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Black and White: From Snapshots to Great Shots [Paperback]

John Batdorff
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)

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Book Description

July 30, 2011 0321774574 978-0321774576 1

Now that you’ve bought that amazing new DSLR, you need a book that goes beyond the camera manual to capture stunning images. For digital photographers interested in black and white, this guide will help beginning- and intermediate-level shooters conquer the fundamentals and take amazing shots.

Pro photographer John Batdorff starts with the basics, including composition, light, contrast, exposure, and when to choose black and white. He covers all the key camera features (regardless of what type of DSLR you have) that affect your image, including the shutter speed’s ability to freeze and convey motion, and the aperture’s direct correlation with depth of field.

Once you’ve captured those great shots, John takes you step by step through the color conversion process to black and white in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom using simple presets. He also covers the enhancements and features that can be added using Nik Silver Efex Pro software–from presets to control points using U-Point Technology.

Follow along with your friendly and knowledgeable guide and you will:

  • Learn to see in black and white by understanding contrast, texture, and lighting
  • Understand all the best tricks and techniques for getting great black and white action shots, landscapes, and portraits
  • Create your own digital workflow by understanding the basics of post processing in Lightroom, then go beyond the basics with Nik Silver Efex Pro
  • Share your images and learn tips on printing and presenting your work online
  • And once you've got the shot, show it off! Join the book's Flickr group, share your photos, and discuss how you use your camera to get great black and white shots at flickr.com/groups/blackandwhite fromsnapshotstogreatshots.


Frequently Bought Together

Black and White: From Snapshots to Great Shots + Composition: From Snapshots to Great Shots + Landscape Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots
Price for all three: $47.57

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Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Now that you've bought that amazing new DSLR, you need a book that goes beyond the camera manual to capture stunning images. For digital photographers interested in black and white, this guide will help beginning- and intermediate-level shooters conquer the fundamentals and take amazing shots.

Pro photographer John Batdorff starts with the basics, including composition, light, contrast, exposure, and when to choose black and white. He covers all the key camera features (regardless of what type of DSLR you have) that affect your image, including the shutter speed’s ability to freeze and convey motion, and the aperture’s direct correlation with depth of field.

Once you’ve captured those great shots, John takes you step by step through the color conversion process to black and white in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom using simple presets. He also covers the enhancements and features that can be added using Nik Silver Efex Pro software–from presets to control points using U-Point Technology.

Follow along with your friendly and knowledgeable guide and you will:

  • Learn to see in black and white by understanding contrast, texture, and lighting
  • Understand all the best tricks and techniques for getting great black and white action shots, landscapes, and portraits
  • Create your own digital workflow by understanding the basics of post processing in Lightroom, then go beyond the basics with Nik Silver Efex Pro
  • Share your images and learn tips on printing and presenting your work online
  • And once you've got the shot, show it off! Join the book's Flickr group, share your photos, and discuss how you use your camera to get great black and white shots at flickr.com/groups/blackandwhitefromsnapshotstogreatshots.

About the Author

John Batdorff is an award-winning landscape and travel photographer who splits his time between Chicago and Montana. He is the author of Nikon D7000: From Snapshots to Great Shots and a coauthor of Composition: From Snapshots to Great Shots. His black and white images have been featured in the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He also leads black and white workshops and mentors other aspiring photographers. John loves the outdoors and traveling, and sharing his images with others. See his work and read his popular photography blog at batdorffphotography.com.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Peachpit Press; 1 edition (July 30, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0321774574
  • ISBN-13: 978-0321774576
  • Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 0.4 x 9.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #103,611 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Batdorff is an award-winning landscape and travel photographer and a nationally recognized authority on black and white photography. Splitting his time between Chicago and Montana, John enjoys the solitude of the countryside as well as the bustling city, finding subjects to photograph in both places. He also loves to see the world, having traveled to Africa, India and Europe, as well as 49 out of 50 United States.

He especially loves black and white photography because of the strong compositions, textures, and timeless feel. Growing up in the newspaper industry, he "learned to visualize things in black and white," and he has used that ability to create his own monochromatic style including high-contrast, highly-textured images.

John's work has been featured in the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the Travel Photographer and Digital Photo Experience.

John loves the outdoors and traveling, and sharing images with others. His most important message is to "just have fun." "If you don't enjoy what you're doing, what's the point?" He leads workshops and mentors other aspiring photographers. "Finding a mentor is a powerful way to get real feedback from someone who can objectively assess your work. There is simply nothing better for improving your photography and developing a style."

See his work and read his popular photography blog at www.johnbatdorff.com/blog

Find me on Google+
https://plus.google.com/110738792561316321738

Find me on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/JohnBatdorffPhotography

Find me on Twitter
http://twitter.com/Johnbatdorff

____________________________

2013 PHOTO WORKSHOPS


CHICAGO -- Join me in my home town for a day of capturing some of the amazing sights the Windy City has to offer. Visit www.chicagophotoworkshop.com for all the details.

November 9-12 -- DEATH VALLEY -- Join me for a hands on workshop while I share some of my favorite techniques for capturing the many iconic images that Death Valley has to offer. Visit www.deathvalleyphotoworkshop.com for all the details.

Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
(19)
4.5 out of 5 stars
The book is mostly well written, and easy to understand. Peter Gilbert  |  8 reviewers made a similar statement
This is a good book for shooting and processing black & white digital images. Sharon L. Faulk  |  6 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Easy to read, practical August 14, 2011
Format:Paperback
I typically do not write reviews for items I purchase. However, after reading through this book I felt compelled to do so. Black & White | from snapshots to great shots is simply one of the most applicable books I have read pertaining to photography. John does a marvelous job of explaining some real key points of B&W photography, in a very simple way so that it is easily understood and can be easily applied. What I found particularly helpful, is the fact that the book is not only about "in camera" captures. It covers post process, sharing and a little marketing as well. All of this is extremely helpful to someone like myself, who is new to photography, and really looking to gain exposure. Ha ha, no pun intended... (okay, maybe a little) I would highly recommend this book to all photographers whose niche is B&W photography as well as those looking to gain some ideas on expanding their creativity.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Get up and running with digital B&W August 23, 2011
Format:Paperback
An outstanding book! For anyone that is trying to get started in black and white photography or is just looking to improve their skills and learn something new, this is a great place to look. John, in his very readable writing style, takes you from the very basics, like what type of equipment you need, through all the details of "getting the shot", and finally through post processing, printing and sharing using Lightroom and Nik's Silver Efex Pro.

Best points:
-The scope of the topics covered. This book literally takes you from what to look for when purchasing gear all the way through to making prints.

-Each topic is covered in a very understandable, concise manner.

-The "Poring over the picture" sections are great. They give you insight into the more important aspects of the image; what the photographer was thinking when the shot was taken, why he chose the gear he used, etc.

-The author. You would be hard pressed to find a more accessible photographer. His writing style, obviously honed though years of writing his blog, is incredibly readable as well. It reads more like a conversation than a text book and maintains your interest even through some of the more technical topics.

Now for the bad points:
-Really, my only gripe is the amount of focus on Lightroom and Nik's Silver Efex Pro 2. If you don't use these pieces of software (I use Photoshop pretty much exclusively) you might not be able to follow some of the walk-throughs word for word. The concepts presented are still valid though and can be used with other software if you have the ability to find the workarounds. It was helpful to see the process in other software though. My next software purchases will definitely be Lightroom and Silver Efex Pro 2. Way easier than my current work-flow.

Conclusion: Buy the book already! The knowledge and information here are too good to pass up.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of good info August 25, 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a good book for shooting and processing black & white digital images. John goes through the whole process an explains it pretty clearly. This book is fore those using Lightroom and possibly Nik Silver Efex. I don't have the Nik software yet but will use this book as a reference. I have already applied some of the tips he suggests in Lightroom and like the results.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars An Essential for the Serious Photogrpaher's Library
I own a LOT of photography books, and I mean A LOT! This is the first one that I have read cover to cover............twice! Read more
Published 1 month ago by photojunkie
5.0 out of 5 stars Still reading, but it's insightful.
The books quality in craftsmanship is fairly cheap. It feels like a hardcover book that they forgot to put the hardcover on. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Richyyrich
3.0 out of 5 stars Great Book
THe contents of the book itself is worth having. Even if you have done photography for a while .. it will ground you and bring you back to the reason you fell inlove with... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Annette
5.0 out of 5 stars Black and White: From Snapshots to Great Shots
Great Book to start with B&W photography, give you the inside and also give you the basics that can be apply to any type of photography....easy to read ...I like it very much
Published 6 months ago by Enrique Cassinelli
4.0 out of 5 stars Useful
This book is worth buying, it covers the entire B&W process and how to understand it. - it's easy to read not over technical and even spends time on the best of the B&W processing... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Walter Pike
4.0 out of 5 stars Good Basic Instruction
As the title of the book suggests, this is a good book for someone new to Lightroom as well as Nik Silver Efex 2. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Peter Gilbert
4.0 out of 5 stars Black and White: From Snapshots to Great Shots
The book Black and White: From Snapshots to Great Shots is well written and lacking the usual acronyms you may find in forums and blogs. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Richard J. Sundmacker
5.0 out of 5 stars Fulfills it's promise...really will take your skills to next level
When I opened this book "Black and White: From Snapshots to Great Shots", it was three months before I worked up the energy to flip the pages. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Tammie Dooley
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Workbook for Beginning to Intermediate Amateurs
I think it's important to recognize the target audience when reviewing a book of this sort. The title gives you a pretty good clue in this case. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Eoghann Irving
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved the approach of this book!
I was fortunate to take two workshops with John - the first in Chicago and the second in the beautiful west. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Sarah Coniglio
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