How to Do Everything with Your Digital Camera, Fourth Edition [Paperback]

Dave Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 20, 2005 | Series: How to Do Everything

Here's a simple solution for learning how to get the most out of your digital camera, how to take better photos, and what to do with your images once they’ve been captured. Written by an award-winning photographer, How to Do Everything with Your Digital Camera, Fourth Edition is just the book you need! Loaded with clear explanations and step-by step-details, the book explains the different components of a variety of digital cameras and how to use them. Coverage includes flash and lighting tips, action and outdoor photography, various image-editing packages, and finally, organizing, storing, sharing, and printing digital images. The new edition of this best-seller has been updated to include details on removable storage devices and the latest utilities and photo-sharing facilities.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Although the title is a little overstated, this book does offer a fairly comprehensive introduction to digital photography. Johnson opens by discussing virtually all of the technical essentials of working with one's camera to make correct exposures and then proceeds to address questions about working with digital film and formats and transferring files. He further explains how to compose and edit photographs on one's computer, showing how to improve sharpness and contrast, clean up images, use special effects, and blend text with images. The book concludes with helpful chapters on printing one's photographs and sharing images through e-mail, web pages, and disks. Anyone who works with digital photographs will find this book quite thorough and useful. Recommended for all photography collections in public and academic libraries. Raymond Bial, Parkland Coll. Lib., Champaign, IL
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

Here’s a simple solution for learning how to get the most out of your digital camera, how to take better photos, and what to do with your images once they’ve been captured. Written by an award-winning photographer, How to Do Everything with Your Digital Camera, Fourth Edition is just the book you need! Loaded with clear explanations and step-by-step details, the book explains the different components of a variety of digital cameras and how to use them. Coverage includes flash and lighting tips, action and outdoor photography, various image-editing packages, and finally, organizing, storing, sharing, and printing digital images.

• Choose the best digital camera and accessories for your needs
• Follow the rules of composition to take great shots
• Control lighting and exposure
• Take precise close-ups, lively action shots, and spectacular panoramas
• Organize, store, and share images in a variety of formats
• Edit, enhance, correct, and crop your images
• Add special effects and create photo projects
• Print professional-quality photos
• Troubleshoot and maintain your digital camera

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 456 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media; 4 edition (October 20, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072261633
• ISBN-13: 978-0072261639
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #320,736 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a writer and photographer living near Seattle. In my spare time I play drums, scuba dive, and, along with the rest of my family, take car of my three cats, two dogs, and a slew of fish.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good investment in both time and money, April 1, 2001

By 

Chuck Albert (Vancouver, BC Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Do Everything with Your Digital Camera (Paperback)

I found this book ideal as it is written for the amateur photographer that is new to digital photography, which basically describe my status. There is a lot of useful information in its 376 pages. It is well indexed and organized so that topics are easy to find.

The book is an easy read and is well illustrated, but suffers from a lack of colour. Obviously by eliminating colour and binding with a soft cover the publisher has been able to meet a price point. It's too bad the author does not published colour plates on his website to compensate for this lack of colour.

While I own a Kodak DC4800 3.1 Digital Camera and therefore would like to see more information on my specific camera, the author balances that desire by covering digital photography without being too camera brand specific.

I have read Dennis Curtin's A Short Course in Nikon Coolpix 950 Photography and would rate Dave Johnson's book as a more instructive book. I think Johnson's book will remain a good reference work for some years.

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent help for exploring your new digital "toy", July 13, 2001

By 

K.M. (Albany, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Do Everything with Your Digital Camera (Paperback)

As a person experienced with technology but not knowledgeable about photography, I found this book to be a great resource. I bought my first digital camera, but didn't know how to get its features to "work for me" to take the pictures I wanted. So once I got the book I skipped straight to the chapters on basic photography -- including exposure, composition, and lighting -- which were invaluable. The author has a casual style (humorous on occasion, but the book is not burdened with quips), and he explains concepts in a way that's accomodating to novices, yet with enough detail to satisfy the technically oriented. After reading the chapters through once, I felt as if I had completed a basic photography class.

However, while I think the photography info itself merits 5 stars, the book as a whole fell a bit short. First, there are a few blatant errors, such as incorrectly referenced figures and wrong pictures, that were irksome (although they didn't much hinder the learning experience). Second, the large portion on image editing doesn't provide much new info for those already familiar with popular photo editing software -- it's strictly for newbies. Third, the black and white photos were poorly suited to illustrate certain concepts, especially those involving color. A color insert containing all the photos as they were originally shot would have helped.

In summary, this is definitely a worthwhile book for the overall digital photography novice. Those who are also new to computer hardware and software will likely reap the greatest return for their investment. Computer "geeks" may need to supplement this book with something more advanced on software.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just What I Needed, January 6, 2003

By 

Lisa (Petersburg, VA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Do Everything with Your Digital Camera (Paperback)

This book delivered exactly what I was looking for. I have had a digital camera for three years, and realized that my lack of knowledge in the basic principals of photography was holding me back. Not only did this book explain clearly and effectively the basics of photography, but it taught me to get the most out of my digital camera's capabilities. I was getting frustrated and now I am enjoying my camera again.

I also wanted to learn what to look for in a higher-end camera down the line, and this was covered as well. I understand how to weigh the different features against the kind of pictures I want to take.

Well written and useful. I recommend it.