Recommendations for good basic photography book

[siamese3]

Anyone have any recommendations for a good book/source for basic photography?

 

[redwood66]

I have this book and it is wonderful.

https://www.amazon.com/Understandin...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=P8JPQNM96DNDZ2AM33D3


After checking mine is a couple editions older than this one. But I still love it and will probably order this one too. Bryan Peterson is a god in the photography world.

 

[siamese3]

I have this book and it is wonderful.

https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-Fourth-Photographs-Camera/dp/1607748509/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_2?focal _encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=P8JPQNM96DNDZ2AM33D3


After checking mine is a couple editions older than this one. But I still love it and will probably order this one too. Bryan Peterson is a god in the photography world.

Thanks, Red! There's just so many choices and I like the idea of a "real life" recommendation. I need to find something besides politics to immerse myself in I have a canon dslr and use it as a point and shoot but I am going to get a fixed focal point lens and start to figure it all out.

 

[redwood66]

You are welcome. My father, besides being a horse trainer, was a professional photographer taking pics for horse magazines.

 

[siamese3]

You are welcome. My father, besides being a horse trainer, was a professional photographer taking pics for horse magazines.

Okay, how cool is that! Lucky you.

 

[december-fire]

You are welcome. My father, besides being a horse trainer, was a professional photographer taking pics for horse magazines.

That's so interesting! I bet he took some amazing photos of horses; they're such fascinating creatures!

Edited to add that I'm going to check out the book you recommended. Thanks!

 

[redwood66]

That's so interesting! I bet he took some amazing photos of horses; they're such fascinating creatures!

Edited to add that I'm going to check out the book you recommended. Thanks!

It was very cool df. I can remember as a kid going to "photo shoots" at some of the beautiful big ranches in Cali. It sounds funny to call them photo shoots but what else would you call them? LOL.

 

[december-fire]

Thanks, Red! There's just so many choices and I like the idea of a "real life" recommendation. I need to find something besides politics to immerse myself in I have a canon dslr and use it as a point and shoot but I am going to get a fixed focal point lens and start to figure it all out.

That's wonderful that you're going to get into photography! I'm a big believer of seeking some type of balance in life. Photography is amazing in so many ways; it allows you to explore your creative side, it leads to increased knowledge of your subject of choice and it requires your mind to focus on what you're doing and observing. The other day, someone referred to photography as 'therapeutic'; I agree.

Whatever subject(s) you explore with your camera, I'm sure you'll have a great time! (I'm totally addicted to photography, nature and wildlife!).

A piece of advice someone told me was to take photos each day. I don't take photos every day, but the advice is sound; the more you use your camera, the more you'll learn its features and develop muscle memory regarding the controls.

Have fun!

 

[december-fire]

It was very cool df. I can remember as a kid going to "photo shoots" at some of the beautiful big ranches in Cali. It sounds funny to call them photo shoots but what else would you call them? LOL.

Ha! Yes, 'photo shoots'. My son laughed the first time I said a friend and I were going for a 'photo shoot'. Its so much quicker than saying 'So-and-so and I are going out to take photos'.

I can only imagine the beautiful ranches you visited! I've always loved riding, being around horses, the smell of hay and the sound of hooves. Obviously, I don't have to describe to you the incredible eyes of horses or their individual personalities.

 

[december-fire]

siamese3, are there any subjects in particular that you're interesting in photographing?

There's an endless list of subjects. I want to try lots of them (star trails, night skies, landscapes, macro, etc.). I like candid shots of people, but haven't done many so far.

 

[siamese3]

siamese3, are there any subjects in particular that you're interesting in photographing?

There's an endless list of subjects. I want to try lots of them (star trails, night skies, landscapes, macro, etc.). I like candid shots of people, but haven't done many so far.

I'm kind of into candid shots of people. That's really my favorite. People fascinate me but I also love animals and your photos have really inspired me. I get overwhelmed with all there is to know. I am one of those people that gets certain things very quickly, but other things are not quite so intuitive for me. I am reading the book Red recommended and I bought the canon travel kit which has a ef 50mmf/1.8 stm and a ef-s 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 is stm. I am thinking that I should really work on learning with the fixed focal lens. I have been busy researching (I love researching) other essential fairly budget friendly lens. Yikes!! Lens are expensive (although not as expensive as diamonds!!) My husband gave me some fancy binoculars last year for my birthday for my birding habit. I didn't know binoculars could be sol expensive. If you have any thoughts, or recommendations, I would love to hear them.

 

[december-fire]

My recommendation? Have fun. Don't expect to learn everything there is to know. In a week. In a year. In 10 years. Thank God! Imagine how boring life would be if things could be learned and mastered quickly or ever.

When reading my post, keep in mind that I'm new to the world of DSLRs. Hopefully, some of the experienced photographers will step in with comments - or corrections - to my 'statements of fact'.

Manual mode will allow you to individually change all the settings. There's no need to complicate your life by using this mode when you're starting out.
Shutter Priority (TV on Canon cameras) deals with the speed of movement of your subject. This is what I use most often with wildlife (and bird) photography because the subjects are usually moving. If your subject is fast-moving, you need a high shutter speed to freeze the action (unless you deliberately want a photo with blur to represent movement).
Aperature Priority (AV on Canon cameras) deals with depth-of-field (blurry background versus more of the background being in focus). It also pertains to the opening through which light gets into your camera. On an overcast day, you'll want a larger opening to allow as much light as possible into your camera. F-stops refers to the size of the blades that open and close. If the blades are small (small F-stop) then the opening will be larger. A visual would explain this more clearly; there's probably one in your book. Small F-stop = small blades = small depth-of-field. Small blades mean a large opening so more light can get in.

ISO is the camera's sensitivity to light. A high ISO (large ISO number) means highly sensitive and therefore captures more light; but the image will be more grainy. Increasing shutter speed will result in a higher ISO, so there's a balance or trade-off.

Start by thinking about your subject's movement. Is it still (like a turtle or flower) or moving (like a bird or animal). That helps determine your shutter speed.

Try using Shutter Priority, set your shutter speed, put the rest on 'auto' so the camera determines the setting, and take some photos. Check your results, read, google, and take more photos.

In addition to reading and still learning about camera settings, I read a couple of books on composition, including The Photographer's Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos by Michael Freeman (got it from the Library; there's probably lots of newer/other similar books).

Note: while writing the above, someone phoned, someone came to the door, and someone tried to have a conversation with me. If anything I wrote makes any sense at all, then good. If not, sorry!

 

[siamese3]

My recommendation? Have fun. Don't expect to learn everything there is to know. In a week. In a year. In 10 years. Thank God! Imagine how boring life would be if things could be learned and mastered quickly or ever.

When reading my post, keep in mind that I'm new to the world of DSLRs. Hopefully, some of the experienced photographers will step in with comments - or corrections - to my 'statements of fact'.

Manual mode will allow you to individually change all the settings. There's no need to complicate your life by using this mode when you're starting out.
Shutter Priority (TV on Canon cameras) deals with the speed of movement of your subject. This is what I use most often with wildlife (and bird) photography because the subjects are usually moving. If your subject is fast-moving, you need a high shutter speed to freeze the action (unless you deliberately want a photo with blur to represent movement).
Aperature Priority (AV on Canon cameras) deals with depth-of-field (blurry background versus more of the background being in focus). It also pertains to the opening through which light gets into your camera. On an overcast day, you'll want a larger opening to allow as much light as possible into your camera. F-stops refers to the size of the blades that open and close. If the blades are small (small F-stop) then the opening will be larger. A visual would explain this more clearly; there's probably one in your book. Small F-stop = small blades = small depth-of-field. Small blades mean a large opening so more light can get in.

ISO is the camera's sensitivity to light. A high ISO (large ISO number) means highly sensitive and therefore captures more light; but the image will be more grainy. Increasing shutter speed will result in a higher ISO, so there's a balance or trade-off.

Start by thinking about your subject's movement. Is it still (like a turtle or flower) or moving (like a bird or animal). That helps determine your shutter speed.

Try using Shutter Priority, set your shutter speed, put the rest on 'auto' so the camera determines the setting, and take some photos. Check your results, read, google, and take more photos.

In addition to reading and still learning about camera settings, I read a couple of books on composition, including The Photographer's Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos by Michael Freeman (got it from the Library; there's probably lots of newer/other similar books).

Note: while writing the above, someone phoned, someone came to the door, and someone tried to have a conversation with me. If anything I wrote makes any sense at all, then good. If not, sorry!

Thank you for all of this information. I was just looking at some of your gorgeous photos. I love the colors on the ducks.. amazing. Do you have any photos of hummingbirds?? I have many that come to my feeders. I would love to eventually photograph them. A ruby throat was sitting up on the top of a kousa dogwood that hadn't fully leafed out yet last year and the I was watching him through my binoculars and the sun was hitting his throat perfectly. I saw it puff up the greens were so iridescent, the red.. amazing. Oh course I am a lens to shoot some animals, but I am trying not to go hog wild. I can't decide between a really good walk around lens to replace my kit lens or a zoom.

 

[december-fire]

Replying in a separate post re the lens.

I love hummingbirds! I love nature and wildlife so, yeah, my comment isn't startling.

Last year, I extended my garden with flowers that attract hummingbirds, bees and butterflies. I also put up two hummingbird feeders. Then I spent hours in my family room, taking photos of the hummers right outside the window. This year, I'm hoping to get the little jewels used to my presence in the backyard so that I can take photos outside, not through the window.

I posted lots of photos in the nature/wildlife photo thread, starting part-way down page 18. Brace yourself for more hummer photos this summer. I'm anxiously awaiting their return sometime within the next week or two.

https://www.pricescope.com/communit...-photos-of-nature-wildlife-etc.219541/page-18

Here's a couple of photos. I took these at a shutter speed of 1/1000 second. At the time I took these, I'd only had my DSLR for about five months, so it was my first summer taking photos of hummingbirds. This year, I'm going to use a faster shutter speed.

 

[siamese3]

Oh those are amazing! I love watching them. They are very territorial, so it's good that you have two feeders. I have a small hand held feeder that I got last year to see if I could train them to eat from it while I was holding it. Only problem is, that I forgot where I put it and never found it until fall

 

[december-fire]

Regarding a lens, it would be great if others could jump in with their comments.

Its helpful to google and see what comes up, and you might want to chat with staff at a camera shop for their opinions.

As with anything, your objective will determine what's best for you.

For myself, I knew my primary interest was wildlife. Since my preferred subjects are usually viewed from a distance, I knew I'd need a telephoto lens. A zoom allows me to take photos of subjects that are within a range of distances from me, not restricting me to only subjects at a set distance (which would be the case with a prime lens). It can be hard to spot a bird in flight when looking through the camera unless you start with a wider view and then zoom in closer once you pinpoint its location; another reason for a zoom lens. So, for my purposes, a telephoto zoom works great. My first telephoto zoom was a 75-300 mm with IS (Image Stabilization). My new lens is a 100-400 mm, also with IS. Of course, there will always be subjects that are too far away, but increased focal length brings with it increased lens weight. Weight is a consideration if you want to be walking around with your camera and a tripod or monopod might be necessary if the camera and lens start to be too heavy to handhold and keep steady. Although, someone pointed out to me that if you're shooting at 1/1000th of a second or faster, is there really time for lens shake to occur. I don't know the answer, but I get her point.

I have another lens; 18-135 mm (if I recall correctly; I'm not at home and don't have that lens with me). Its great for wide-angles; landscapes that include the whole length of a bridge, as opposed to my other lens that might only allow for shooting part of the width). Its also better for things that are closer to me; people, dragonflies (some are posting in the photo thread, around page 18 or 19 maybe?), etc.

I've seen a lot about 'the nifty 50 lens'. Googling it will come up with comments about it being great because its light weight, less noticeable than a telephoto (a consideration when you want to discretely take photos while out and about), and is a good focal length for shots of people (although I recall reading a differing viewpoint; I'll have to look that up again).

All this rambling to say 'it depends'.
Personally, one lens doesn't meet my needs.
If you want to shot things that are close (people, butterflies, dragonflies), as well as things that are further away (many wildlife and bird subjects), then two lens are probably called for to achieve that.
For things that are further away, a zoom rather than a prime might be preferred by most (but not all) people. For closer subjects, I can see a prime lens working.

From what I've read, people may upgrade their cameras from time to time to get different features (touch screen, more frames per second, whatever), but quality lens will last for years.

I have limited experience with DSLRs and lens but no limit on how much I can talk ... or write.

Where are Kenny, Wink and all the others out there who actually know about this stuff?!?!

 

[december-fire]

Oh those are amazing! I love watching them. They are very territorial, so it's good that you have two feeders. I have a small hand held feeder that I got last year to see if I could train them to eat from it while I was holding it. Only problem is, that I forgot where I put it and never found it until fall

Yes, I have two feeders. However, I'm going to place them further apart this summer. Last year, a hummingbird would stop drinking from one feeder if a second hummingbird dared to approach the other feeder. They took their 'territorial' personality seriously.

 

[siamese3]

I have this book and it is wonderful.

https://www.amazon.com/Understandin...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=P8JPQNM96DNDZ2AM33D3


After checking mine is a couple editions older than this one. But I still love it and will probably order this one too. Bryan Peterson is a god in the photography world.

I am really enjoying this book, Red. Thanks for recommending it!

 

[redwood66]

I am really enjoying this book, Red. Thanks for recommending it!

I am so glad. I am reading the new one too as I ordered it the same day I recommended it to you!