The Photography Bible: A Complete Guide for the 21st Century Photographer [Paperback]

Daniel Lezano (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2004

A general reference to all aspects of photography for the beginner through to the intermediate photographer. Covering all the basic questions from explaining what the different types of camera are and how they work, to different techniques for shooting various subject matter, to darkroom methods and how to manipulate and print digital images. Designed to appeal to anyone who owns a camera, it is an attractive, comprehensive manual for all photographers and the perfect gift for anyone interested in photography.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Daniel Lezano is the editor of Photography Monthly, Britain's second biggest and fastest growing photography magazine. He is an accomplished writer and photographer, a well known name amongst readers of the photography press and the author of The Compact and Digital Camera Handbook (Marshall Editions, 1999). He lives in Stamford, Lincolnshire.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: David & Charles Publishers (November 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0715318063
• ISBN-13: 978-0715318065
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #432,495 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, December 30, 2004

By 

Snik (North America) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Photography Bible: A Complete Guide for the 21st Century Photographer (Paperback)

This book is amazingly great. It includes everything you need to know about cameras, taking photos, composing scenes, everything. Digital and film cameras are explained in detail. Filters, flash, film, ISO, exposure, aperture, composition, color, EVERYTHING! It has a ton of pictures and examples, and goes into detail how to do everything. Best book I own.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good reference book, but already somewhat dated, June 20, 2006

By 

Rennie Petersen (Copenhagen, Denmark) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Photography Bible: A Complete Guide for the 21st Century Photographer (Paperback)

My overall impression of "The Photography Bible" is quite positive.

There are three major sections in the book:
- Technical descriptions of cameras and other photographic equipment and how they work.
- How-to-do-it advice about how to take pictures and how to become a better photographer.
- Descriptions of specialized techniques that can be used in certain circumstances.

All three sections contain a wealth of interesting information, and the book is well-written and well-illustrated with sample pictures and technical drawings.

The first section (about equipment) is perhaps a bit too long. This emphasis on equipment might unfortunately encourage some people in their mistaken impression that to take better pictures all they need is more and better gear.

The second section about basic picture-taking principles is the most important part of the book. This part should be read with your camera in your hands so you can try things for yourself. In this way you will really learn the important lessons taught here.

The third section (specialized techniques) should just be scanned, as it is reference-style material and need not be learned all at once. You should then put the book on your shelf and take it down from time to time when you want to learn about a certain specialized technique.

The book ends with a 2-page history of photography, a 4-page glossary and a 3-page index.

The subtitle for "The Photography Bible" is "A Complete Guide for the 21st Century Photographer". Unfortunately, in spite of the book being published in 2004 it is already somewhat dated in two different ways.

In the introduction Daniel Lezano writes that film cameras are on their way out, and he compares the current situation with what happened to vinyl records (LPs - does anyone remember them?) after CDs hit the market. A very apt comparison.

Despite this, Mr. Lezano tries to give equal time in the book to both film cameras and digital cameras, and in my opinion this was a mistake. Quite a few pages are wasted on discussions of ordinary film cameras, specialized film cameras, darkrooms, color filters, infrared film and special processing techniques for film. I think the book would have been better if it had focused 100% on digital photography.

The other way in which the book is dated is simply due to the tremendous development of digital photography. Some of the things that Mr. Lezano says about digital photography was cutting-edge in 2003 but is already obsolete in 2006.

I did notice a few typographical and minor factual errors. Better proofreading should be done if/when an updated edition is produced.

Despite the above reservations I did really like this book and recommend it highly.

Rennie Petersen

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book!!!!!!!!, September 7, 2005

By 

Nelson Urbano "Nelson U." (Jacksonvillve Beach, Florida United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Photography Bible: A Complete Guide for the 21st Century Photographer (Paperback)

I'm beginner photographer, just moving from point-and-shoot to more elaborated shots. The amount of information in this book is simply amazing. For less than $20 you can't ask for more.
Mr. Daniel Lezano gives all kind of tips in this book; Cameras, Light, Apperture, Shutter speed, Lenses, Filters, Films, Depth-of-field, Flashes, Focusing, Static and Moving subjects, landscaping, portrait, Metering system, etc.. The list of tips goes on end on. Most important, the tips are not only about what is available in the market and about camera setups, but also how to use them. Fully ilustrated with beautiful photos, some with the camera/lens setup used to take the shot.
If you're a beginner like me, I strongly recommend this book. Actually, I would say it's a must to have. For more advanced photographers; Since my knowledge is still beginner's, I would rely in other reviews. But if you love photography, I'm sure you're going to enjoy this book. In other words, being beginner or advanced I think it's at least worth reading this book.