Great tips on photography for anyone who is interested in ...
582437
Great tips on photography for anyone who is interested in it professionally or as a hobby. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys photography or would want to learn more. (Plus, the photos of the food like great! Makes you excited to try to cook )
4684442
I bought this book when I first got into photography.  Although I have not shot every applicable situation reference in this book, it is a definite most for the aspiring photographer or enthusiast.  A must have, even if your just starting.
3924970
I spend a lot of time talking about photography gear in my newsletters, blogs, and workshops. People are always interested in learning how to get the most out of their cameras or which lenses to use. Gear is an important part of our photography, but improving our creative skills is of equal or greater importance. For many people, figuring out how tto improve their creative skills can be extremely difficult, so they keep pushing them under the rug. For these folks, it can be much easier to buy a new lens than to diligently work at becoming a better photographer.

Personally, I don't have any desire to be a "good" photographer; I want to be a great photographer. I'm always looking for ways that push me to the next level and Steve Simon's new book titled, The Passionate Photographer, Ten Steps Toward Becoming Great provides a well designed path to great photography.

Steve wrote The Passionate Photographer to inspire us to take a critical look at our own work and then use that knowledge as a foundation for growth. His book helps us take our passion for photography and translate it into strong images through ten specific actions that range from assessing your skills, improving composition, following the light to increasing your shooting volume and sharing your images.

Warning: Following Steve's plan will not be easy. If you seriously embark down the path of the ten steps, you'll spend a significant amount of time working on your craft. These ten steps aren't for the faint of heart or the semi-committed. Steve wants you to get serious in order take your photography to the next level and his book is dedicated to help you get there.

Every chapter is richly illustrated with Steve's own photography from his journalistic and editorial career. He discusses his time-proven methods with segments called "Lessons Learned" and he also peppers the book with anecdotes from other great photographers such as Jay Maisel, Yousuf Karsh, and Jim Brandenburg. In addition, Steve includes significant tips on exposure, white balance, autofocus, and fill flash.

One of my favorite points in the book from Steve is "... following the Ten Steps means working every image, every session, and then ruthlessly editing it down to the very best." This short sentence is a great distillation of what it takes to become great. It takes hard work, tons of dedication and then ruthlessly editing so that only your best work is allowed to see the light of day.

I read a lot of photography books. Most are good, but few are great. Steve's book is great. All photographers should take the opportunity to learn from Steve and his great book.
2813778
I was thrilled when I received my copy in the mail. I look forward to Susan's great tips,ideas, and her wonderful creative side. Making great photos into some awesome photo creations. I love to be creative and in this book she gives great creative advice and ideas from which lenses to be creative with to which modes on the DSLR to achieve what I am looking for. Wonderful lighting tips and techniques that will be very useful. There is a section in the book for photography with your mobile device in which I also use quite often as well. Over all another great and informative book from Susan.
3302565
This is a really good book for anyone beginning DSLR photography.
The author has done such a great job in putting in as much information has he possibly could.
With so many valuable tips,it comes highly recommended!
824766
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book as an "armchair adventurer" to places I may not visit myself. I had expected compelling stories and images, but the photography advice is most welcome. I especially enjoyed hearing how David learned to connect with people he wanted to photograph, and I love the insights he drew from the places he visited. Thanks for putting this together for the benefit of us all!
252341
I found this book to be filled with valuable tips/advice.  It gives an excellent overview of Composition, Light, Focusing the Camera, Lenses, Exposure,Film, and Filters, Gear and Weather and Career.  Each chapter is to the point and has Jack's beautiful photographs for use in illustrating each point he makes.  Many of the photos have information regarding the lens used with additional info that ties in with the text itself.
I can assure any landscape photograper who shoots large format or is considering stepping up to large format that this is a must have book.  Even though I've been using a 4X5 for nearly 10 years I have learned a great deal from this book.  Actually, I've read most of it 3 or 4 times already.  I can't wait to leave on my next trip so I can put the things I've learned to use.
3645292
This book provides a wonderful inspiration for budding photographers and experts alike.  George has made a careful selection of a variety of types of photographs -- pieces of art really -- and does an excellent job of describing what makes each image worthy of consideration.  Mr. Barr has also included notes by the artists themselves about their works.  Finally, a biography of the photographer accompanies each piece.  Thus you have a significant amount of information both about the photograph and the photographer, which really helps you to understand what went into the making of the particular image.
  True to his word, George has pushed is own limits, and the photographs represent a broad cross sections of photographic types; there is something for everyone.  All of the prints are of the highest quality, so you get a good feel of what a final image ought to look like.  All-in-all this is a must have book for any person who takes their photography seriously.  Well done, George!
2818259
This is a great book! I really, really liked it! However, if you are looking for a book to help you learn to use your camera's many functions or to give you a detailed understanding of the concepts of such things as aperture or shutter speed, this is not it. If you want to improve your photographic skills and learn how to take photos that reflect who you are and what is important to you, then this is the book is for you. The word "Expressive" in the title and the phrase "Shooting from the Heart" in the subtitle are clues about what to expect from this book.

There are 10 chapters, each written by one of the Shutter Sisters who founded the group. The chapters are entitled Horizons, Portraiture, Nature, Spaces, Childhood, Stillness, Documentary, Creatures, Table and Togetherness. All of the chapters have the same format. They are divided into sections entitled: Introduction, Approach, Perspective, Composition, Lighting, Details and Processing. Each section is spread across 2 facing pages with representative photographs and text which tells what the photographer wanted to show in the pictures and how she accomplished it. Frequently, technical aspects of how the photo was shot are included.

If you want to see what is said about lighting when shooting portraits or perspective when shooting nature photos or any other specific situation, you can know exactly where to look for the information. This fact makes is a very usable book to read in bits and pieces of what interests you. In spite of that, I read the book from start to finish, because its unique approach fascinated me. I found the Shutter Sisters' sharing of their thoughts about and goals for the photos they were shooting both interesting and helpful. I feel that reading this book and applying what I learned from it will make me a better photographer.

The one criticism I have about the book relates to layout. Sometimes photos are printed across the seam between the two facing pages. Most of the time that is not a problem; but, in a few cases, an important part of the photo is obscured by the crease created by the seam. That is a very minor problem in such a helpful book,
512148
After just finishing this book I wanted to let other photographers know how great it is. The book begins with explaining the actual flash and what all of those dials and switches do. That section also covers the settings for each mode. Then once you have an understanding of how the hardware works you move into the basics of photography which consists of studio lighting and strobes. This section was particularly valuable to me because the Nikon system meshes with this kind of setup so well.

Only halfway through the book at this point and already learning a ton of very good information. The next chapter is wireless lighting which might be a little beyond the normal photographer, but something you should look in to. A basic basement or guest room can be made in to a great photo studio. You will of course quickly learn this flash isn't only for indoor because it can also be used for some pretty interesting outdoor shots. One of which is extreme sports and events.

Overall I was very pleased with this book and highly recommend you go pick up a copy of your own.
1466298
Needed this for a class, but learned a lot from this book. Useful info for anyone looking to learn more about all things photography. Pretty up to date too, suprisingly.
2886993
Loved its simplicity, honesty and straight forward approach to explain every topic. It is easy to read and loaded with tips and tricks. Totally recommended for an overall look at many types of photography. Do not expect an overly technical or specialized book. It is a nice refresher of many things related to photography.
4819818
I have been a fan of John Batdorff's photography for some time, what I didn't know was how good of a writer he is.
In this book he writes about the gear that he uses on the go, to backing up your images while out of town.
In between the author touches on exposure, composition, lighting and much more. There are many informative tips
throughout the book.
The big tip that I am taking away from this experience, is to convert my RAW files to DNG. They will be readable in
the future and they are smaller too.
Thank you for that tip John Batdorff.
2108560
Really informative. Thanks for all of the fun information. I learned a lot from reading this book. I highly recommend it to anyone that is interested in photography.
3809991
I truly enjoyed Mr. Freeman's efforts to open up the world of digital photography to regular folk, like myself.  You don't even need a DSLR to enjoy this set.  A person with a decent P&S (point and shoot) camera can still apply most of the content in this book set.  While I have already been shooting pictures for a good 10-15 years (learning mostly from experience, some from reading) I found this set to be a great compilation of explanations about basic to moderate photography techniques.  I especially like his style of writing.  It's very non-pretentious, informative, and relatively concise.  Accompanying many of the final pictures are other shots that illustrate the thinking, or process, of how he got the final picture.

While the case is pretty neat, it's more of a marketing gimmick - a great enclosure to "wow" a person if you intend this as a gift.  It's actually a decently sturdy case, but once you open it and want to start reading through everything, I found it much easier to just leave the books out of the case.  In that regard, an actual case for the DVD would have been helpful.  I also wished the publisher used better printing techniques for the photos as they had a certain lack of contrast? to them, but still they are great pictures from a composure stand point - with his explanations, I feel like I learn something with each flip of the page.  The little booklets are kinda extraneous, concentrate on the first couple of books.

I think for most non-professional photographers, the camera has a lot more functionality than people care or understand how to use.  If you read through this set, you will understand so much more about how to compose (the number one quality of a good picture), understand/adjust settings of the camera, and eventually edit your photos to great results.

(As a side note, if you know a high school or college student jumping into photography, I think this would make a very cool and excellent birthday gift.)
764047
Has some very good tips for a beginning photographer to get the best from their pictures. Useful for any format you use to get the shots you want.
3242315
This book is a really easy read, with loads of practical advice and ideas all packed into one reference volume. Some of the tips are a well written reinforcement and refresher of things I have already discovered in various places on the internet, and others are brand new and exciting for me. If I follow through on even just some of these suggestions I am sure to improve my photography.