Langford's Basic Photography, Eighth Edition: The guide for serious photographers [Paperback]

Michael Langford (Author), Anna Fox (Author), Richard Sawdon Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0240520351 | ISBN-13: 978-0240520353 | Edition: 8

Langford's Basic Photography has informed the work and career of many of the world's leading photographers. It is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of photography, from pre-capture to output, written for photographers who want to understand the principles behind photography and how to create great images.

In this book you will learn:

. How images are formed and how to control what you capture* The best camera and lens type for your work * The principles and equipment of lighting * How to organize the picture and measure exposure * How to edit, organise and store digital images * How to print, finish and present your photographs * How to get your work noticed

Stunning photographs and visual learning - key principles and techniques are explained using diagrams and images. Inspirational and thought-provoking shots are shown throughout, from key images by photography greats to those by working professionals. Projects and Summaries at the end of each chapter help to cement newly learned skills and get you exploring key techniques.

This 8th edition has been entirely restructured and rewritten for digital photography. It will continue to instruct, inspire and motivate up and coming photographers for generations to come.


Michael Langford, renowned author, teacher, and practitioner, is a legend because of his skill that balanced art and technique. He inspired and taught thousands as Photography Course Director at the Royal College of Art, London, UK.

Anna Fox is Head of the BA Photography program at the University College of the Creative Arts at Farnham, UK and has been working in photography for almost twenty years. Her work has been exhibited in numerous shows around the world.

Richard Sawdon Smith is Deputy Head of the University College for the Creative Arts at Maidstone, UK. He is an award-winning studio photographer, exhibiting worldwide for over twenty years.

The Langford Series

Langford's Starting Photography - The ultimate introduction to photography, covering all the beginner photographer needs in order to start achieving great results

Langford's Basic Photography - The authoritative classic for beginner to intermediate photographers wanting to understand the principles behind photography and how to put them into practice

Langford's Advanced Photography - Highly respected guide for the serious photographer wanting to advance their skills and produce professional results

Level: BEGINNING/INTERMEDIATE

* Authoritative and comprehensive guide to digital and film photography
* Covers whole digital and film workflow from capture to output
* Projects to try and summaries at the end of each chapter

Editorial Reviews

Review

'The design of the series clearly reflects the aims and objectives of the authors in terms of format, visual appearance and organisation of the content. Readers are presented with easily accessible, no nonsense, how-things-happen, textbooks of key photographic skills.'
Richard Sadler FRPS, MA

About the Author

Michael Langford, renowned author, teacher, and practitioner, is a legend because of his skill that balanced art and technique. He inspired and taught thousands. As Photography Course Director at the Royal College of Art, London, UK, his key involvement with photography courses and exams set the standard worldwide.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Focal Press; 8 edition (April 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0240520351
• ISBN-13: 978-0240520353
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #880,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Go Back and Strengthen your Foundation, August 13, 2009

By 

Russell J. T. Dyer (New Orleans & Milan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Langford's Basic Photography, Eighth Edition: The guide for serious photographers (Paperback)

This is quite a detailed book on photography: it includes scientific information, photography theory, and information on equipment and technique. It's good fondational book--not for beginners, necessarily--although it could be read by beginners or used in a college course for beginners. You would just need to be a serious student or someone with a scientific slant if you're going to start with this book. It's particular good, though, for those who have some experience in photography and want to go back and fill in gaps in your knowledge, to understand underlying concepts. One interesting aspect, incidentally, is the explanations of various camera formats over the past century or so. I thought I would never finish at first, but I took it with me on a vacation in a particular hot zone and where there wasn't much to do but nap and read during the day. I read this book thoroughly over a ten day and came out feeling like a much stronger photographer as a result.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great textbook, but a little dry..., June 24, 2009

By 

Edward Oh "Ed" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Langford's Basic Photography, Eighth Edition: The guide for serious photographers (Paperback)

I'm half way through this book right now and have found it useful and well written, if not the most intersting read.

The book is structured and written like a textbook for a class (I'd bet a decent amount of money that it actually is, I just can't say for sure), which means it's well structured and written, but not exactly a page-turner. I'm definitely learning a lot from the book, but I can't say I'm really enjoying the process (other than enjoying learning in general).

This is a pretty comprehensive look at photography, covering everything from the different kinds of cameras (including medium and large format, film and digital, etc.) to exposure, to composition, etc. It covers everything from a technical perspective, but as I mentioned earlier, has something to be desired from the "human" perspective in terms of enjoyment and inspiration.

Langford also has a more basic book available (Langford's Starting Photography, Fifth Edition: A guide to better pictures for digital and film camera users), but I reckon this book is simple enough for a reasonably well educated person with no prior experience in photography to understand. There's also an advanced book (Langford's Advanced Photography, Seventh Edition), but I can't speak to that since I would by no means consider myself an "Advanced" photographer.

I'd recommend this book for the technically oriented person looking to learn the fundamentals of photography and its theory in depth. I would not recommend this book to someone who just enjoys taking pictures for fun and wants to learn more about taking good pictures.

In summary, an excellent technical resource (basically a textbook), but quite dry.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great choice!, March 20, 2008

By 

Igor Beletsky "Malilsh" (Philadelphia , PA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Langford's Basic Photography, Eighth Edition: The guide for serious photographers (Paperback)

Great book! If you know a bit about photography and just need something to get you over the plateau of taking okay images to taking great pictures, this is the book! It explains everything from basics to advanced. I loved it. Explanations are in normal English at first but as you read on you develop a vocabulary that this book uses.