Canon PowerShot G10 / G11: From Snapshots to Great Shots [Paperback]

Jeff Carlson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 28, 2009 | ISBN-10: 0321679512 | ISBN-13: 978-0321679512 | Edition: 1

Now that you’ve bought the amazing Canon PowerShot G10 or G11, you need a book that goes beyond a tour of the camera’s features to show you exactly how to use your camera to take great pictures. With Canon PowerShot G10/G11: From Snapshots to Great Shots, you get the perfect blend of photography instruction and camera reference that will take your images to the next level! Beautifully illustrated with large, vibrant photos from the author and the Flickr community, this book teaches you how to take control of your photography to get the image you want every time you pick up the camera.

Follow along with your friendly and knowledgeable guide, Jeff Carlson, and you will:

• Learn the top ten things you need to know about shooting with the G10 or G11
• Use the camera’s Automatic modes to get better shots right away
• Move on to the Creative modes, where you have full control over the look and feel of your images
• Master the photographic basics of composition, focus, depth of field, and much more
• Learn all the best tricks and techniques for getting great action shots, landscapes, and portraits
• Find out how to get great shots in low light
• Fully grasp all the concepts and techniques as you go, with assignments at the end of every chapter

With Canon PowerShot G10/G11: From Snapshots to Great Shots, you’ll learn not only what makes a great shot work—you’ll learn how to get that shot using your G10 or G11.

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 shots at flickr.com/groups/canon_g10g11_from_snapshots_ to_greatshots.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jeff Carlson is the author of the Photoshop Elements 8: Visual QuickStart Guide, the iMovie ’09 and iDVD: Visual QuickStart Guide, and Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Pocket Guide. He is also a columnist for the Seattle Times, the managing editor of the weekly electronic newsletter TidBITS, and a frequent contributor to publications such as Macworld magazine, CreativePro.com, and Photoshop Elements Techniques.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Press; 1 edition (December 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321679512
• ISBN-13: 978-0321679512
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #169,168 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm a freelance writer and designer. I've authored and edited a number of best-selling books about video editing, Web design, the Mac, and Palm devices. I'm a columnist for The Seattle Times, contribute regularly to magazines such as Macworld, HOW Magazine, and Photoshop Elements Techniques. The closest thing I have to a real job is Managing Editor of TidBITS.

See my personal weblog at http://www.jeffcarlson.com/, and my iMovie/video editing weblog at http://www.jeffcarlson.com/imovievqs/. More information about my work and current projects can be found at http://www.necoffee.com/.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for someone wanting to take a step up from point and shoot, January 17, 2010

By 

Darren Cambridge (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Canon PowerShot G10 / G11: From Snapshots to Great Shots (Paperback)

This is a book for beginners, people interested in photography and wanting to be more skillful and creative in their shooting but without immediate aspirations to be a pro or a fine artist. Since I'd classify myself in this category, the book was perfect for me. I've long had a good intuitive sense of light and composition, but this book help me connect that to core principles of photography as made possible by my camera. After reading the first four chapters alone, I was already taking noticeably better pictures. It combines a thorough introduction to the capabilities of the G10/11 with an excellent range of photography fundamentals covering light, exposure, and composition. I also read the popular Scott Kelby book, and 80% of its tips are integrated into this book in a more focused way, leaving out stuff you can't do without spending hundreds or thousands of dollars more on gear. The writing style is clear, personable, and concise, and the layout and production of the book (which the author did himself) is impeccable. Much is communicated through well printed exemplary photographs, which is strangely not the case in some other photography books. For its intended audience and purpose, I can't imagine anyone doing better.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent guide book to photography--not just G10/G11., December 30, 2009

By 

phdezra (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Canon PowerShot G10 / G11: From Snapshots to Great Shots (Paperback)

This is a terrific book that goes beyond merely expanding on the G10/G11 Manual and embellishing on it so you know when to use what function. More importantly, it helps novices learn about ISO, aperture, focus area, etc. These are 'basic' kinds of tips--or should we call them SKILLS--that will help ordinary snapshots turn into great shots (eventually, with some practice). This book will help improve your overall photography (if you are relatively new to it) even when you advance beyond the G10/G11 (which is a very nice 'prosumer' camera) to a DSLR.

You might not use ALL the tips, and might find some trivial (e.g. don't forget a memory card), but overall this is a great addition for your expanding photography library. It would go well with some of the basic books on photography techniques (for that, you might want to check out some of Bryan Peterson's books).

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A G10 Shooter's Review, February 28, 2010

By 

James R. Lowell (Jacksonville, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Canon PowerShot G10 / G11: From Snapshots to Great Shots (Paperback)

Canon PowerShot G10/G11: From Snapshots to Great Shots

Before I begin this review, I want to make clear this is not "the missing manual that should have come with your camera." Rather, this is a photography book that uses the Canon G10 and G11 as the vehicle to help any photographer--but particularly one using a high-end point-and-shoot--improve his or her image-making skills. And to make his point, that anyone can make great images, the author--Jeff Carlson--illustrated much of From Snapshots to Great Shots with images submitted to his online Flickr group.

Although the goal of this book is pretty much the same as any photo book--to make the reader a better photographer--Jeff Carlson does take a different tact from many other authors. First, although this book focuses on the Canon G10 and G11, he describes their features more in terms of when and why to use them, rather than how. The "how" he leaves to the respective camera manuals to which he directs the reader using page-referenced "Manual Callouts."

Next, each chapter begins with an image (complete with shot data) analyzed for the topics to be discussed in the following pages. Last, as I mentioned, the author doesn't rely only on his own professional images to illustrate the techniques described in the book. He lets readers see that "real people" can make excellent photos with the methods he provides.

And, of course, as any good instructor should, Jeff asks his readers to take a break after each chapter and put what they have learned to practical use: to shoot images and submit them to the book's Flickr group.

As you'd expect, From Snapshots to Great Shots clearly covers all the necessary skills and techniques a good photo book should, with chapters on camera controls and modes, shooting techniques and image-making styles. I'd certainly recommend this book to G10 and G11 shooters (I'm a G10 shooter); but, I also believe any high-end point-and-shooter can also benefit.