Digital picture fun for everyone
When the Tokyo PC Users Group asked me to order a copy of the Digital Photography Pocket Guide to give away at our October meeting (Choosing a digital camera, presented by members of the Japan Photography Mailing List), I decided to order an additional copy for myself. I’m glad I did, because this compact book not only serves as a concise reference, but it also includes a lot of great tips on how to take better photos.
The first chapter provides a general overview of digital cameras and the features you can expect to find in the various entry-level, mid-range, and high-end cameras on the market.
The second chapter explains the various shooting modes offered by most cameras and how to use them to create the best effects. Readers who are not quite satisfied with the explanations in their operation manuals will appreciate this chapter, because it contains a wealth of useful information about common digital camera features that most manuals lack. (Whereas most manuals simply describe the camera’s capabilities, this book goes far beyond that by showing you how to use those capabilities to get exactly the shots you want.)
The third and final chapter provides a rich collection of tips for getting the best possible shots in common situations, such landscape or architecture shots or when shooting friends and family pictures. This chapter alone is worth the cost of the book, not only because the advice it provides is rock-solid, but also because it encourages creative exploration of your camera’s abilities in ways that are sure to further deepen your interest in photography. It certainly did for me.
The appendix provides a handy listing of generally reliable settings to use in most situations, which can serve as either a handy baseline or a creative springboard, depending on your purposes.
It takes only about an hour to read the book from cover to cover (as I did when preparing this review) or even less if you are seeking specific information, in which case you can easily find and absorb the information you want in seconds. It would take weeks—possibly even a lifetime—though, to exhaust all of the possible shooting techniques this book presents. I’m sure that anyone who reads this book will find that you get a lot more out of it (in terms of enjoyment and productivity) than you put in (in terms of money and time).
Beginners and experienced photography enthusiasts stand to benefit most from this guide, but even pros can glean useful information from it. Given the number of useful tips packed into this compact guide, it is safe to say that no digital photography kit is complete without it.
