Complete Digital Photography (Graphics Series) (Paperback)

by Ben Long (Author)
Key Phrases: camera raw, smart object, quick primer, Complete Digital Photography, Imaging Tactics, Photoshop Elements (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Complete Digital Photography has become a classic book for helping traditional photographers move to digital! It's also the book of choice for many new digital photographers who want to learn how to take great digital photos. Now in its 4th edition, this bestseller has been fine-tuned and updated to provide the most current information available. Covering everything from the inner workings of the camera to the subtle intricacies of image editing software, the book is divided into four sections. The first section provides the basic technical foundation needed throughout the rest of the book. It details the basics of how digital cameras work and provides a quick photography primer. The second part explores everything needed to make an informed decision about which camera, computer, and software to choose. Section three has been thoroughly updated and expanded to cover the nitty gritty of shooting, including metering, choosing the right exposure, using histograms, flash photography, and much more. And the final section, teaches the latest digital editing and correction techniques, including new coverage of workflow and raw conversion.

About the Author
Ben Long (San Francisco, CA) is a writer, producer, videographer, and the author of the best-selling title Complete Digital Photography, Third Edition as well as the first two editions of The Digital Filmmaking Handbook.

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Charles River Media; 4 edition (June 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584505206
• ISBN-13: 978-1584505204
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 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: #116,381 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!