Best books to teach you photography techniques and basics. Ideas?

Their are so many good books out there. It really depends on what you are looking for. I enjoyed Tom Ang’s books when I was starting with photography but now I enjoy books that do discuss technique but in the context of a specific image.

In particular, Joe McNally’s books (if someone was going to try and list the greatest living photographers, Joe would make the list) are amazing, as is David Ziser’s book, Captured by the Light (he is a wedding photographer, but the techniques he describes are fairly universal).

For straight up photography learning (what shutter speed, aperture and ISO are and how they relate etc.), there are so many, the fundamentals have not changed and you might be able to pick up a good one used for cheap.

But I find now that so much information is available online. The Strobist blog is the best place anywhere to learn how to light, for example. Other amazing blogs are Chase Jarvis’s, Zack Arias’, Joe McNally’s and Scott Kelby’s.

That said, a good library of books you enjoy returning to as a reference or for inspiration is invaluable. One amazing resource is peach pit press. They publish many books online that, for a reasonable fee, you can access. You can review hundreds of books and then decide which ones you would want to purchase (I have no affiliation).

Best of luck and keep reading and learning!

I’m going to try and have some fun with food photography. What are some good lighting techniques?

A couple large (4×8) soft boxes and two or three fills with scrims and snoots. Use the fills with snoots to shoot through scrims for tight spots, that helps control specular highlights It’s hard to fill in tiny overlaps and keep shadows soft, and you’re also dealing with semitransparent foods that get blown out. Light your background separately. It’s a lot like macro but with the luxury of having room to work.

Ahh, almost forgot…. attitude: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afNIRFCiKEo

I am trying to learn photography on my own as of the moment with my Nikon D80. Although they say that it is best if you go out, just shoot and test it, I still would like to hear some of your tips and techniques that would help me out.

Thank you in advance. I would appreciate any help.

This question has probably been answered a lot of times before.

There are actually lots of sites all over the internet which could help you out with this one. You just Google it and lots of results will come out. However, I understand that with the many tips and tutorials out there, you might get confused.

That’s why I am recommending this e-Book. It’s called Digital SLR Cameras and Photography for Dummies, 3rd Edition. It’s a wonderful and really helpful book for beginners! You can find a lot of beginner tips and it could also make you learn how to use and get familiar with your camera. I believe it is the latest edition too.

Since I came across a blog that actually shared the book for free, I’ll share it to you. Here’s the link: http://discoverinterestingstuff.blogspot.com/2010/07/beginner-photography-tips-techniques.html

You can download it free from there. Good luck and happy shooting!

I’m interested in photography, and these two examples have caught my eye as being somewhat difficult to achieve, as I don’t know how to reference them. The first is this sort of soft, blurred technique that I really like: http://www.diana-damrau.com/2007/img/gallery/gal1_misc/foto8.jpg. I was wondering what it is called and how to either obtain it using a camera or a photo editing service [I have Photoshop Elements]…

Thanks a lot!

Not a photo program deal

Just shoot your bride against a white background (with a stop to stop and a half hotter background) and use two portrait lights .. Key on the front of the bride and fill on the other side.

This kind of shot is pretty standard. I could take up to five minutes setting it up before you use your camera. It could take days trying to manipulate an existing shot using a powerful program like Photoshop if you don’t have the necessary skills

So i just got a Nikon Coolpix L110 and i really want to know how to do shutter photography.
Also, my hd movies aren’t compatible with Windows movie maker…
Any additional photography tricks and techniques would be much appreciated! thanks!!

I have no idea what you mean by shutter photography.
If your movies aren’t compatible, use a converter program to convert it (Google is your friend here).
Tricks and techniques:

Learn about your camera !!!!

Read your manual !!!! Read it several times, and practice in between. If you don’t have a book, download from the manufacturer’s website.

Attend a class, read some books, read/watch online tutorials.

The major camera manufacturers (like Canon, Nikon, Olympus etc) all have very useful sections on their website for learning about photography.

http://www1.nikonusa.com/slrlearningcenter/index.php

http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/oima_learn_center.asp

http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=HomePageAct

http://www.webphotoschool.com/all_lessons/free_lessons/index.html

Understanding at least the basic principles of photography (as well as being familiar with your camera) will enable you to make the most of your gear, and will make a HUGE difference to your images.

like this: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1368/877464802_0b9d220aeb.jpg?v=0 ? Digital or analog…
I don’t want to photograph tv screens, i want my photos to be shaped like tv screens…

You’ll find an excellent guide here – http://www.ephotozine.com/article/How-to-take-pictures-of-a-TV-screen

Hi, I am amazed by tilt-shift photography. It is interesting to see how easily our mind is tricked and misinterprets scale. I was wondering if there is a technique which achieves the opposite of tilt-shift photography, which can trick the mind into perceiving miniatures as real size. Is this possible? And has this technique a name? Thanks!

The reason why our minds are tricked is because the photo has an unusually thin depth of field, which is normally associated only with close-up photography, not architecture or landscape. You can also tilt it in a way that gives you more depth of field, such as the effect shown here in the middle of the page: http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/hartblei_120_4_pc_n10/page5.asp

As you can see, however, the image is still very macro-looking. Another reason why macro photos are almost immediately recognisable is because of the perspective- almost, if not all macro lenses are in the medium-telephoto category. Telephotos compress features, giving macro shots their "distinctive" look. There really isn’t a way to transform macro photography into "normal" photography.

The class is open ended, we make our own projects and record our failures and successes, I am having trouble thinking of things to do. we can use film or digital cameras.

I like the sound of your project…would be fun.
Hope the links below help:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/experimental_techniques/

http://photography.lovetoknow.com/Experimental_Photography_Techniques

I am just beginning to look into the art of photography – it has always interested me, but there is obviously a lot of skill behind the work – To those of you who have specific ideas and techniques on how to enhance the quality of your photos (when taking the picture, not like photo shop or Gimp) please, enlighten me! What kind of things make a good photo, what angles, flash or no flash? (etc.)

Thanks for anything you are willing to contribute!
Ps. I can’t travel much, nor can I afford an amazing camera, necessarily. I’m only fourteen.

Look at other people’s photography. Not just browse and say, "oh that’s nice" and move on. I mean really look at photos that are successful. See why they are. What draws you to them, or what part of them draws you to them. Its a great learning tool, maybe one of the best.

This gallery is full of amazing images and variety.

http://www.pbase.com/falcn/exhibition_acceptances

First, master the camera. Know what it can do well and can’t do well and work within those boundaries. When you have it pretty well figured out, you can step out of those sometimes and assess how its performing.

Don’t use the flash until you have a good handle on what you’re doing. If you’re taking family pics indoors, go ahead and use it. Family pics are great, don’t get me wrong, but its not exactly photography in the sense of the art.

Angles. Rule number one, don’t tilt the camera. This is not a camera angle, its called being misguided that its some kind of unique thing that EVERYONE who is not a photographer in the real world is doing. Camera angles are dependent on the perspective you’re trying to portray. Portraits have kind of their own rules apart from the other stuff.

Your pics need to be on point with each of these 3 things to be good. Composition, exposure and focus. Try not to post anything that’s not perfectly sharp or as close as you can get it. Focus is not all about holding the camera steady. Good Luck!

Try this site:
Photography Articles: Beginning Photography

http://www.betterphoto.com/photography-articles/Beginning-Photography/