Customer Reviews

The Beginner's Guide to Underwater Digital Photography

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just received my copy of this book and I sat down and read it cover to cover. Besides that, I would stop and say to my husband, "listen to this!'' or "this is a good tip to remember!'. We have been diving for over 10 years and doing underwater photography for a couple of those. We both decided that this was the kind of book that we wished we had when we started. It has the three "C"s: clear, concise, and it has common sense. It truly is ,to quote Larry, for us "regular guys". It outlines everything that you need to consider from purchasing equipment, planing your dive, transporting your gear, caring for and troubleshooting equipment, approaching your subject, composing your shot and finally, processing your final product. It is extremely readable, very helpful and informative without being too "tech-y". ( I always wondered what JPEG and TIFF stood for.) If you are just starting out or you want a great reference book for underwater photography, this is the one to get!

If you are just beginning in underwater photography, or simply looking to refresh, improve, or fine tune your present photo skills, the "Beginner's Guide to Underwater Digital Photography" provides practical underwater photo instruction, equipment tips and lighting techniques that any diver can put to use the next time they dive.

Larry Gates does a great job explaining photo and camera techniques. He follows up with great examples, adds a little humor, and makes the learning process fun! He also gives examples of what not to do, so this helps the underwater photographer avoid many problems that are unique to underwater photography.

Whether or not you are shooting with a digital SLR, or a compact "Point and Shoot" style digital camera, or even with film, this book is the perfect guide to taking better underwater photos. The author takes you right from choosing the right equipment for your needs, to taking photos, editing photos, dive photo etiquette, manual settings, special effects, wide angle, macro, and much more. There is also a great chapter on equipment care and maintenance.

I would definitely recommend this book if you are new to underwater photography, are looking to improve your underwater photo skills, or just need to refresh your memory because you haven't been diving in a while.

I would have given this a 5 except the cover is already starting to come off. The contents are certainly worth it. Reading and the easy way the writer has made understanding the concepts of digital photography has already helped me improve my shots in this new medium and explains some of the mistakes I was making.

The only other fault I have found so far is A mis-lablling of a couple of illustrative photographs. Excellent introduction for those entering the digital realm of underwater photography

L. Gates's Beginner's Guide to Underwater Digital Photography tells how to master technical photography skills needed to create fine underwater images. From selecting the right camera and adding light to designing compositions to suit an image, step-by-step tips for all phases of a photography dive are covered in this outstanding reference.

If I have any complaint it is that this book is not available in a hardcover edition.
With the wonderful cover shot and great photography inside it will get handled to death in my house.
I guess I'll just have to buy another copy for my archive.
Lovely piece.

I enjoyed this book a lot because not only is it a fascinating endeavor, but also, the author did a great job of making it a fun learning experience. I did not have much knowledge about underwater photography but after reading this book I gained a lot of confidence. Everything you need to know to make every experience successful is all laid out in an easy to learn, easy to understand format. Definitely a smart investment to go along with this type of photography.

Whether you are an absolute novice or advanced beginner, this guide will provide you with A to Z nuts and bolts instruction in underwater photography. The first chapters that cover camera types, maintenance, management and handling are made easy to understand with plenty of illustrative pictures. For instance, items one might not think to consider in a beginner's guide but Larry Gates does are photos of o-rings, lubricants, and back sides of strobes. These and other images of equipment might be completely foreign to someone just contemplating underwater photography. Also discussed are procedural steps for camera preparation before and clean-up after the dive.Common problems are anticipated, such as flooding , and the book provides you with corrective measures in the unlucky event that happens to you.

I found the most fun chapters to be the ones where the author illustrates the best techniques for creating the nicest images as well as the worst techniques for avoiding capturing terrible pictures. Most importantly and because he is also a scuba instructor, diver and reef safety is continually emphasized throughout the book. The author's honesty and experience in the subject will encourage any beginner to challenge him or herself to become a more competent and successful photographer and aways to have fun. Pictures throughout the book provide ample hints and techniques with explanatory captions. Some pictures I would like to have known exactly how the shot was taken ie what lens and exposure settings.

The book is constructed of really durable and seemingly waterproof paper, certainly of a quality that can withstand a lot of abuse on a boat or a trip. I would recommend this book to both the beginner and advanced beginner as there is plenty to learn for both and many things of which one could always be reminded.

I consider myself a pretty good photographer on land, but it is a whole different ball game underwater. I was lucky enough to have Larry as an instructor for my advanced open water and one of the things he stressed was learning how to have great buoyancy control. After reading his book I can understand how that is the foundation to taking great photos underwater. He did a great job of explaining the basics and beyond on how to get better photos. Let's face it, it is a more challenging environment underwater and conditions are constantly changing from you moving around as well as your subject. I actually had stopped trying to take underwater photos because I was not having much success. But after reading Larry's book, I am ready to try my hand at it again. He had a lot of great suggestions. Many were things I should have noticed, but did not. And I especially love the fact he has tips for beginners as well as experienced photo enthusiasts. I can start with the small steps of a good foundation and progress on as my underwater photos improve.

Thanks Larry for the great tips and maybe I will make it to Key Largo for a personal underwater photography instruction class from you.

I have read many books on digital photography but few on underwater photography. This book is very well written, full of practical advise on all aspects of underwater digital photography. It's an easy read and very informative. This is the book PADI should endorse rather than their very brief instructional book. It's focused more on the practical aspects than photo-editing and so would likley be a good accompaniment to a book balanced toward post-processing.

This is a great book for a beginner underwater photographer. The instruction by the author is easy to comprehend and the laid back humor makes it a fun read. He offers a variety of techniques to try and examples with photos to show how each will work. The book is full of beautiful photographs that really get you excited to go diving!