Customer Reviews

National Geographic Photography Field Guide: Secrets to Making Great Pictures, Second Edition

5 star:		(77)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I am new to photography and after browsing through several "how to books", I decided to buy this one. Though smaller than some other "complete" guides out there, this book offers very clear, easy to understand explainations of the inner workings of photography. It packs a lot of information within its pages, and tells you what you want to know, what is involved in taking great pictures. It covers both indoor and outdoor photography, has excellent diagrams, and uses photographs to illustrate techniques. Rather than offer the reader an endless stream of irrelevant data, this book explains the fundamentals of photography and how they can be used to create great photographs. The authors are careful to cover many different camera types, but keep the information relevant for all readers. It should be noted that this book is presented in full colour, unlike a different "complete" guide, which was 90% black and white(you have to be joking!). I highly reccomend this book for anyone looking to learn about photography, or improve on their technique. First class offering, typical of National Geographic caliber.

It is always a delight to read- and see- a National Geographic book. They are always well written and packed with superb photographs, so a Photography Field Guide could not be the exception. In this masterpiece, Peter Burian and National Geographic star photographer Robert Caputo will reveal to you the secrets to making great pictures. From the Essential Basics, that is cameras, lenses, light, flashes, film and composition to practical topics on how to photograph a "world of subjects" ranging from people to animals, from sports to architecture and from landscapes to close-ups, this book is a real help to anyone who wants to take a picture. Like other National Geographic books, this one is also well designed, user friendly and packed with beautiful photos. It is also updated with a section on Computers and Photography and contains a useful glossary and a directory of web sites and photography magazines and books. As I wrote in the title of the review, this book is dazzling and informative. I think that everyperson interested in photography, should have this Field Guide, it is outstanding, a book worth a million pictures and a million words.

The National Geographic Photography Field Guide is an excellent guide for beginners and a good reference for the more experienced. The information is clearly presented and features such as tips in the margins make the book easy to read as well as to use for later reference. Both the technical aspects of photography and photograph composition were discussed succinctly.

Moreover, the book itself was entertaining reading and I enjoyed the sections where various photographers' styles were showcased. Not only were these sections useful in learning how to go about taking pictures, they were interesting in their own right as glimpses into how different artists work.

The National Geographic Photography Field Guide strikes a perfect balance in its approach. Beginning photographers will find this an effective reference, and the more experienced will benefit from advice from National Geographic's greats. And the book manages to cover this range without being either condescending or talking above the heads of newcomers.

Sure, you'll get advice on how to avoid under-exposing a subject with a light background, and how to use a ceiling flash bounce to give your portrait subject a flattering illumination, but the main value of this book is the inspiration it gives to readers who aspire to take better pictures. The photographers' first-hand accounts of experiences and techniques are invaluable.

The book itself is beautifully printed and is full of beautiful color photos. Just like the National Geographic Magazine, one buys this book in part simply to look at the pictures.

An excellent book that will help you take better photographs. Covers everything from equipment to composition. Very highly recommended.

I found this book very useful. I refer to it often. The color photographs illustrate the text beautifully and completely. The book is a size (larger than a paperback novel, but smaller than a normal hardback) which allows me to carry it around easily.

The interviews with photographers are informative and interesting. The variety of photographic styles cover a broad range of interests among these talented individuals and the reader. The "how to" portions are well-written and easily understood. The authors do not "talk down" to the reader, yet cover material well.

The text is laid out in a way that makes it easy to find information. This book should prove very useful to the amateur, advanced amateur, or beginning professional.

This book is simply GREAT, it is dense for its size. Comments about every picture is shown. Tips to keep in mind in the margins of pages. The book covers in a very clear manner the art of photography. The book is divided in these areas, and each is developed in well explained sections.

1.- Essential Basics (Composition, cameras,lenses, light, flash, exposure) 2.- A World of Subjets (weather, Landscapes, peoplearchitecture, close up) 3.- Making photographs under pressure (Underwater, animals, Aerials, Adventure) 4.- Computers and photography 5.- Useful information (preparing for travel, web sites, magazines and books) each word between parenthesis is a section. The interviews are in sections where they are related to. The interviews are great, i thought there were going to be 2 or 3 very short interviews, but nothing farther from the truth, there are 8 interviews where the more important characteristics of each photographer is shown as well as their life as photographer. Sincerely this is a GREAT Acquisition. I recomend it strongly.

Of all the photography equipment and accessories I have now I would consider this book the most valuable of them all. For without it I would still be struggling with getting out of the all to easy, yet fallible "P" mode. This book took me from novice point and shooter to an advanced photographer feeling comfortable shooting some of the more higher end films getting great results in a very short time.

It is written for both beginners as well as serious photographers covering many aspects of photography to get you on that road to taking great pictures. The illustrations and photos with the subject discussed make it very easy to understand.

Living in Japan, the land of photography, it's hard not to get hooked, yet English books on the subject are extremely expensive here or too focused on a single subject going on and on with graphs and charts and in-depth technical details. I was looking for something reasonably priced and not to over-encompassing to get me started. This book was definately a home run, or better yet a Grand Slam, when it came to overall useful content and price.

I have given this book as gifts to many people with similiar interests in photography that just couldn't get past that P mode either. I have also given it to people interested in Digital Photography. The basics are all the same, lighting, exposure values etc... I assure you this is one gift that will not sit on the bookshelf after the first reading and eventually wind up in the garage sale bin.

This book is one that will not go out of date anytime soon as it covers all of the basics which don't change.

Definately "NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC" calibre stuff!!

This is a great book for beginners, but I would not recommend it for advanced photographers. Published by National Geographic, I expected this book to be advanced, but it turned out otherwise. The book's content tends to be repetitious and basic. Basic photography issues like the difference between slow and fast film, basic compositions, how exposure works are included, but the book does not discuss these issues "deeply." Very important issues like exposure charts are not there (the kind that shows you which f stop and shutter speed to use in many shooting conditions like shooting the city light, sunset, lightning, etc.) I also expected the zone system to be discussed, which is also not there. Since this book is a field guide, those issues are very important and should have been included in the book.

The National Geographic Photography field guide is intended for beginner to intermediate level photographers. And it does a good job of giving those photographers an overview of all the choices they have, but not a great job of providing a solid basis in exposure technique for the inexperienced or moderately experienced photographer. There are instructional chapters on composition, cameras, lenses, light, flash, film, exposure and gear. I am a fairly experienced photographer at this point, but I remember when I wasn't. And I can say that this book does not provide enough detailed instruction about exposure to answer all of the questions an inexperienced photographer would have, and make him or her comfortable with his camera's "manual" mode, and with a wide variety of lighting situations. The book does explain the differences between SLR, rangefinder, and various formats of cameras, which is unusual in an intro to photography book. I am sure that many novice photographers will find that information interesting. But I think that the publishers sacrificed more comprehensive instruction on exposure in order to include more of an overview of photography.

The second section of the book, entitled "A World of Subjects", comprises half of the book. Included are chapters on various types of photography: weather, landscapes, people, architecture, sports, close-up, motion, night. Interspersed among these subjects is a series of essays by National Geographic photographers giving tips and explanations of the sorts of photography they do. These essays are a nice addition to the book and provide some insight which might be useful to any level of photographer.

The printing and paper are the high quality that you might expect from a National Geographic publication.

For beginner and intermediate photographers looking for the most how-to info they can get, I would recommend Kodak's Guide to 35 mm Photography. I don't think that the National Geographic Field Guide is quite as helpful in that regard. However, it has some additional content which you might also find interesting, such as the essays by accomplished pros and the chapter on different types of cameras.

If you don't know how to use your 35 mm SLR camera or you think that you can always take better pictures from any of those point and shoot cameras rather than your expensive heavy SLR, or you are pondering over to buy your first SLR camera to enter into the world of photography then this is what you need to read.
Having said that never conclude that this is a book for the beginners. This is just to emphasize the photography skill spectrum it covers in this one book.
This book is divided in two main parts. First part tells you all the technical knowledge you will ever need, in a very easy to understand language with tons of practical tips. This covers basic understanding of apparture, shutter speed, film speed, ways to control exposure, depth of field etc and then basic composition rules to make successfull photographs. All the concepts are explained with example photographs.
Second part covers some very valuable suggestions from some of the accomplished phtographers from National Geographic.
Afterall taking successful photographs is a thinking process and the more you learn from masters more equiped you are to satisfy your photographer self.
If you want to buy only one book to improve your photography skills then this would be the one.