Mastering Digital Photography

by David D. Busch

Book Overview

"Mastering Digital Photography, Second Edition" moves beyond the typical digital camera book. It is a book about digital photography: how to take great pictures and make great images that leverage the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1598630172
• ISBN13: 9781598630176
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: Course Technology
• Length: 382 Pages
• Weight: 2.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 7.4" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Very nice upgrade!

I purchased this author's "Digital Photography for Dummies Desk Reference" some time back and found it to be very good. His "Mastering Digital Photography" was also available then, but I wasn't ready for it. Now I've learned quite a bit and am ready to learn more, and I was lucky enough to find this upgraded version on the shelves. It has the latest information about using the features of the newest digital cameras, including digital SLRs like my Canon Digital Rebel XT. The author goes into quite a bit of depth on a wide selection of interesting topics. There are separate chapters on Action Photography, Portraits, Close-Up Photography, Travel Photography, Landscape and Nature Photography, and Architecture. Each of these includes "pro" tips on getting the best pictures. It's full of beautiful photographs that illustrate each point. This is the best general digital photography book on the shelves, and believe me, I looked at them all before buying this one.

I love the friendly style and solid information in this book!

Actually, I found the friendly, conversational style in this book both disarming and fun to read. Too many digital photography books are dry and bland, and not spiced up with enough anecdotes and real world examples. Author Busch does a great job of bringing digital photography to life with this book! I enjoyed the large chapter devoted exclusively to portrait photography, especially since it included complete lighting diagrams for the most widely-used styles of lighting. The diagrams helped me set up lights in my own home "studio" to duplicate the author's techniques exactly. I've been disappointed in the past by digital photography books that show you how to get the looks you want in Photoshop after the shot was taken. This one skips image editing and concentrates on how to get a great picture with your camera! What a concept!

This book works fine with my SLR!

I purchased a Canon Digital Rebel and this book on the same day. I had only used a point-shoot type camera before, and wanted to upgrade my equipment and skills at the same time. Although the book does not deal with SLR cameras as such, its fundamental photographic approach applies to every type of picture taking. I learned a lot about photography and digital shooting from this book. I don't think professional photographers are out there buying books on how to take pictures. If they didn't already know how to use their cameras they couldn't call themselves professionals. This book is for the 99 percent of us who are just amateurs or business users of digital photography who want to improve their capabilities. The clear instructions and beautiful full color pictures show exactly how to do that. Thank you.

Great photos, great book, great ideas!

I agree with the reviewer who says this book is not for professional photographers. If you are a pro and are using a $5000 SLR, this book is not for you. However, just about anyone else can learn from this tasty and informative book. It is filled with useful techniques about sports, portraits, architecture, and close-up photography that most of us amateurs favor. Although the author admits that some of the photo illustrations were taken with the latest Kodak digital SLR camera, he says that most were taken with plain old Minolta A1 and Nikon Coolpix 995 digital cameras like the average reader might have. Those are hardly what I'd call "old photos."Anyway, I really liked this book and recommend it highly. Although professional photographers don't need it, I'll bet that even users of low-end digital SLRs like the Digital Rebel or Nikon D70 will find lots of good things here.

Everyone should buy this incredible guide!

I am an amateur with experience in film and digital photography. I got interested in digital imaging because powerful tools are more affordable than their film counterparts. However hard I tried to take good photos, 99.9% of them came out bad When I bought a new digital camera I decided I was going to learn "how to take good pictures". So I headed down to the book store and spent another hour looking through their selection. Of about 30 books, I found two or three that covered differing aspects. One for using a digital camera, one for retouching techniques, one for photographic techniques. I have been frustrated by recent titles on digital photography. Half of the books out there are essentially dictionaries. The other half are "me too" books on Photoshop tips and tricks, rather than digital photography. The book includes both a solid theoretical background and lots of practical (how-to) information. It discusses in great details those techniques that are unique to digital photography, showing you how to get more from the tools you already know.This book is amazing : it covers every aspect of digital photography, from camera choice to photographic techniques to sports photography and portraits. One thing I love are the "tips from the pros" sections.And its packed full of stunning full color photos. This is the perfect book not just for digital photographers but all persons wanting to get more out of their camera. The writing is friendly and clear, the illustrations are outstanding, all in color. Some books are so good that, after reading them, you want to share the experience with others. That's exactly what happened with Mastering Digital Photography, and why I am posting this review.