For budding David Baileys (Mastering Digital Photography - David D. Busch)

Member Name: markos9

Product:	Mastering Digital Photography - David D. Busch
Date:	27/04/09 (103 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Huge amount of knowledge presented in a readable way.

Disadvantages: A bit expensive.

Digital photography has developed (pardon the pun!) considerably over the past decade. Many (but not all) experts believe that the quality of digital imaging has now surpassed that of film.

There are, of course, many books on digital photography on the market and, as the author asks in his introduction "Do we really need another book on the topic"?

Well, the author believes that we do, and I agree with him. Many digital camera books focus (damn, another unintentional pun!) on the mechanics of digital imaging, whereas many books about photography look only at the art of taking an image and ignore the digital medium completely.

This book combines the two separate approaches perfectly. There's plenty about photography and how to achieve a good result, but the benefits (and pitfalls) of using a digital sensor, rather than film are also explored.

David D Busch is a veteran writer of books on photography and has a very readable, interesting style. I've found that many books on digital imaging can be dry and technical; the author avoids this trap completely.

The book is split into two parts. Part I "Your lean, mean pixel machine" concentrates on the use of a digital camera to take photographs. As well as operations specific to a digital camera, the general photography topics of exposure, metering, and focusing are covered.

The book also contains the best description I've ever read explaining the relationship between shutter speed and f-stop, using the analogy of light falling into buckets. The pictures accompanying this explanation should help anyone instantly understand this important topic.

Part II " Techniques unlimited" is aimed at people who want to take better photographs and is all about the techniques used in photography. Several distinct 'disciplines' are described:

Action photography explains the various ways a photographer can capture fast moving subjects. As the author elaborates, this does not just mean sports, it could also be of your kids playing, or animals. Tricks to freeze action, and to use motion-blur to cope with fast-moving events are described.

The chapter on people photography is, I believe, particularly good. The techniques for portrait photography, both in and out of the studio, as well as how to take good group photos are explained in the author's very helpful style. Tips for lighting without spending thousands on equipment are detailed.

Scenic photography is my favourite chapter since I do a lot of it; shooting landscapes. The reader will learn how to make the most of a scene using filters, exposure, and panoramas.

Architectural photography is not something everyone will do, but this branch of photography has some specific challenges for the photographer. Correcting wide-angle problems, typical on today's digital cameras, together with correction of perspective are covered here.

Macro photography is a fascinating topic in itself and many of the current cameras and lenses offer this facility. The author helps the reader understand the basics of this, often frustrating, technique and gives simple advice for planning a macro shooting session.

This book is then, aimed at the digital camera user who wants to progress from taking snap shots to taking photographs. This book is full of help and advice for budding photographers and it will undoubtedly increase the knowledge and understanding of the reader, helping them towards this goal.

For me, the best part of the book was the author's writing style. He manages to convey his enthusiasm to the reader, as well as sharing his knowledge and experience. I learned a lot from this single book on photography and can recommend that anyone who wants to learn more about taking photographs, obtains a copy of this excellent volume.

The book is available from Amazon for £18.47.

Summary: An excellent way to develop your photography skills