Customer Reviews

Digital Photography in Available Light: Essential Skills, Third Edition (Photography Essential Skills)

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

 

 

The authors of this book should be fined for false advertising. This book is NOT about available light photography. There is not a single chapter on available light photography. This book has a chapter on picking out a digital camera. This book has a chapter on using a FLASH and picking out a FLASH. This book discusses using reflectors and LIGHT MODIFIERS to beautify your pictures. This book is a basic, generic, all encompasing book about digital photography. I have read dozens of books that have nearly the exact same information as this book, which is probably why the authors tried to sell the book under a missleading title. If they tried to sell the book under an accurate title. . . "A beginners guide to digital photography." it would have dozens of other books with the same information and premise to compete with.
As a generic digital photography book, it is not bad, though not at all original. If you are looking for a generic digital photography book, you may whant to buy this book. If you want to buy a book on available light photography, you should not waste your money because there is not a single sentence in this book dedicated to photography using only available light.

I'm half way through this book, and I must say that I'm disappointed. First off, the title is misleading. This book is not mostly about digital photography in available light--that is, if you're thinking that this book is about taking pictures in available light. It indeed provides information about shooting in available light but like most books on digital photography, it starts out with the obligatory "choosing a digital camera." But then the second chapter jumps into topic of digital photo asset management, followed by a chapter on camera exposure. Seems like assessment management would come a lot later in the book. I really don't see why it's needed in a book about "digital photography in available light."

The latter chapter about exposure provides one or two page summaries of topics like appropriate exposure, the relationship between aperture and f-stop number, TTL light meters, interpreting meter readings, optimizing tonality, and the like. The whole time I reading this book, I wondering is this book supposed to be an introduction to the topics or a refresher course of information for experiened photographs? It doesn't work well for either readers, in my view. The author simply glosses over a lot of information and tries to make up for it by providing little activities added to the end of most chapters or sections. The activities read more like they were written for use in a college photography course, which is really where this book might be most useful. This book could have been twice as long, expanding on very important topics for becoming a better digital photographer.

I think the attraction of this book is the qaulity of the book's layout and the photographs included on nearly every page. It seems as if many if not all the photographs were taken by National Geographic photographers. The author is very knowledagable of his subject, but the book is far too general for novice photographers. I'm not sure how intermediate or advance photographers would use this book.

Some sections could use better illtustrations. For example, the typical explaination about the "rule of thirds" in photography is illustrated with a grid, of course, but there's no illustration to show the use the rule on an actual photograph. I've never seen that before in a photography book. The author simply explains it in words.

The section I read about using the histogram is also way too general. The photographs and screen shots he uses for illustrations don't even come with captions for quick review or better understanding.

I really thought I'd get more out of this book. The photographs were well done and the end-of-the-chapter activities looked promising at first, but when you get into the book, they simply read like add-ons.

All I can say is that this book is not for novice photograpers, but it would probably work well for college photography courses wih a good instructor who will fill in the gaps and expand on what the author has written.

The previous reviewers who commented on the lack of substantive information about available light shooting techniques, are correct. I've looked through this book carefully and it is like a dozen other beginning photography books I've seen, and that's how it should be titled. This book, while it has some good information for beginners, is another inch deep, mile wide digital photography overview. When what it should be is mile deep, inch wide, pertaining mostly to working with available light indoors and out. A chapter on reflectors or flash is OK but as an extra, not the "meat".

Unless you're new to digital photography, look elsewhere. Focal Press should know better. They usually produce outstanding titles...

I am a fan of Galer's clever Photoshop routines for CS and Elements (he's an Adobe beta tester) so I was keen to see the latest edition of his basic text for digital photographers. I was not disappointed. He is a working photographer, journalist and lecturer so the text is pitched at students, especially at the college level. However this is a thoroughly readable book, heavily illustrated with images that any keen amateur could achieve. The book assumes no previous knowledge and covers everything from camera types to conventional photographic techniques such as framing and exposure. I was particularly impressed by the simple, no jargon explanation of Camera RAW.
The structure is typical of the Focal 'Essential Skills' series. Information is provided in short 'bites' with workshop routines and assignments so that this book can be used as textbook, manual, reference or inspirational read. Anyone who aspires to producing professional quality images will find this to be a excellent introduction, general reference tool and guide to the latest digital tools and techniques. It certainly filled a few gaps in my knowledge! Very highly recommended - one of the best photographic 'how-to' books that I've ever seen.

I do agree with several of the reviews written on the misleading title. A book should not be judged by it's cover, make sure you do your research. This book does a great job of breaking down the fundamentals of photography. Explains simple rules, and formulas that produce quality photos, however explains the benefits of breaking the rules for creative results. I like how much of the book is not so much focused on the functions of the camera but rather how to capture moments. Not the greatest book about lighting, but the content for technique is great.

Up until this last chapter this is a basically just another how-to digital photography book. Nothing that 10 other books don't already have. However the last chapter covers the "photo-essay" which is almost worth the price of the book. This chapters covers a lot about making a photo-essay that I have not seen in other books.

This book is by far one of the best books I've read on photography.

The images and examples within the book are amazing, they really help to get the point across and makes me want to go out and take photo's.

The book is clearly laid out and is in a logical manner. The activities and summaries in each chapter really help. Marks thoughts on workflow came in very handy early on, helped to organise my existing photos and all my new ones which I've been taking while reading this book.

I found this book really easy to read and didn't get bored with it halfway through like many other books. I have been searching for a book like this for a couple of years now and I'm so happy to have finally found such a great book.

The activities in this book aren't mandatory but after finishing the book so quickly I'm now going back over the activities and getting even more out of it. As well as the activities in this book the Photoshop sections are great and were really helpful and will be a great reference.

I'm sure this book will keep on giving for a long time yet.

I highly recommend it.

Over the last couple weeks I have purchased several of Mark Galer's books and I am impressed with the quality of each of them. "Digital Photography in Available Light" is written in a reader-friendly approach that provides a wide variety of information on digital camera, asset management, exposure, camera raw, composition, creative camera controls, light, post-production editing, panoramic photographs, landscapes, environmental portraits, and photographic essays. If you are looking for an intermediate book on photo-editing then look at Mark Galer's "Photoshop Elements 4.0: Maximum Performance" which comes with a DVD with several hours of video on digital editing. Or, if you are using Photoshop CS2, consider Mr. Galer's book, "Photoshop CS2: Essential Skills," which comes with a CD with movies and resources. The techniques shown in each are a bit overwhelming for a beginner--but great for those who know the basics and are ready for the next big step!

First and foremost, this is an attractive book as every book on photography
should be. It is rich with relevant and interesting color photographs on each page.
It is not just a book about digital photography but one that shows how to use digital
photography to capture and manipulate images. If I were still teaching and teaching
a basic course in photography this certainly would be a book to consider. A well
written, well illustrated and engaging book