Customer Reviews

The Digital Photography Companion

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Do you want to make your digital pictures look different? If you do, then this book is for you. Author Derrick Story, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that shows you the controls on your camera and ends by showing you how to produce beautiful prints that you can show to the rest of the world.

Story, begins by showing you every nook and cranny on your camera. Then, the author shows you when to use fill flash; and, what slow synchro is good for. Next, he shows you more than a dozen important camera techniques: How to take great outdoor portraits; how you can shoot like a regular pro; and, how you take action shots with a consumer digital camera. The author also shows you how to master your computer the same way you tamed your camera. Finally, the author takes the mystery out of printing and how to get your work on paper.

By the time you've experimented with the techniques contained in this most excellent book, you'll have journeyed well beyond your peers. But, more importantly, the pictures you take now, will not only become personal treasures, they will also be admired by others.

The "Basic Photography Companion" concept has become nearly its own genre in the photography book business. For the most part, it results in "formula" books covering the same basic ideas - how to buy introductory camera gear, how to use the gear, and how to produce decent- looking photos for oneself, family, and friends.

It is a popular genre and there is nothing wrong with a formula approach, especially if it is made fresh by updated content, quality production values, and capable exposition. Out of all the "companions" I've owned or read over the decades the ones written by Derrick Story and published by O'Reilly Media, rank among the best. Mr. Story's latest is "The Digital Photography Companion" (2008), a slender book of 214 pages. Story is O'Reilly's digital media expert and has authored a number of basic digital photography guides over the years, as well as other books in his area of expertise. With the rapidly developing technology in the photography world involving digital cameras, lenses, storage media, software editing and management programs, and Internet and wireless distribution methods, there is a niche and a need for a good genre-formula companion manual. A typical companion manual is a book small enough to fit easily into a camera bag and which provides guidance on camera and lens settings, filters, flash, and other technical hardware matters while also providing information and tips on standard photography concepts like depth of field, shutter speeds, exposures, and the like. The better ones also contain the reference material most desired by working photographers, like charts for exposure; color temperatures; flash, metering, and camera modes; and memory card capabilities.

The Digital Photography Companion makes order of the complexities of photography equipment purchasing and use while providing a goodly amount of practical tips for taking photos. Mr. Story has an easy-going casual writing style. He makes learning about digital hardware and software and photography concepts and techniques seem easy. The book is nicely produced and laden with full color illustrative comparison images, useful tables, charts, and color-coded sidebars of Tips, Definitions, Warnings, and Reminders. There are screenshots of software settings for digital editing and management applications like iPhoto, Photoshop Elements, Adobe's Light Room, and Apple's high-end program, Aperture, and others. The picture-making material is for beginners; there is discussion of basic photo techniques for a large variety of situations most commonly experienced by beginners--especially persistent learners - landscapes, weddings, kids, action, self-portraits, and astrophotography scenes. The goal is to help new photographers learn to make their pictures unique and interesting for even non-family and friends.

There are five chapters covering computer and photography terms, hands-on techniques and camera use items, picture making tips and ideas, viewing and managing results, and printing methods. Chapters 1 and 2 are organized by basic photography and technical concepts sorted in alphabetical order for quick reference, as necessary. Chapter 3 provides basic picture-taking tips. An appendix contains the Quick Reference Guide mentioned already for camera settings , together with a chart of metadata for all the illustrative photos contained in the book, including for each photo: camera model used, focal length, shutter speed, and location.

The digital revolution in the photography world makes the materials in chapters 4 and 5 especially useful, discussing the new digital distribution and software processing methods - e-mail, conversion to movies, dealing with RAW files, making slide shows, etc. - and the printing options - direct from camera, online printers, and dedicated photo printers.

This book is sized conveniently enough, like a slightly oversize mass market paperback. And the intent is obvious. Story wants to create a manual that is easy to take along with you pretty much wherever you go (hint: vacations). He follows it up by writing in a conversational style and includes lots of bright color pictures that further increases the reader's engagement.

Story covers both digital SLRs and compact cameras. And in an excellent opening chapter, he explains the major differences between the two. Some part of the audience for this book might find the information on image sensors to be too technical - and for them there is enough practical advice to help choose a camera. But for those looking for a more in-depth explanation, this chapter is a great hook.

The book really shinesby offering lots of practical advice on how to create take great pictures, sometimes by replicating studio settings with low-tech contraptions. For example, Story shows you how to devise your own light meter, shoot in rain, bounce light off household reflective surfaces and trick your camera's white balance.

Besides being very useful, these tips also offer terrific insights into how the digital camera works. It enhances your understanding of the instrument you are working with.

I am a complete beginner at the art of photography and, regrettably, have been for some 20 years. No matter how many how-to books I read, I've never found one that I walk away from understanding the difference between an aperture and an f-stop. Until now.

In his books and in his pod casts ([...]) Derrick eschews techno-jargon, choosing instead to use common language and meet his novice students and readers where they are. By choosing this approach he opens entire new worlds of possibility to neophytes like me.

My favorite part of the book (for now) is Chapter 1, which gives a step-by-step guide to buying the right digital camera for your needs. It's great to make an informed purchase rather than opening the Target ad to the electronics page and choosing the camera that comes in the prettiest color. I also love the "Camera Features from A-Z" section (also in Chapter 1) because that's where Derrick demystifies all of those terms in your camera's owner's manual that give you a big fat headache.

Later chapters include cool tips like how to craft a rain suit for your camera from a hotel shower cap and how to protect your camera from bad stuff like dust and condensation by using zip lock bags. Derrick doesn't stop at teaching folks how to take great photos either. He's with you and guides you through buying the best software program for your needs, getting your camera to talk to your computer and even choosing a special printer that makes it so that you can print your pix without a computer.

The book itself is beautiful. Each section has accompanying color photos that effectively reinforce the written word. The size is nice and fits easily in a backpack or camera bag.

Well done, Derrick!

Even simple point-and-shoot digital cameras offer manual control over parameters such as aperture, shutter speed, and ISO sensitivity that can turn snapshots into great photos. When you graduate to a Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera you have wasted your money unless you know how to make the best use of its sophisticated controls. This concise book does an excellent introductory job.
The first 2 chapters describe and explain the many features of most cameras and how to use them. They made me aware of many controls that I didn't understand before. Chapter 3 is the most valuable part of the book. It shows how to take good pictures under a wide variety of conditions, such as portraits, group shots, kids, landscapes, sports events, museums were no flash is allowed, and architecture. It mentions many tricks of the trade to get better results, such as using sunglasses as a polarizing filter, extending the dynamic range (light-dark contrast), using pantyhose as a diffusion filter, and using your reflecting car windshield cover as a reflector to lighten shadows on a sunny day. Chapter 4 discusses what you can do after you took the pictures, such as emailing them, editing with various software applications, recovering photos from an erased memory card, and more. The final chapter briefly discusses printing options.
A brief discussion of the optics of photo taking explaining how focal length and aperture affect width and depth of field would have been useful for better understanding.
The Appendix has a quick reference guide for a variety of camera settings. You may want to make a copy of those pages and carry it around in your camera bag.
I learned a lot from this small book and strongly recommend it as an introduction to better photography.

Digital cameras are great, but they won't do your thinking for you. To get beyond simple point-and-shoot, some knowledge is necessary. This new book by Derrick Story has just the right depth of information for the typical amateur. If you haven't yet bought a camera, the opening chapter has some good advice on camera selection. Among others features, face detection and image stabilization are mentioned as the hot new features to look for.

The book can be read in two evenings. Mastering the techniques presented will take a good deal longer, as you gain experience with your camera. You get pointers on how to shoot portraits, landscapes, wedding pictures, architecture, panoramas, and even infrared images and video. There is a good overview of photo management software programs, including the widely-used Photoshop elements and Apple iPhoto. There are numerous tables throughout the book, which provide recommendations on camera settings, file formats, memory card capacities, and other useful information.

The last chapter is devoted to printing and distributing your pictures by email or web, with recommendations on choosing a printer. The book contains five chapters in 220 pages, with an appendix and index. It is designed to be a handy reference, and is small enough to fit nicely into a camera bag.

Unless you're a professional photographer, you'll find something valuable in this book. The author effectively goes through everything you need to know to be an effective digital photographer. From picking out the right camera for you to how to actually use it, I found this to be a thorough guide to all typical consumer digital photography needs.

Beginning photographers will appreciate the information on what to look for in a good digital camera as well as the composition tips. More advanced photographers will go for the section on setting the white balance and auto bracketing. Personally, I was really interested in the author's discussion on infrared photography. I used to take pictures on Kodak infrared B&W film years and years ago and didn't even realize you could do the same thing with a digital camera.

I found the last third of the book to be particularly fascinating. In this section, the author talks about organizing your photos and basics of working with many of the leading photo editing programs. The end of the book shows all the photos that were used in the book and shows exposure information as well as the camera make and model used to capture it.

I consider myself to be a pretty experienced digital photographer, yet I found many things in this book that I can immediately begin using to improve my digital pictures. Whether you're trying to figure out how to begin with digital photography or you're just looking to improve your skills, this is a recommended book.

'The Digital Photography Companion' is the perfect beginners book for anyone that is new to shooting in the digital world and is looking to get the most out of their camera. This book assumes that the person reading it has little to no knowledge and is tailored to being able to learn. With 200+ pages spread over 5 chapters, you will learn what makes the digital camera different/better, how to use controls and what they mean, what to do with the pictures after you have taken them and advice and guidance on printing said pictures out. This is a great resource for this market and easy to recommend.

***** RECOMMENDED

This super book is an excellent introduction to the world of digital photography, and will appeal to readers who have had some experience with their digital camera and are ready to embark on more sophisticated uses of their hardware. The book is succinct in its approach and the author makes sure to not overload the reader with extensive, detailed material. Instead, the focus is on the most common, most likely questions asked by digital photographers, especially amateurs who use their digital camera as a hobby or for fun. This title also nicely serves as an introductory companion to Ken Milburn's Digital Photography: Expert Techniques, also available from O'Reilly.

I've read at least five photography books in the past couple weeks, and this one is one of the better ones despite its being published a few years ago. The information about megapixels and some camera models is already dated, but most of the information within is still pertinent and relevant to the amateur photographer or to the perpetual beginner like myself. In Companion the author leaves nothing to chance, explaining all the nuances of picture taking and all of the common camera controls. He even delves into post processing and printing in his book with some detail.

I like the charts in the back of the book with suggested exposures, white balance and apertures for various photographic situations. Because of these helpful charts, this is a good book to keep in one's camera bag for someone who hasn't committed such information to memory.