Photography for Dummies (Paperback)

~ (Author), Dan Richards (Author) "Your point-and-shoot camera is practically an invitation to just start taking pictures..." (more)
Key Phrases: digital photo products, photofinishing machinery, autoflash mode, Kodak Premium Processing, Uncle Clive, Great Aunt Gretyl (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The inimitable Dummies format, which has distilled everything from the Internet to Italian cooking, is an excellent way to organize information for photographers. The chapters cover single topics like film, flash, and composition, and are easy to both access and understand. Icons (which are defined in the introduction) call out "tips," "technical stuff," and "bloopers." This layout is designed for quick reference while you're shooting, providing, of course, that you care to lug the book with you.

Writer Russell Hart, who is the technology editor for American Photo magazine and an exhibiting photographer, takes readers from the very basics of loading film and batteries into a camera, through such invaluable technical and practical information as how best to photograph kids and choose the right photofinisher (including scoop on the Advanced Photo System), right up to a glossary of "photo jargon" so that even neophyte photographers (or those readers who've only scanned the book) can at least sound like they know what they're doing. Chapter 10, in which Hart waxes somewhat poetic on the value of a photograph--documents of family history, insurance evidence, etc.--and disputes "ten lame excuses for not taking along your camera," can turn even the most reluctant camera operator into a rampant shutterbug. --Jordana Moskowitz

From Library Journal

In an approach typical of other titles in the "Dummies" series, this book provides a straightforward, fairly comprehensive review of amateur photography with a point-and-shoot camera. Award-winning photographer Hart begins by advising novice photographers that they do not need a single-lens reflex (SLR) camera to take good photographs. He correctly assumes that most amateur photographers use these small cameras rather than SLR cameras, and his book's strength lies in the depth and breadth of its coverage of point-and-shoot cameras. Hart defines the types of point-and-shoots available today, then discusses their parts and operation. Excellent chapters cover lighting, composition, and technique as well as digital photography with advanced photo systems. Finally, Hart offers sound advice on purchasing cameras, along with helpful information on web sites, troubleshooting, manufacturers, retailers, and a glossary of jargon. One of the few manuals for amateurs who simply want to improve the quality of their photographs, this book will be a solid addition to most collections of popular photography in public libraries.?Raymond Bial, Parkland Coll. Lib., Champaign, IL
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (May 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764550659
• ISBN-13: 978-0764550652
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #624,701 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

75 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars FOR POINT & SHOOT CAMERAS, April 12, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

I guess I wasn't paying attention to customer reviews, because it wasn't mentioned in the book synopsis itself, but this book is mainly for point & shoot cameras. If your are wanting to learn about basic stuff for SLR cameras, this is not for you. Try "Basic Photography" instead. However, this is a good book on composition, lighting and film and other subjects that apply to any type of camera.

53 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars not chance photography any more, November 29, 1999

By A Customer

In every role of film developed there would always be one or two shots that were well-composed, exciting and which I would almost be willing to display. It took this book, Photography for Dummies, for me to figure out why and how. After purchasing three different cameras (they had to be at fault), I finally purchased this book and learned about using all those mode buttons on my camera. I learned how to eliminate the dark corners and unwanted shadows. For that alone, this book is priceless. If you're buying someone a camera for the holidays or for any ocassion, this book is a must to go along with it.

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If want to learn to take good pictures, here's a new friend, January 7, 2001

By	Andyrew (Beaver, PA USA) - See all my reviews

I started photography not expecting it to be my life's ambition...Oh well. When I started, I bought this book on a recommendation from a photography magazine. I learned so much. Taking a good picture is much more than buying an expensive camera with lots of pretty buttons. This book is the key to taking great travel pictures, pictures of your kids, really any kind of picture you want to take.

You'll learn how to frame a picture correctly, (including how and why putting your subject gently off center makes a huge difference,) which is probably one of the biggest facets of a great photo. You'll learn how to pick the right film speed (you'll learn what the different numbers mean, 100, 200, 400 ect.), pick color or black and white film, how to pick a good photo finisher, the different kinds of flash most cameras come with and how to use them, why always using flash isn't a bad idea, moving with your subject, changing the angle from which you shoot, making those breath taking landscapes you stumble across look just as stunning on film, and that's just the tip of iceberg. If you've been waiting to buy that new camera, this book will help you pick which one is best for you. There are so many options now a little guidance will go far. It wasn't until after I read this book that I started getting nice compliments on photos.