Monday 10 November 2014

Book ~ "Digital Photography FAQz" (2012) Jeff Wignall

From Goodreads ~ Straightforward, clear answers to the most commonly asked digital photography questionsWhat's the difference between optical zoom and digital zoom? Do more megapixels equate to better photo quality? Why is there a delay after I push the shutter release button before I can take another picture? If you?ve ever asked a question concerning digital photography and wished you had a helpful resource to provide you with clear, reliable answers, then look no further. 

With nearly four decades of photo experience under his belt, author Jeff Wignall responds to 365 of the most common digital photography questions with informative, practical replies. The full-color format helps you see what he's talking about.
  • Boasts a colorful yet simple design that helps you find exactly the information you're looking for
  • Illustrates each answer with one or more photos 
  • Eliminates any ambiguity by providing you with authoritative answers along with clear illustrations

"Digital Photography FAQz" is a well-organized guide, featuring answers to questions that you haven't even thought of yet! 

I have three cameras ... a Canon point-and-shoot that is usually in my purse, a Nikon D5100 DSLR along with some lenses, and a Nikon CoolPix (that's in between the two) that I use often.  Needless to say, I take a lot of pictures.

I'm still an amateur and like reading photography books to see what professionals take pictures of and how they do it.

This book had four parts:
  1. Cameras and gears - five important features to consider when purchasing a new digital camera, pixels, memory cards, RAW file formats and JPEGs, focus, lenses and more
  2. Basic photography techniques - light meters, exposure, fixing mistakes with editing, depth of field, modes (aperture, shutter, auto, etc.), zoom, etc.
  3. Lenses and accessories - carrying gear, remote trigger, sports helmet mounting, underwater, exposure for neon signs and fireworks, the golden hour, landscape photos, etc.
  4. Creative shooting techniques - interior shots, architectural details, through windows, red-eye reduction, flashes, candid shots of kids, etc.

This book is set up with a question then the answer.  At times, though, I found an answer a bit complicated and didn't understand what the author meant.  And there were times when I thought the placement of questions/answers odd ... to me, taking landscape pictures belongs in the second part not the third part.

The pictures were colourful and inspiring ... it would have been nice to get more detail on them (shutter speed, aperture, etc.).  I'd recommend this book if you are a basic to intermediate photographer ... you know the basics but aren't sure what to do with them.

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