Customer Reviews

Perfect Exposure: A Practical Guide for All Photographers

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

There is too much information in this book that is way too technical or simply of no use to me. Here is a quote from the book: "With a spot meter, you can measure the log brightness range of the subject; you know that you need a log density range of around 1.1 to make a contact print on grade 2 paper: and armed with the film manufacturer's gamma/time cures, plus a good guess at the flare factor for your lens, you can select the appropriate development time."

The photographs in the book are average to the point that when looking at them I'm thinking, "I can do better than that."

The authors have a converstaional style in writing, and if you want ALOT of detail on exposure, maybe this is the book for you. There is 20 pages devoted to the chapter on film testing alone, a couple of paragraphs of which are devoted to describing the example negatives that are over/under exposed. The problem is, the negatives they are describing are in one of their other books! You would think that at 192 pages, they could at least include the examples they are refering to.

The key concept in the book is ". . .think hard about how you want a given tone to 'read' in the final picture, and adjust your metering technique accordingly."

This is exactly the kind of photo book I've been looking for: lots of technical information on film characteristics, theory of density, printing, how lighting and filters affect exposure, technical details on the various kinds of light meters and what they're good for, etc., etc., etc. All too many photo books of this form factor are pablum. This book really gets into the guts of film exposure and all of the factors that affect it. If you want to go beyond the basics in understanding how film is exposed and such things as the difference in characteristics between slide and negative film, this is a great book.

Don't let the beautiful cover fool you, this book contains dreadfully complex, dry text that confuses rather than enlightens. Unless you are enticed by topics such as, "Interpreting the D/Log E Curve" or "Converting Log Density Ranges" there are easily better choices. If you're looking for clarity - whether novice or advanced photography skill - buy Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure." Its simplicity is effective and refreshing.

You can judge a photographer's skill by his/her photographs. All of the photographs in this book look like they were taken by Average Joe with a disposable camera. This book was written backwards. The book does not mention metering technique until chapter 8 (near the end of the book)! They mention handheld meters in chapter 7 but never explain proper use of them. The book never discusses studio lighting techniques or even portable (on camera) flash technique. They never discuss proper use of available light or use of lighting modifiers (reflectors, diffusers, etc . . .). Most of this book rants on and on about arbitrary +/- .25 to .5 exposure adjustments for a million different specific situations (mostly travel photographs) instead of explaining overall technique. Save your time and money. Read another book written by a professional.

I wouldn't title a book this way if I didn't have the pictures to back it up, and these authors do not. The print (at least in my copy) is very poor and suggests that all pictures were taken on ISO 800 film or faster - but the captions state otherwise. If you are technically inclined, buy a proper technical book. If you are more interested in how-to's, buy another how-to book than this one!

After using another of the authors' book "The Black and White Handbook", I was disappointed by this one; It's a lot of chaos to me. The redemtion of the book comes with the notes and ancedotes of the authors, rather than what the title would suggest.

Written to obscure rather than illuminate. Effectively makes simple subjects seem complex. Skip this and buy anything by Ansel Adams instead.

I was really impressed with this book and how it took an average photographer through the steps towards understanding exposure. There are many fundamental concepts explained in a "layman's fashion" and I would highly recommend this book. There is only one chapter that enters into deep theory which the author suggests you may want to skip or come back to later. If you want to increase your basic understanding of film exposure, natural light and how film development plays an important part, then this book is for you!

This book is a departure from others I've read by the same authors. There is little flow or organisation to the material. Detailed technical info is presented, only to be often times refuted by the authors in a side-note as not of true value. Therefore I feel the only value in this book is in the authors' side notes, which are in themsevles often arcane.

I think that readers will learn more about the scientific side of photography. I found that the chapter on films was very thorough. However, some readers may find this book confusing to read when they have to deal with all of these technical stuff. I feel that this book is not too practical for some.