can I Go Deeper? What About the Frame? Do the Elements Repeat? Harmony Can I Exclude More? Where Does the Eye Go? How Does It Feel? Where's the Mystery? Remember When? Can I Use Symbols? Am I Being Too Literal?
PART FOUR: BETTER PHOTOGRAPHS The Heart of the Photograph Index
Whether the reader is looking to improve their lighting skills, or they're working with ambient light in a studio, this book offers practical guidance, advice on equipment and theoretical background, and covers a wide range of techniques -- from basic principles and what equipment to use to advanced lighting setups. Illustrated with examples, diagrams, and before and after comparisons.