The Complete Idiot's Guide(R) To Digital Photography (Paperback)

~ Greenberg (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The subjects of photography and computers have tremendous breadth and depth. Understanding either one can be a challenge, especially if you're a beginner. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Digital Photography does an excellent job of breaking the ice as it introduces readers to photography, computers, and digital cameras.

The book really does start at the beginning, with a short history of the camera and photography, plus the basics of composition. But it progresses quickly into an overview of today's digital tools. Instead of bogging down the reader in myriad details about camera models, computer software and hardware, and other minutiae, the book gives an overview of the available technologies, describing which system or format is best for different kinds of tasks. This is a good thing--hardware and software evolve rapidly, and some of the details mentioned in the book as "up and coming" are now standard. (See the sections on camera resolution for examples.)

After a look at how the gear works, the text dives into a lesson on photography basics (composition, lighting, shutter speeds, and lens focal lengths) and the details specific to digital photography (image resolution, monitor and printer calibration, and compression). The companion CD-ROM includes a demo version of Adobe PhotoDeluxe, and chapter 13, "Improving Your Images," goes into detail on using this image-editing application to improve the pictures you've already shot.

What good is instant digital photography if you can't instantly share your work on the Web? Chapter 22 addresses this specific issue, covering the basics of building a Web site (nothing fancy) and how to compress and upload your favorite pictures for everyone to see.

No particular platform is favored in this book--the contents of the CD-ROM are compatible with both Macs and PCs. Overall, this book succeeds at teaching the principles and basics of how digital photography works, and how to set up for it. Practical, useful, and enlightening, this is a good first step on a complex road. --Mike Caputo

Product Description

A beginner's guide to digital photography for the home computer discusses the art of photo manipulation, developing and printing digital images, digital photographic techniques and equipment, and more. Original. (Beginner).

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Product Details

• Paperback: 382 pages
• Publisher: Alpha (September 29, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789721090
• ISBN-13: 978-0789721099
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,405,606 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

318 of 318 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just For Beginning Photographers, June 7, 2000

By	Pbleic (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

I bought this book for my son, who has no experience and has expressed an interest in digital photography. I used to be into SLR photography and developing, so I thought that I would flip through the book, with my new digital camera in hand. Instead, I found myself reading it cover to cover. And now that I have taken my first 200 pictures, I am going back in for a second reading. The book is easy to read and funny like most Idiot's guides. It is full of a lot of useful details about using the camera, and taking effective pictures. Rather than reviewing cameras (which would be obsolete by the time it was printed) the book focuses on principles and features. The sections on composition are particularly helpful for those who come from the point and shoot world. The most surprising section dealt with the software (mostly Adobe PhotoDeluxe that comes with many cameras) and monitors/printers. I thought that my general knowledge of software and image editing programs meant that I would gain little from reading this section. Far from it. I learned a great deal, in a step by step fashion about how to clean up a photograph. When I got the camera I assumed I would print each picture "non-retouched". After experience and reading the book, I am retouching every picture before I print it, changing brightness, sharpness, colors, cropping, and even some editing. In fact, the book gave me the courage to use the cloning tools (a feature that some experienced PhotoShop users are unaware of) to remove unwanted features from some photos.

The sections on monitors and printers is essential in clearing up the confusion of "Why doesn't my printed picture look like the one on my computer screen". I highly recommend this book to anyone considering buying a digital camera, whether you are an experienced amateur or beginner.

266 of 267 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to read and "user friendly"look at digital photography., October 28, 1999

By A Customer

This is a great book! It is easy to read and at times even humorous. It starts with a very useful and important explanation of photography including exposure, lens types, and camera types. I found the chapter on composition very useful and it has already helped me to take better shots. The book describes, in detail, how to buy a digital camera and what features and pitfalls to look out for. The book also has many very easy to follow demonstrations on how to improve my images including color and brightness/contrast manipulations. Later in the book, Steve describes how to make photo collages, masking (selections),use filters, and even how to build a web site. I also found the chapter on printing and calibration really helped me print out my photos exactly how they looked on my monitor.

I looked at a lot of other digital photo books and this was the most complete. I think Steve's perspective as a working digital photographer is very useful. I also found the book very useful and from a beginners point of view very "user friendly" I think even an advanced user will get a lot from the book. I highly recommend it.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book to get started in digital photography, August 2, 2001

By	michael E. Dorsey (Germantown, Wi.) - See all my reviews

I have had a digital camera' a Kodak DC280 for many months now. I have ben a 35MM amature for over 30 years and this book has helped me make the transition to digital photography better than anything else I could have done.Before I got this book, I had many problems with doing this as the manuals on the software were very poorly written and had many things just skipped over or missing entirely. Before I got halfway through the Book there were many things that helped me greatly That were just not in the manuals that came with the software. It has made everything much easier and faster. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is just starting in digital photography.