Complete Digital Photography, Third Edition (Digital Photography Series) (Paperback)

by Ben Long (Author) "For years, if you pulled out a digital camera in the presence of a professional photographer, or even around a hobbyist photographer who had never..." (more)
Key Phrases: black point adjustment, image cataloger, focal length multiplier, Photoshop Elements, Resample Image, Rubber Stamp (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Digital photography has arrived once and for all. No longer do photographers have to be defensive because they prefer digital. Thanks to new technologies, digital cameras at all ends of the price spectrum can rival their film counterparts. If you have shifted from traditional to digital photography, and need to know what's different about shooting digital, this is the book for you. Now in its third edition, this bestseller has been fine-tuned and updated to provide you with the most current information on today's cameras that you'll find anywhere. Whether you're new to photography, or new to digital photography, you'll learn how to take the best possible shots. Even though your camera may pack an image sensor instead of film, taking good pictures still involves understanding apertures, shutter speeds, and metering techniques, as well as a few other issues that film shooters don't face. Fortunately, digital cameras also provide some unique tools to help you get the shot right the first time.

Covering everything from the inner workings of your camera to the subtle intricacies of your image editing software, the book is divided into four sections. The first section provides a basic technical foundation that will prepare you for the rest of the book. It details the basics of how digital cameras work and gives you a quick photography primer. The second part explores everything you need to know to make an informed decision about which camera, computer, and software is right for you. In section three, you'll progress to the nitty gritty of shooting, including metering, choosing the right exposure, using histograms, flash photography, and much more. In the final section, you'll learn about digital editing and correction techniques, along with the various methods for outputting your images (print and electronic). If you're new to photography, you'll learn the basic theory that photographers have studied for decades, as well as the latest tools and techniques made possible by the shift to digital. If you're an experienced film photographer, you'll see how to translate the knowledge you already have into the digital realm.

Features:
* Includes completely revised and updated coverage
* Provides new, detailed coverage of camera evaluation, including the latest technologies and affordable SLR cameras
* Includes completely re-written explanations and examples of metering and exposure, including hands-on tutorials
* Covers Photoshop CS and of Photoshop Elements 2.0
* Includes many new tutorials on improved methods for correcting and enhancing photos, and addresses the most common types of corrections users want to make
* Provides new and expanded coverage of the basic questions camera purchasers have, including how many pixels are needed, how to reduce red eye, shooting inside versus outside, etc.

ON THE CD-ROM
• Tutorials: All of the files needed to use the book’s tutorials as well as additional QuickTime tutorial movies and PDF tutorial articles
• Software Demos: Adobe Photoshop CS, IView MediaPro, and PhotoRescue
• Images: Color versions of most of the images in the book to examine on-screen or to print

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
To work through the tutorials in the book, you will need Photoshop CS (a demo is included on the CD). WINDOWS: Intel® Pentium® II or better; Microsoft® Windows® 2000 with Service Pack 3, or Windows XP; 192MB of RAM (256MB recommended); 300MB of available drive space; Color monitor with 16- bit color card or better; CD-ROM drive. MACINTOSH: PowerPC® G3 or better; Mac OS X v. 10.2.4 or better; 192MB of RAM (256MB recommended); 350MB of available drive space; color monitor with 16- bit color support, or better; CD-ROM drive. Please check the individual demos for specifics

About the Author
Ben Long (San Francisco, CA) is a successful writer, producer, videographer and author. He is the author of the first two editions of this book, as well as the best-selling The Digital Filmmaking Handbook, Second Edition and Making Digital Videos.

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Charles River Media; 3 edition (October 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584503564
• ISBN-13: 978-1584503569
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (73 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #261,217 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

298 of 302 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very STRONG book, February 15, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Complete Digital Photography (Graphics Series) (Paperback)

I'm a professional photographer, and when I decided to go digital, I bought about a dozen books on the subject. This one leaves the others in the dust.

One of its greatest strengths is that the author explains digital by referencing film photography. This allows quick understanding of the new by comparing it to the familiar.

But if you're new to photography, this book is still for you. The author has a real gift for explaining complicated processes in a way that makes them easy to understand and utilize. And he covers what you need to know, without putting the pro to sleep.

I read omniverously, but I'm rarely impressed enough to write a review. If I could only keep one book on photography -- digital or film -- this would be it.

And thank you to the author for insisting that digital photography is created with a digital camera, NOT a scanner. I am SO tired of books that are supposedly about digital photography which are really about digital manipulation of film photography.

Do yourself a big favor: if you're interested in this subject, buy this book. You won't be disappointed.

282 of 287 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Complete Digital Photography IS Complete, July 17, 2001

By	"lghadle" (Livermore, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Digital Photography (Graphics Series) (Paperback)

As an instructor of Photography and Digital Imagaging, I have found it difficult to recommend texbooks that incorporate ALL the most important points of capturing, transmitting, printing, storing, archiving, and retrieving digital images. I generally need to list several titles to cover these various topics. Ben Long not only does the job with the Complete Digital Photgraphy, but he does it in a very concise, logical and easy to comprehend manner. This book is timely, informative, accurate and thorough. I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to jump into to the art of digital photography. I especially praise its use for instructional value. I am replacing next year's text with this one.

77 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Complete Digital Photography - tells you what you must know, July 10, 2001

By	Jeri Ann Payne "jeriann3" (Huntsville, Alabama) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Complete Digital Photography (Graphics Series) (Paperback)

I've found Ben Long's Complete Digital Photography an excellent writing about today's superior digital imaging equipment! As an advanced nature film photographer, I've had my eye on the recent advances in digital photography for quite some time, and this book will help anyone, experienced or beginner grasp a good thorough understanding of what digital photography encompasses. This writing does not go into the specifics of all the digital cameras in today's market, there are plenty of excellent equipment review sites online to handle that task. Instead, the book provides excellent material regarding how digital cameras work; what components are common and present in the various models; how to match a camera to your particular shooting requirements; the "similarities" and the "differences" between digital photography and traditional film-based photography. It further gives a good basic understanding of photography fundamentals which apply to picture taking in any medium. The book includes a CDrom disk of actual sample photos, and is presented in a tutorial basis so that you can actually try out the explained techniques and examine for yourself on your own computer/monitor and or scanner equipment setup, the qualities and results from photo editing tutorials etc., that are presented in the book. There are some excellent Adobe Photoshop image editing lessons included as well as a demo version of this popular image program on the CD. I could ramble on about this book, but let me just summarize and say that if you are serious about digital photography and/or are interested in making the transition from film to digital photography or just want to get the very best results from your digital equipment, this book should greatly help you achieve your goals... highly recommended!