Enjoy fast, FREE delivery, exclusive deals and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery

List Price: $25.99 Details

Save: $2.58 (10%)

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns

FREE delivery Friday, November 24 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35. Order within 14 hrs 46 mins

Select delivery location

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

$$23.41 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Ships from

Amazon

Ships from

Amazon

Sold by

Books Nooks and Crannies

Sold by

Books Nooks and Crannies

Returns

Returnable until Jan 31, 2024

Returns

Returnable until Jan 31, 2024

For the 2023 holiday season, eligible items purchased between November 1 and December 31, 2023 can be returned until January 31, 2024

Read full return policy

Payment

Secure transaction

Payment

Secure transaction

We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more

Details

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery Friday, November 24 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35

Select delivery location

Used: Very Good | Details

Sold by Jenson Books Inc

Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Other Sellers on Amazon

Added

Not added

$18.99
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: Becker Inc.

Added

Not added

$23.41
FREE Shipping on orders over $35.00 shipped by Amazon.

Sold by: Chapel Books

Added

Not added

$23.41
FREE Shipping on orders over $35.00 shipped by Amazon.

Sold by: NorthAmericaTrades

Image Unavailable

Image not available for
Color:

To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

Bryan Peterson

Follow

Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera Paperback – August 10, 2010

by Bryan Peterson (Author)

4.7 1,906 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$8.99

—

Paperback

"Please retry"

$23.41

$18.99

$1.25

Kindle
$8.99 Read with our free app
Paperback
$23.41

115 Used from $1.25 14 New from $18.99

There is a newer edition of this item:

Understanding Exposure, Fourth Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera
$19.86
(2,308)
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$23.41","priceAmount":23.41,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"23","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"41","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"ky19Lg%2FChahJOwjjN3szyZVbZDCS69Wp85b0dzbXN4VKfek0YMRMmT06Aj2k7HrImD850fm56lLLNg3sTIWZjaNIsb%2Fw4wiGS0ZxDiUvJnnrbcgy0CM6iGlq%2FldrD3MrSAPM5pIUnPfOHxPx04PcEYKf0k45hE%2Bd38f0J2Oh4rK1nX5PHkpt8W5ZIAJsUra8","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$9.05","priceAmount":9.05,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"9","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"05","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"ky19Lg%2FChahJOwjjN3szyZVbZDCS69WpffNcAaH21fV9R%2BONjVL5LsTesCj1BHlcBNJNmIxL971ML%2BoYTMH%2FCl1O2iXKPXrnwPIsORb96n7qJExhWkjXmP4%2Fu9z8tlcuMsf5ZlV4NXV2r39LZ8%2Fk1RWaeoAJ7%2B8jKdraKwGpa%2F6wpofqFbOnkvQwghmokl7s","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

With more than 350,000 copies sold, Understanding Exposure has demystified the complex concepts of exposure for countless photographers. Now updated with current technologies, more than one hundred new images, and an all-new chapter, this new edition will inspire you more than ever to free yourself from “auto” and create the pictures you truly want.

In his trademark easy-to-understand style, author Bryan Peterson explains the relationship between aperture and shutter speed, including how to achieve successful exposures in seemingly difficult situations. You’ll learn:

• Which aperture gives you the greatest contrast and sharpness, and when to use it
• Which apertures guarantee the background remains an out-of-focus tone
• Which one aperture—when combined with the right lens—creates an area of sharpness from three feet to infinity
• How to creatively use shutter speed to either freeze an action or imply motion
• Where to take a meter reading when shooting a sunset, snow, or a city at dusk

With new information on white balance, flash, HDR, and more, this updated classic will inspire you to stop guessing and take control of your settings for better photos anytime, anywhere, and with any camera.

Print length

176 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Amphoto Books
Publication date

August 10, 2010
Dimensions

8.53 x 0.43 x 11.08 inches
ISBN-10

0817439390
ISBN-13

978-0817439392
See all details

Frequently bought together

Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera

$23.41

Get it as soon as Friday, Nov 24

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

Sold by Books Nooks and Crannies and ships from Amazon Fulfillment.

+

$19.87

Get it as soon as Wednesday, Nov 22

In Stock

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

+

Understanding Flash Photography: How to Shoot Great Photographs Using Electronic Flash

$20.08

Get it as soon as Friday, Nov 24

Only 11 left in stock (more on the way).

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

Total price:

To see our price, add these items to your cart.

Try again!

Details

Added to Cart

Some of these items ship sooner than the others.

Show details Hide details

Choose items to buy together.

David Taylor
5,960
Hardcover
in Photography Reference
102 offers from $8.44
Bryan Peterson
564
Paperback
70 offers from $2.38
Joel Sartore
1,497
Paperback
53 offers from $6.49
Rocky Nook
185
Pocket Book
54 offers from $11.31
Bryan Peterson
233
Paperback
38 offers from $6.90
Tom Ang
56
Hardcover
75 offers from $1.25

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

BRYAN PETERSON is a professional photographer, internationally known instructor, and the bestselling author of Understanding Shutter Speed, Understanding Close-Up Photography, Bryan Peterson’s Understanding Photography Field Guide, Learning to See Creatively, Understanding Digital Photography, and Beyond Portraiture. In addition, he is the founder of the online photography school The Perfect Picture School of Photography (www.ppsop.com). He lives in Chicago.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Amphoto Books; 3rd edition (August 10, 2010)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0817439390
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0817439392
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.6 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.53 x 0.43 x 11.08 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #303,738 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #125 in Photography Equipment (Books)
- #217 in Digital Photography (Books)
- #221 in Photography Reference (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.7 1,906 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

Important information

To report an issue with this product, click here.

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Bryan Peterson

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

BRYAN PETERSON is a professional photographer, internationally known instructor, and founder of www.ppsop.com, The Perfect Picture School of Photography. He is the best-selling author of Understanding Exposure, Understanding Shutter Speed, Understanding Close-Up Photography, Learning to See Creatively Understanding Digital Photography, Beyond Portraiture and, most recently, Bryan Peterson's Understanding Photography Field Guide. His easy-to-understand writing and teaching style breaks down the complex and often confusing aspects of photography, translating them into what his students routinely describe as "aha" moments. His trademark use of colour and strong, graphic composition have garnered him many photographic awards and a strong following. He lives in Chicago.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5

1,906 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Reviews with images

See all photos

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

J. Roberts

Excellent book for beginners!

Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2012

Verified Purchase

--PREFACE--

THIS BOOK IS FOR BEGINNERS AND THOSE WHO NEED HELP UNDERSTANDING THE EXPOSURE TRIANGLE (aperture, shutter speed, and ISO). I cannot stress the previous statement enough because I have read many of the reviews of this book including the negative ones (the one and two star reviews seemed as if they were written by people with more experience than a beginner. For example one of them states that the author's opinion of depth field is wrong, which I'm not sure many beginners would know enough about photography to make such a statement.) If you are a beginner, and you have absolutely no clue on how to manually adjust your camera's settings so that you can consistently capture a "correct exposure," you need to buy this book!

I also must stress that this book is not about creating beautiful compositions or how to post-process photographs. It is simply a beginners book to understanding how to correctly expose your images. The author, Bryan Peterson, gives you the tools you need to take correctly exposed photographs (he even gives some tips on choosing the "creatively correct exposure" out of the many exposure options for a given shot). However, he leaves the composition of the photo up to you, the photographer, which in my mind is the way it should be. From the many professionals, amateurs, and seasoned hobbyists that I have spoken to, you will gradually develop an eye for photography as you become more experienced, which doesn't sound like something that you can learn from a book in my opinion. If you were looking for a complete guide to becoming a photographer, this book is not it; however, I strongly recommend it as a tool to help you get there.

--REVIEW--

I've been easing myself into the world of photography for a little over a year now, and I have purchased multiple books about photography, but none of them have covered the subject of exposure in the simple and understandable way Bryan does.

Most books I have read speak about the exposure triangle and how each element has an impact on the exposure, but I can honestly say that I was still guessing after reading those books, and when I was out shooting, I still relied heavily on my camera presets. I wanted to make the jump to the manual setting, but I just didn't understand enough about it, and being a hobbyist, I just didn't have the time to try to figure it out myself through trial and error.

However, Bryan explains exposure in such a simple and understandable way that after reading the first section of the book (which only takes about 15-20 min), I understood enough to be able to shoot in manual mode, which was extremely exciting to me. After almost a year of struggling, I understood enough about exposure to shoot the way I wanted to in only 15 min. I was so excited at this point, I almost put the book down to go out and shoot more photos, but I didn't, which was a positive because after the short introduction, he goes into more detail on what he calls "creative exposures," aperture, depth of field, and much more throughout the book.

I only received this book yesterday, so I'm only to page 83, but I plan on updating my review after finishing.

ONCE AGAIN, IF YOU ARE A BEGINNER, AND YOU ARE STRUGGLING TO UNDERSTAND YOUR CAMERA'S SETTINGS, BUY THIS BOOK. IF YOU ARE TRUELY A BEGINNER, YOU WILL NOT REGRET YOUR PURCHASE!

One person found this helpful

Helpful

An attractive, literate, accessible book that changed my photography

Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2015

Verified Purchase

First, my skill level: I am a photography enthusiast who has a fairly good grasp of photographic theory and methods, who has an eye for image composition, and who uses a DSLR to produce quality images, for someone of my experience. NOT a professional. NOT an expert. But passionate and always learning.

Now, my review:

I celebrate this book's powerful impact on my photography, an impact that occurred because I read the book as a 176 page persuasive argument in favor of manual exposure.

On colorful, glossy, and attractively arrayed pages, Peterson argues for a distinction between an image's "correct exposure" and its "creatively correct exposure." The former, your camera's light meter will reliably report; the latter, you must derive based on the scene and your intentions for it. Camera light meters don't care about which items photographers want in focus or left intentionally over- or underexposed; they care only about the degree to which the areas of frames assigned to their attention meet the accepted standard 18% grey specification. When that standard produces an image to your liking, great! But many times, your intended image is not possible if the meter's guidance is accepted. Hence, the need for manual exposure.

This book is a concise, yet thorough and eminently readable discussion of factors that affect an image's exposure: aperture (how wide open is the hole that lets light in through the lens to reach the camera's sensor), shutter speed (how long is that hole open), and light (that which allows the camera and its photographer to "see" anything). Interestingly, Peterson does not spend nearly as much time on ISO (the sensitivity of the camera's sensor to light) as he does on aperture and shutter speed, but his choice does not damage the book's final excellence.

Appearing, on average, about once per page are wonderful images from his professional work that showcase whatever subject matter is currently under review. More importantly, each of those images is accompanied by a marvelously detailed report as to the reason for his presence at the scene reflected, as well as his thought process that yielded the settings and methods choices he made before pushing the shutter button. I am a big fan of such process captions, and Peterson writes them VERY well.

Earlier I said this book functioned for me as a persuasive argument for shooting in manual exposure. Because of this book, I made the choice to shoot manual from now on, except when conditions require aperture- or shutter priority. Before reading "Understanding Exposure," I would have snickered at the suggestion that I would shoot in manual. But Peterson's work convinced me that if you understand the interplay of aperture, shutter, ISO, and light well enough - and I think I do - then manual mode is the mode that offers the best chance of producing the image of your vision. As important, the book convinced me that manual mode is not nearly as challenging or cumbersome to employ as I once thought it was. Now that I have been shooting in manual for a couple of weeks, I tell you the book is right.

I heartily, unconditionally recommend "Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition."

11 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Ugly1

Everything you need is right here!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 8, 2012

Verified Purchase

This is is an excellent book to help you take that step up from basic to intermediate photography and maybe beyond. It breaks down photography into easy to understand concepts and then explains them in detail. At no time does it feel as though the author is talking down to you. What he is doing is giving you the creative tools and he shows you how he uses them. How you use them is up to you! He certainly includes some pleasing photography.

I take good photographs, but not every time I press the shutter. For me I wanted the book to help me up my success rate. I wanted it to help me record the picture that I saw in my mind, and not necessarily exactly what stood before me. I think the book definitely helped me.

There are even some arguments and concepts that even the more advanced photographer may not have resolved. The section called Diffraction vs Satisfaction was of particular interest. In this passage the author discusses the benefits of going for maximum depth of field with the smallest available aperture or going with a more contemporary view and using an a more intermediate aperture. I tend to favour staying within the sweet spot of a lens, but Peterson is right. Nobody thought about any of this in the days of film, you always went for maximum depth of field. I must admit after reading this section I had cause to rethink my opinion.

In deed, much is written in the book about depth of field and hyperfocal distance. I found the authors view very interesting. I had always understood that there was a huge difference in the same apertures of different lenses. I had not understood the difference between apertures and camera formats. The concept that F8 on a point and shoot camera may be the equivalent of F32 on a DSLR had just not occurred to me. There is a cracking photograph of a village from his Leica point and shoot. He goes on to explain why such photographs are no good for commercial purposes. But, if there ever was an illustration that you can take good photographs on whatever camera you have, then this photograph is it.

If you have no idea what I am talking about in the above paragraphs, then read the book. You will get the idea in no time at all. It isn't complicated, but it is important if you want to improve your photography.

If you take perfect pictures every time then this book will be no good to you. If you need a refresher or want to take a step up the ladder or just see how professionals think, then you could do worse than this book.

W Brooks

Exposes some great tips for beginner photographers.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 30, 2013

Verified Purchase

I recently bought a new camera and have been attempting to get it out of manual mode, and more importantly understand what I was actually doing with all the different settings. With that in mind I wanted a book that reduces how complicated all the explanations are in the manual, and simply lays out what I need to do to get the types of photos I want.

This book is fantastic for the above! It starts with a brief introduction on some photographic theory, for example what the 'exposure triangle' is and what it means. It then carries on breaking down how to take good pictures and what settings to use, such as how to use aperture to control depth of field or how to use shutter speed to impart motion to photographs. The final section of the book goes over some other techniques which, while not strictly necessary (e.g. HDR photography) are something for me to aspire to when I get a bit quicker at regular photos and a bit more consistent.

I was also pleased to see the effort that has gone into the 3rd Edition. The 1st Edition was written in the early 90's and so I was a little unsure how revised this would be. Fortunately it seems to have been heavily rewritten, so now there's a lot of mention of digital cameras which is obviously more relevant to today.

The reason I've given 4 stars rather than 5 is that I was still a bit confused as I read through the early sections. I often had to flick back to the introduction to understand all the terminology with respect to f-stops and focal lengths. Perhaps this is me being slow, or perhaps it's just a hard subject to take in on a couple of reads. However I thought there was still some scope for improvement. Don't let this dissuade a potential purchase though - I can't think of how I'd have rewritten it and overall the book is excellent.

Great wording, great examples and tips, and most importantly great photographs!

One person found this helpful

Sub

Learn to become the captain.....

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 30, 2010

Verified Purchase

I rarely write reviews. I only do for things that inspire me and show me a step change from the norm. I started out with digital SLR seriously from about a year ago and have been reading up numerous informative guides/articles online to try and improve my skills. But this is the first 'photography' book that I ever purchased and I should say it is worth all the feedback. I learnt about composition etc. via Ken Rockwell and never bothered to go into Manual mode thinking I will lose all the photo-ops while wasting time twiddling the dials! Was I wrong though! I recently shot numerous indoor photos at a christmas gathering of constantly in the move kids (which means I needed to be quick) ,in dull tungsten light, all in Manual mode, following the tips and advice given in this book. I must say, great exposure everytime with atleast 95% of the snaps exactly as I wanted them to be. Once you truly understand exposure and how the camera's light meter works (it will obviously take practice and getting out to put the teachings in the book to practice before you can truly master the techniques)it doesn't really matter which mode you are in, including the dreaded 'M'! Thanks to this book I truly undertand what's happening with the light and how my camera really sees the picture. It has most definitely added substantial depth to my creative control over the pictures before I press the shutter and expect results as I intended. This book has given me foresight (understanding what to expect) rather than hindsight (looking at the feedback from the display after pressing the shutter and then applying corrections). I will whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone who has some understanding of their camera and photography, now wanting to get into the driver's seat. Its easy to read, not too wordy and has great photo examples with the camera settings printed next to them. Ken Rockwell taught me the pleasure of flying an aircraft in the co-pilot's seat. This book has moved me to the captain's seat.... well and truly in control! Go buy it..... remembering you will still need a good eye for composition; neither this book or any one else will teach you that but will surely help with improving the eye.

17 people found this helpful

Andrew Goodman

Far too general for this photographer

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 18, 2013

Verified Purchase

This is an OK book, and if you are just starting out taking photos with a DSLR then it will give you the basics, but beyond that it came across to me as a book advertising Peterson's work. I bought the book hoping to learn about how to expose film properly, having bought an old TLR, but I found it didn't really help that much. For example Bryan is constantly extolling the virtues of spot metering off the blue sky, yet never really explains why or whether this might work anywhere else in the world. Where does he live? Is the light the same in California in the summer as the light in Iceland in the winter?This book asks more questions than it answers.

Also, and this one really grates, how can you have a book on exposure that doesn't even try to explain how a light meter works, whether in your camera or a handheld one, or even broach the rudiments of the zone system? I'm left scratching my head and none the wiser. Instead we get a few rules of thumb from Uncle Bryan and pages and pages advertising his best selling photos. The book advises the reader to switch his camera to manual, yet if you have a completely manual camera, you would really struggle to use any of the material in this book.

Photography is painting with light. What we really need to understand as photographers is that negative film and especially digital camera sensors and reversal film have a narrow range in which they capture light, and so they will never capture what you can see with your eyes. Getting a perfect exposure is about understanding these limitations, and finding light of the right quality and the right quantity (the reason photographers and movie makers are up early in the morning), and knowing where to pitch your average exposure in a scene to get the results that you have visualised at the time you exposed the photo.

In my view Peterson doesn't really address the subject of getting the perfect exposure in different conditions all that well. His book is far too general, and could just as well have been called, "Switch your DSLR camera to Manual: How to take creative control of your photographs"; its more about the triangle of iso, shutter speed and aperture, and how each can be used to best effect in different situations, but even then, not in great detail.

I have since learned better information on exposure from 'The Negative' by Ansel Adams, and 'The Art of Photography' by Bruce Barnbaum, but then these men really understand what goes into fine art photography and will explain the art and the craft of exposing a good negative (or RAW file). I know a lot of photographers write books which are less about the craft, and more along the lines of "This is how I do things, if you want to create photos like the ones in this book, do this". This is one such book.

So to sum up, if you are an absolute beginner and have never used a DSLR camera on manual, this book is worth a tenner, but if you have the basics down, or you have a film camera and want understand how to make good exposures, my advice would be to look elsewhere.

24 people found this helpful

Arnie

Fantastic 6 stars if I could give them. Ideal for young and old.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 8, 2013

Verified Purchase

Photography to me is not like riding a bike. After a pause of about 10 years and having moved from film to digital I needed a nudge.

I can honestly say, without a doubt this book hits the nail on the head, it goes through the various elements of exposure and gives pictures on the effects available. Effects which you can go out and practice without being in some bizarre far off country.

Theres a chap on here that says theres too many pictures - to that chap.... hello its a photography book, going into the science of photography and equations will learn you diddly squat - you may as well read a crossword.

This book gives you examples, examples which you may find are similar to the picture you want to compose, it gives an explanation of what the photographer did, the aperture and timing and mode of the camera he used to achieve it.... Its striking how little variation is needed to produce wonderful results.

But the main point is - the book is easy - its not filled with mumbo jumbo its straight to the point - you want to take pictures "go out and practice - heres what I did, start there and develop" excuse the pun!

All in all a great affordable book which isnt just a bunch of pictures advertising the writers own works.. Ive come across countless books giving information which just seems cut and paste and then they say heres a wonderful picture and tell you nothing about how it was achieved.

I can gladly say photography wise, an astounding informative read very easy for kids to apprehend and adults too shy to ask. It positively encourages you to go out and be creative. Make this the first book you ever buy on photography!!!!!!

See more reviews