Digital Art Photography For Dummies (Matthew Bamberg, 2005)

[madali]

Digital Art Photography For Dummies (Matthew Bamberg, 2005)

I'm thinking of getting into photography. Usually I buy a new gadget, try it, and throw it out in a few months (if that). I'm thinking of getting a SLR camera, but this time I figured I'd take it slow. I wanted to read up on photography first, before investing a significant amount of money into photography and realize that taking photographs is too much work.

I feel like I'd like photography but I'm one of those people who's camera phone gallery is not really jam packed full of photos. I just don't seem  to be that interested in getting people to pose in groups and taking pictures of them.

Anyway, the book is a brief look at digital photography with sections covering diverse topics related to photography, such as altering your pictures with Photoshop, printing, framing, and so on. The latter topics were not that much of an interest to me so I scanned through them and tried to make use of the ways to take pictures more effectively.

I don't think I have learned that much, but it does make some impact in my creative mind. One of the most important things that I think has been altered in my mind is the importance of light in photography. This will seem like such a simple statement to make, but I realize how little I actually pay attention to it when shooting. I feel The Automatic Flash has ruined all of us in this regards. We take it for granted that we have light whenever we want because of the flash and since it is automatic, we never have to actually think about it. It was interesting that the book rarely ever recommended uses of flash. When taking a few photos, I was surprised that the removal of the flash sometimes takes better pictures. You lie, Automatic Flash.

3/5

[fizz]

There is one and ONLY one way to learn photography - buy a camera and shoot. Everything else is just talk. I read and read and read a lot before I picked up my first camera, but the only thing all that reading was good for was knowing what camera to buy. Imagine how good a driver you'd be if you went to driving school and they handed you thick guide to driving on your first day.

While photography is a very, very expensive hobby (I've spent close to five figure amounts on it by now...) it need not be. If you buy a second hand, fully manual DSLR camera you can do everything that most modern DSLR's do. Many of the enhancements that compel manufacturers to roll out newer versions aren't that necessary - its the same as software, you can be just as productive with Office 2003 as you can with Office 2010. I've been told there are some great second hand camera places in Shiraz (don't ask me where!).

Finally, you are now quite well informed about the topic of light. The difference between a good and bad photograph is the control of exposure, and exposure is nothing more than the amount of light you let in to get an optimal shot. A much better book to understand the concepts of playing with light without the technical mumbo jumbo would be Bryan Peterson's excellent Understanding Exposure.

P.S. The book is quite wrong about Flash photography. I try not to use it and 90% of what I shoot is without Flash (I'm a landscape guy), but the key is to use the Flash in such a way that the person viewing the photograph cannot really tell if Flash was used. Off camera flash photography (commonly referred to as strobing) where you take the Flash off the camera (using wires or wirelessly using RF) and play with angles, ambient light etc is a topic of such depth than a person could spend a lifetime learning and still not know all there is to know about it.

[madali]

Oh, I definatly agree that it won't be as much use as actually shooting it, but I wanted to read it a bit before starting it, to see if the books talking about the subject interests me or bores me. If its the latter, then I know its not my thing.

I'll ask you for advice when I actually want to buy something.

[madali]

If i'm going second-hand, I should get it either from ebay or dubai. In Iran, prices down fall down that much from new to second hand on any product.

[fizz]

Dubai, I've realised, has an excellent secondary market for very good quality, used photography equipment. Lots of desperate sellers, but you have to be patient. Except for one lens, everything I own is used but bought in pristine condition, often with warranty still intact.

[madali]

Throw a few model names at me, please

[fizz]

Give me a budget. If you can't think of any, look at the Canon 1000D/600D or the Nikon D3100/5000D, all being entry level DSLR's available brand new for about USD 650-750 at stores in dxb. Nikon is widely considered better overall (and even as a Canon user, I'll admit that!), but their entry level models have limitations on the type of lens you can use compared to Canon's (such as the D3100 or the D5000), so unless you can spend more than this range, stick with Canon.

[madali]

Thanks

[madali]

A place near me sells the Canon 1100 for around 790 dollars. How's this model? Is it worth it?