Photography books

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Hi all,

ive been keen to take up photography for a while now and was going to start saving for a 2nd hand DSLR.
but my partner bought me a suprise this xmas, which turned out to be a fujitsu finepix s1600. which he was told was a 'bridge camera' and would be good for a beginner
i would love to do a course on phototgraphy, but i will just have to make do with photography books for the time being.

could anyone recomend any good photography books to help get me started.
i would love to eventually take some landscape and animal photographs that i can be proud of

any help much appricated :D
 
Understanding Exposure is good; there is a third edition available although a little more expensive. I don't know the difference between editions though.
 
Thanks Anna Ive just ordered that book from Amazon, although Ive got the basics I can still learn from this and the reviews of the book were very good from the people who had aready purchased it.
 
Excellent thread, i was just going to start this thread myself, after being recommended Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson.

Just to see if there were any others work reading.
 
My favourite beginner's book is Michael Langford's Starting Photography. Bryan Petersen's Understanding Exposure is very good, and contains some superb photos, but I find the Langford books (which continue with Basic Photography and Advanced Photography as you progress) to be more instructive and telling you how to get particular shots. They are also filled with lots of project ideas for you to explore particular techniques. I still refer to my copy from time to time.
 
LIght Science & Magic is a very good instructional book on how to use light.

How to Expose can be learnt a lot easier than reading Bryan Petersons book.

See here. and there are many other tutorials in the Tutorial section
 
I'm new to photography and enjoyed Collins Complete Photography Course -http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d.html/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/278-8504891-5785418?a=0007279922

The book was a load of mini projects that explored different features of the camera. I'm also using a Bridging Camera and by using the book and the camera manual to figure out how to control the different settings I'm now taking more interesting pictures than I took with my compact camera.
 
The ones mentioned are very good and if you can lay your hands on the old Time Life series of books they are packed with some extraordinary photography and excellent tips and techniques, all pre digital, but still very pertinent and good for reference,
talbot
 
I found Scott Kelby's book very helpful when I first started. Can't remember the name, but there's a new edition of his first book which I still think is excellent. I bought it for my Dad for Christmas as he's just started out, and he finds it very useful.

Think I'll also take a look at Understanding Exposure too. It gets mentioned so often it seems silly not to buy it
 
Actually, as an aside, what is the difference between the 3rd edition and original? The 3rd edition is more expensive and out of stock, whereas the original is in stock and cheaper, but appears to have been around for quite a while?
 
I have no idea what others may think but there appear to be some very useful articles on here.
 
Understanding Exposure is a great book. I had the 2nd edition from the library early last year, and I received the 3rd edition for Christmas.

The original book was released in 1990 and written for film. It was then updated in 2004 (2nd edition) but reading it, it feels as if he's simply reviewed the original and added sentances like "this will work for digital too" (it's not as crude as that, but you get the idea). The 3rd edition however, has been properly adapted for the digital generation.

Overall, the 3 books are predominantly the same, as quite obviously a correct exposure is a correct exposure, regardless of the media you record it on. However, for someone that is not familar with film cameras, it may well be worth saving yourself the confusion and opting for the 3rd edtition.

Simon also suggests something by Scott Kelby. My first ever photography read was The Digital Photography Book by Scott Kelby, and I found it very interesting, as it's written in a different style to most instructional/educational books. It's slogan is "The Step-by-step Secrets for How to Make Your Photos Look Like the Pros" and it does exactly that - it simply tells you what settings to use in what situation, to take a pleasing shot. I enjoyed reading it, but nowadays I rarely look back at it, as now I'd rather know the how and why as opposed to the what and when.
 
Nemesis said:
Simon also suggests something by Scott Kelby. My first ever photography read was The Digital Photography Book by Scott Kelby, and I found it very interesting, as it's written in a different style to most instructional/educational books. It's slogan is "The Step-by-step Secrets for How to Make Your Photos Look Like the Pros" and it does exactly that - it simply tells you what settings to use in what situation, to take a pleasing shot. I enjoyed reading it, but nowadays I rarely look back at it, as now I'd rather know the how and why as opposed to the what and when.
Click to expand...

That's the one. There's 3 in the series now. And I completely agree. Starting out they're a brilliant way to learn.
 
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