14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good book for beginners, July 3, 2007
This review is from: Mastering Digital Wedding Photography (Paperback)
I generally like books from the Thomson's digital photography series. Their books are typically lucid, well illustrated, and informative. Karney's book fits well into the Thomson series. He brings his expert, professional knowledge to the craft of wedding photography, focusing primarily on the technical aspects of the profession.
But keep in mind Karney's book is a general guide about wedding photography. If you already have such a book, you probably won't learn too much different in this one. He introduces the basics of choosing camera and software related equipment, setting up and carrying out a wedding shoot, and processing the photos after you've shot the wedding.
Specific chapters include: Equipment Matters, Computers and Software (main focus on PC and Windows users. No Mac examples present), Setting Up a Website, Getting Ready for the Big Day, Making Creative and Fun (this section could be expanded), and Proofing, Selling, and Printing.
He primarily shares and explains the tools he uses, such as iView Media Pro
iView MediaPro 3 (Win/Mac) and Photodex ProShow. He doesn't delve into the latest popular software like Adobe Lightroom
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 1.0 Win/Mac or Apple's Aperture
Apple Aperture 1.5. But the workflow process he introduces could apply to almost any digital management system.
The book is well illustrated and even contains a few useful camera tutorials that every photography should either know about or learn. In fact, it would be great to see Karney write an entire book of these types of tutorials.
Cons: The book is lacking in a few areas. I felt he should have spent more time on photo technique and style. You will certainly need to check out other books on this subject. And many of the photos included in the book, while very nice, don't always illustrate the points he's making on a particular page. For example, all the tutorials could have used photos to illustrate what he is instructing readers to do. I also think he could have included more about how Photoshop actions useful to wedding photographers. PS actions are huge time savers for anyone in the business. And finally, the business aspects wedding photography are not well introduced in this book, but again you can find more information in other books about this topic. Check out
Best Business Practices for Photographers
Overall, though, the book is one of many that a serious beginning photographer should read. I've read better ones than this, but I do appreciate the information and experience Karney shares in his book. I highly suggest getting this or a similar book if you're just starting out in the profession and you're looking for ideas and suggestions from a pro.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mastering Digital Wedding Photography, October 6, 2007
This review is from: Mastering Digital Wedding Photography (Paperback)
There is a lot of good information for the beginning photographer getting into the wedding business. I like the way that the wedding day is broken into segments and details what the photographer and crew need to do to stay on top of the event. I would like to see more alternative programs or methods to accomplish the finishing touches. The book compares iview and lightroom and gave good coverage to both. There was limited coverage to the use of the internet to share photos. The mention of fotofusion as an alternative to using photoshop for collage layouts is good advice.
There are some typos in the book but they do not take away from the overall message in the book. I am now just getting back into wedding photography after an absence of several years. The book has been great in detailing how the art of the wedding photographer has changed.
I recommend this book for anyone who wants to get an in depth overview of wedding photography as an occupational choice.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
MASTERING DIGTIAL WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY, June 20, 2010
This review is from: Mastering Digital Wedding Photography (Paperback)
This book has a lot of good information for someone looking into doing this as a profession.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
