Scott Kelby, the man who changed the "digital darkroom" forever with his groundbreaking, #1 bestselling, award-winning book The Photoshop Book for Digital Photographers, now tackles the most important side of digital photography--how to take pro-quality shots using the same tricks today's top digital pros use (and it's easier than you'd think). This entire book is written with a brilliant premise, and here's how Scott describes it: "If you and I were out on a shoot, and you asked me, 'Hey, how do I get this flower to be in focus, but I want the background out of focus?' I wouldn't stand there and give you a lecture about aperture, exposure, and depth of field. In real life, I'd just say, 'Get out your telephoto lens, set your f/stop to f/2.8, focus on the flower, and fire away.' You d say, 'OK,' and you'd get the shot. That's what this book is all about. A book of you and I shooting, and I answer the questions, give you advice, and share the secrets I've learned just like I would with a friend, without all the technical explanations and without all the techno-photo-speak." This isn't a book of theory--it isn't full of confusing jargon and detailed concepts: this is a book of which button to push, which setting to use, when to use them, and nearly two hundred of the most closely guarded photographic "tricks of the trade" to get you shooting dramatically better-looking, sharper, more colorful, more professional-looking photos with your digital camera every time you press the shutter button. Here's another thing that makes this book different: each page covers just one trick, just one single concept that makes your photography better. Every time you turn the page, you'll learn another pro setting, another pro tool, another pro trick to transform your work from snapshots into gallery prints. There's never been a book like it, and if you're tired of taking shots that look "OK," and if you're tired of looking in photography magazines and thinking, "Why don't my shots look like that?" then this is the book for you.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
A Practical Guide:
This is a more professional digital "step-by-step" photography compared to the Dummy series. I was looking for a straight forward approach to successfully using my digital camera and not an academic point of reference. This book tells you directly what to do and how to avoid mistakes. If you want to "understand" the why and why not than a college course would be a good alternative.
Love it...:
To be honest, I've had this book in my collection for quite some time and hadn't read it yet. After reading the reviews about Mr Kelby's 'poor attempt' at humor, I thought I should read it. I will be honest....I LOVED IT! Not only is there so much great info on photography, but the humor was a relief from alot of the 'stuffy' photography books out there. This was the first photography book that had me laughing and gave me straight forward tips and tricks on making better photos. I have already ordered the... more info
Great idea for those starting out.:
Pros: Good read (very entertaining); you will take better pictures; easy to understand (not too technical)
Cons: I wish it had exif data for all the pictures instead of just the last 10 or so; geared toward Canon/Nikon users but still works for all DSLRs.
Excellent!:
An excellent introduction to those looking to learn how to use their camera and is applicable for those with a SLR or a point and click. The books do become a bit redundant if you buy the series, however while he tends to repeat himself on occasion from book to book, it is likely for those that only buy one of his series. So for you out there only looking to buy one of his books your in luck however I would highly recommend the series.
