Customer Reviews

How to Photograph Your Life: Capturing Everyday Moments with Your Camera and Your Heart

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In reading Nick Kelsh's book, I felt as if he were standing beside me, tilting my camera this way and that, and saying "See how much nicer your photo is when you do this and that?" With his great sense of humor, his down-to-earth writing, and his photographic examples, he shows the reader how to apply professional techniques to everyday photography. Reactions to your photo album will go from "How nice" to "Wow!"

The focus of this book is creativity in photography for people who haven't done a lot of picture-taking. In addition to showcasing some simple concepts, this book gives creative ideas and suggestions for all kinds of challenging photography situations (birthday parties, family meetings, the list goes on). Kelsh's emphasis is on simplicity and ingenuity, and is guaranteed to transform your ho-hum snapshots into enlargement-worthy favorites.

This book has a few simple concepts that will revolutionize the way you take pictures (as well as the way you look at people). What could be simpler than the tips found in this book? We can all get closer, turn off the flash, take a lot of pictures (a few rolls at a time), and look at situations from unexpected perspectives. And yet, with just these basic tips, Nick Kelsh assures us that we will begin to take photos that will be treasured as instant classics.

Kelsh's tone is encouraging, conversational, and assuring. He is part-professional, part-everyphotographer. He is equally comfortable with portrait photography and snapshots. He avoids technical jargon and sticks with phrases we all like to imagine in connection with our own photos: "the envy of all your friends," "compliments on your photos," "people will ask you to photograph their children," and so on.

You'll love your first reading of it, and I bet it will become a favorite over time. I'm tempted to buy several copies to give to friends. So don't wait -- get it, read it, and start taking pictures of your loved ones! And check out ALL of Nick Kelsh's titles!

Wow. I have bought a lot of photography books in an effort to improve my pictures - composition, lighting, you name it - but this book blew me away with the simplicity and specificity of it's advice.

The entire book is divided into chapters about common situations that you are trying to photograph and gives some simple advice and suggestions about how to better capture it. Obviously not every situation can be covered but what he does cover will inspire you and give you new ideas about how to capture what you see and feel.

Sample chapters (How to photograph...):
People around a table
The first day of school
Christmas
A hike in the woods
A landscape
A sunset
Your vacation
A monument
Your dog
A couple
A baby's face

If you are the photographer in your family, do yourself, your family and friends a favor and read this book!

This is the most practical book on photography I have read. And I have read many, many books over the years.

I would get lost in f/stops and shutter-speeds and light-meters and fiddle endlessly with my SLR camera. I bought this book after I had just sold my SLR and got my first digital camera, a Canon S50. My eyesight is not so good anymore and I wanted an easy to use point and shoot with some manual features.

After reading this book, I have been getting some pretty amazing pictures with my new digital camera. I shoot many, many pictures and come up close to the subject and a lot of the time, just turn off the flash. And the pictures that have resulted are the best I have ever taken (I love taking people-pictures).

Some 30 pictures I took recently of a little girl in a matter of about 45 minutes came out so good, her dad couldnt stop thanking me for the great pictures. To me only two of them were outstanding. Is this my new skill, am I now a terrific photographer? Pshaw ! I simply followed Nick Kelsh's advice and just came in close and shot many pictures. And some of them came out just great. Really !

I now have this book plus Kelsh's "Family" and "Baby" books. Enjoyed reading them and re-inforcing the advice so it becomes second-nature when I am using my camera. By the way, if you like shooting portraits, using window-light is absolutely the best way to go.

I love this book. This book is great for those who want to make otherwise average snap shots into something fresh and memorable. His suggestions are straight forward and unpretentious. The author does not overwhelm novices with technical details, but rather concentrates on helping photographers (novices and advanced amateurs) improve daily snapshots into something memorable.

He illustrates his points by showing actual photos with mistakes and all taken by other family members and friends and show how each situation could be improved using the same amateur equipment. Fun to read.

I picked this book up when I was considering teaching an amateur photography class at an outdoor retreat thinking I might get a few tips and some sample photos to show the class. What a surprise when I realized that this was the perfect, concise, easy-to-understand guide to taking great photographs with a basic, point-and-shoot digital camera! Kelsh is funny, easy to relate to, easy to understand, and obviously very good at what he does. I've since bought all of his books and have given copies of this one to my friends and family. If you like to take pictures, BUY THIS BOOK!!

Mr. Kelsh uses simplicity, humor and a visually attractive layout to gently instruct the common reader to take pictures that are above and beyond Average. My photography has been much improved as a result of applying the easy techniques shown in this book. I especially appreciated the "bad shot" vs "good shot" examples on every page. I would highly recommend Nick's book and plan to read his others.

I enjoyed each moment reading this book. I plan to re-read it multiple times in future years. What makes this book really stand out is that it presents examples of what not to do (pictures that look "common") side-by-side with better ideas, presented using simple and touching text. The design and pictures make this a work of art. It is not about my camera; it is about me. I have been taking photos of my family over 30 years, and this book encouraged me. I want to get out and experiment even more.

Snapshot photographers rejoice! Here is a book that ignores the in depth technical jargon or the "photography as fine art" posturing and highlights the fun in photography. I found this quite by accident am so glad I did. Each two page spread shows first a typical, boring, often poorly lit or composed, common snapshot and then, the results you can get with a few simple corrections. It really helps you "see" in a new way. No more Christmas tree shots that are indistinguishable from every other year's picture. No more every-one-in-the-family-in-a-straight-line-on-the-lawn. If you'd like your pictures to move from okay to wow, this book will make a difference.

With this book, Nick Kelsh strikes a fatal blow to awful pictures. No more excuses! He shows you the "typical" shot in all of its nasty glory, and next to it the way it should be done, with a brief description of the difference. No jargon. No talk of f stops or depth of field. No demands that you run out and buy bulky, expensive equipment. Just take your little digital camera and go out and take great pictures!

No more mundane pictures of the top of Baby's head in the bathtub. No more pictures of people standing in front of the Grand Canyon, mugging and waving. No party pictures where one person in the foreground is burned out with the flash and everyone else is invisibly dark. No horrible pictures of the family gathered around the table.

End your photo mediocrity! Buy this book immediately and read it cover to cover. You will be a hero to your family, your friends, and everyone else who looks at your pictures.