Best photography reference books according to redditors
We found 222 Reddit comments discussing the best photography reference books. We ranked the 83 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 222 Reddit comments discussing the best photography reference books. We ranked the 83 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
There's actually at least one book out there, called How to Photograph an Atomic Bomb that describes the process. With the proper shielding (heat shields, lead shielding to prevent the radiation from the explosion screwing up the film) and shock-absorbers, it's not that difficult. What's trickier is getting the cameras and equipment back after the explosion when they're contaminated by radioactive waste.
Rapatronic shutters operate on the basis of polarized glass whos polarization depends on the flow (or lack of flow) of electricity through it. Two sheets of polorized glass are placed in front of the film medium. The polarization of these sheets are 90 degrees from one another and so no light is able to reach the film medium to expose it.
I forget what the exact mechanism at play is, but at the moment of shutter release an electrical impulse is sent to the front sheet of glass, altering its polarization to be in line with the second sheet of glass. This allows light into the camera and onto the film medium.
Because electrical impulses can be exposed to a much higher degree of accuracy than mechanical shutters, this enables exposure times of 1/1000000 second and shorter. To achieve multiple frames, they simply set up multiple cameras. There is no way to spin a mirror fast enough to capture those speeds.
Source: "How To Photograph An Atomic Bomb", a wonderful book about Harold Edgerton, who invented both the rapatronic camera and the modern electronic flash.
Edit : link formatting
> zone system
Do you shoot film? Because I don't see the point of the zone system with digital. I can imagine that in the process of learning about it it has helped you reframe the way you thought about exposure somehow. But the practical, real-life application of the zone system to shooting digital? I don't see it.
Ansel Adams pretty much wrote the book on optimizing your exposure with film in The Negative, but the optimal exposure with digital is much simpler, it's ETTR.
> realizing that 90% of the so called wisdom about shooting people at "portrait focal lengths" is garbage
On that point I came to realize that people just use the word "portrait" when what they actually mean is "headshot". A portrait can be so much more than a headshot, and as such there really is no such thing as a "portrait lens", any lens could be used for a portrait. My [own] favorite portraits are shot with a 50mm (on full frame).
A headshot lens, however...
> you don't have to point the softbox at the subject
That's called feathering the light. I think I first woke up to this concept watching a Joey L tutorial...
Not in these tests; Copying and pasting again:
In these shots, the cameras were encased in 2.5" thick Lead boxes, mounted on poles, and secured with guy wires (wrapped with foil). The cameras they used inside the houses were also encased in 2 inches of lead shielding, and were bolted to the foundation.
The cameras used to captures these tests were called GSAP cameras, (Gun Sight Aiming Point cameras), which were handy for this operation, since they were small and reliable. The power boxes for these shots were buried underground, and hooked up to a timing operator, which turned on the cameras when the bomb went off.
The tests you're thinking of, where they used mirrors, were the hydrogen bombs and Megaton yielding bombs that were usually tested over the Pacific (See; Casle Bravo).
Source: Peter Kuran's How to Photograph an Atomic Bomb book
Picture of one of the camera boxes used in these tests
For more information on how these tests were photographed, please refer to this PDF file, which documents their techniques, strategies, and goals accomplished in the photography.
Information Dashboard Design by Stephen Few
http://www.amazon.com/Information-Dashboard-Design-Effective-Communication/dp/0596100167
The Camera, The Nevative and The Print by Ansel Adams. The Camera in particular is still relevant today; and these three books are essential reads for anyone who still shoots film.
The above recommendations are very good starter telescopes, but if you really get into it you will quickly find yourself wanting something with more features (like a tracking motor, spotting scope, and adjustable tripod).
My first and only telescope is a 8" SCT (a Celestron C8 Deluxe). Familiarize yourself with the differences between a reflector, refractor, and catadioptric (SCT). The SCT design is a nice hybrid that combines advantages of both reflectors and refractors in a smaller package than either can offer. As others have said, get an equatorial mount, preferably a German equatorial mount (GEM) over a fork mount.
Look for something with a smooth and accurate tracking motor, but don't be wowed by fancy computers with databases and other bells and whistles. Buy a high quality set of star charts. A lot of my enjoyment comes from finding celestial objects by looking them up on paper and then learning where they are in the sky. Something is lost when you can simply tell a computer to point the telescope for you.
You'll also want to invest in quality eyepieces. Every optical element that light passes through on its way to your eye (or camera) affects the image. The best telescope in the world will still look like crap if you stick a crappy eyepiece on the end.
If you are interested in astrophotography, I can't recommend this book highly enough.
Edit: Gold? Whoa. Thanks Reddit!
Ansel Adam's books are amazing. The Camera and The Negative are really good. The Print is also good but not really relevant to a hybrid work flow. Still neat reading though.
US Law:
Legal rights of photographers
Photographers rights [In PDF format on page]
Legal Handbook for Photographers
Non-US countries:
UK Photographers rights
Canadian Rights
Australian rights
New Zealand rights
Thanks.
Here is a book for you:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1780673353/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524516759&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=how+to+take+better+pictures&dpPl=1&dpID=41PClKtt49L&ref=plSrch
An 8" Dobsonian reflector telescope, such as the Orion XT8i with Intelliscope to help you find your way around the sky. $640.
The book NightWatch, $20.
The Backyard Astronomer's Guide, $30.
A planisphere. Get one appropriate for your latitude. $10.
A comfortable camping stool for sitting at the eyepiece, or your back will quickly complain. ~$30.
SkySafari for your iPhone/iPad, $3.
A pair of good binoculars, 8x50 or 10x50, $120.
A nice wide-field (62-degree) eyepiece, like the Explore Scientific 24mm. $140.
That's about $1000.
One more thing to add: a dark sky. Priceless.
If you really want to know about HDR, go pick up copies of Ansel Adams' The Camera, The Negative, and The Print. I'm not even a big Ansel Adams fan, but the dude understood HDR before it was 'cool.'
And I agree with goose_of_trees: The HDR technique here is mostly used to take boring shots and make them look terrible. Good HDR should be invisible to the viewer - they should be captivated by the content first, and if extending the dynamic range of the image will enhance that, then it is appropriate to do so.
Here's an "Intro to Tableau" Evernote link that has the detail below, but this is what I've put together for our teams when new folks join and want to know more about it.
http://www.evernote.com/l/AKBV30_85-ZEFbF0lNaDxgSMuG9Mq0xpmUM/
What is Tableau?
Where do I get it?
Now that I have it, how do I use it?
How do I become involved?
I want to know more
I'd strongly suggest updated books. Ansel Adams, while a genius, had to work with more limited materials that we have available now.
For example, masking, split contrast printing, unsharp masks, toning, reducing, bleaching and the like are barely mentioned in the above books. Some of them because of material unavailibility, some of them because of his particular brand of photography.
Some suggestions:
How familiar are you with modern photography, exactly? Have you ever enlarged prints in a darkroom or looked at the various wet-lab digital print options? Have you ever tried processing giant sheets of color film?
4X5 film has mostly been rendered obsolete by tilt-shift lenses on medium format digital, and even your D3200 will outperform it if you're stitching a panorama. 8x10 color is very tricky to process due to thermal considerations and sheer size, and at $5+ a sheet with the cost of home development, that $5,000 MF body starts looking good real fast.
And that's if you don't need flash. The bigger the body, the more power you need. My 300Ws battery strobe the size of a jam jar would require a 4000Ws pack-and-head system - and a generator.
>I want a store front with a big gallery in an area where the rich and middle class all hang out at. I want to show my work and create a small section for a guest artist to show off his or her work.
You want something that doesn't exist. Malls are dead, art purchases are down, and no photographer can afford the rent on a decent gallery. Maybe you'll sell a few big prints at someone else's gallery...at 50% commission, until they, too, shut their doors.
You wanna make bank? Get work for H&M.
> I believe in doing things right at the scene instead of repairing bad photos.
I know someone who got her start in photography working for Ansel Adams.
Ansel Adams spent a lot of time in the darkroom. In fact, he wrote the book on it.
And he spent most of his time on tedious commercial crap.
You might want to ask in /r/analog or another film-friendly place about stand development. There, the idea is to exhaust the dilute developer touching the film (no or very little agitation) so film gets as much development as it needs. If a frame is overexposed it'll just exhaust the developer soon and the development will stop while its underexposed neighbor will slowly develop. This gets you some latitude. Now, of course the developer doesn't know frame boundaries, and the mechanism works just like that within a single frame, doing things to contrast, even giving you things like sharpening halos. Please don't take my word for it, though, google for it and ask around.
For frame-specific regular development you'll need to be shooting single frames, as you've discovered. This is not as nutty as it sounds as it was what early photographers were doing and large format photographers still do. If you're curious, Ansel Adams wrote a three volume series, two of which dealt with just how to make exposure and development fit the scene on a per-frame/per-print basis (here's v2. The Negative).
I'm a budding amateur myself! Here's what I recommend based on their level of helpfulness.
Start listening to Astronomy Cast
They pretty much cover every topic you can think of in detail and they're really fun to listen to. They're probably the best astronomy podcast or radio show in existence right now.
You can also check out Pamela Gay's other project Slacker Astronomy
There's also 365 days of Astronomy
Which are little 5 or 10 minute user contributed podcasts each day.
For general knowledge. Wikipedia is your friend, I also rely on /r/space and /r/Astronomy to keep me in the know and I read Space.com and Universe Today
For books. I have two in my collection so far. The backyard Astronomer's guide
and Turn left at Orion
Both are excellent books.
I also do not own a telescope. Since I'm just beginning I picked up a pair of Celestron 15x70s which are kind of the go to "beginner" binoculars.
Looking at other people’s work can give you ideas. Join a site like Flickr and see what other people are shooting that interests you.
Subscribe to a (print) magazine like Popular Photography; every issue has lots of ideas.
The book Photo Idea Index has lots of self-assignments for shoot ideas.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Information-Dashboard-Design-Effective-Communication/dp/0596100167
That's what Flickr is for. I don't believe that Instagram is a good place to find good photos anyway, unless you want to find photos that are good for Instagram. What makes a "good" Instagram photo doesn't necessarily make a "good" photo in other formats, because good Instagram photos are meant to be viewed on a small screen, not on a computer screen, or as a print.
Also, instead of buying a ton of lenses, learn how to use the ones you have. Get a 50mm (if you have a full frame camera) or a 35mm (for an APS-C camera) prime lens, and stick with that until you know how to use it well. In the immortal words of Robert Capa:
> If your photographs aren't good enough, you're not close enough
Remember that it's not the lens that's making the good photo, nor the aperture, shutter speed, ISO, or the camera. It's a good photographer that makes good photos. Composition is more important than equipment.
If you can't take good photos with a 50mm (or APS-C equivalent), then you're not going to be able to take good photos with your 85mm f/1.7 or your 70-200mm f/2.8L. The exception of course is wildlife photography. If you can take good bird photos with a 50mm, you're probably Dr Doolittle.
Anyway, getting back to photographic inspiration, I think you're better off finding a book. There's some really good books on photography. Read This If You Want to Take Great Photographs is a great one to get a copy of. People seem to love investing a bunch of money into camera gear, but then spend nothing on education. Even the fanciest camera in the world can't make you a good photographer if you have no idea what you're doing.
Buy the book The Backyard Astronomer's Guide.
It will answer so many questions you have in getting started. It is a bit more expensive, but it will save you tons of time and money that you may spend on the wrong thing down the road. It's one of those books that comes in handy all the time when learning about astronomy.
It covers the basics of telescope types, what you should expect to see, what to avoid, where to look based on where you live, etc.
You need to learn a few things before you can fully enjoy a new hobby like this. It is a great book.
Upvoted both for the scope recommendation (yeah, a 6" Dob would be as decent a scope as you can get for $300) and for the advice to try them at a star party. Let me put it another way: at this stage, you don't need to buy a scope, you need to learn about scopes and what you can see with them. Once you know more, you can decide what scope is good for your circumstances (what you can do with the same 6" Dob in a big city vs the country side is very different).
Read [this book][http://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Astronomers-Guide-Terence-Dickinson/dp/1554073448]. It will take you to much higher level of understanding of amateur astronomy. You may decide to buy a bigger or different scope, you may decide to be content with a 6" Dob or you may drop it. All of these happen. A book such as the one quoted will help you figure out which is the right thing to do for fewer $$ than scope. Enjoy.
> Is there a catalog or index somewhere that lets me know which stuff is the best depending on the season?
Yep
An absolutely invaluable guide when you're getting started, as it not only gives you a good variety of targets every month, but also some educational discussion about imaging the objects with various types of cameras, optics, and fields of view.
Can't recommend it enough.
>I'm a new photographer and anticipate friction doing this hobby
Legal Handbook for Photographers
A black and white print is rarely black and white when done by a skilled developer. Usually, prints are toned so the dark areas are different shades of brown or blue or... whatever works best. They can be split toned so they the shadows are a different color than mid and highs. Making a print in black and white is an art, especially when using chemicals. It is also a little bit cheating--put anything in a selenium bath and it will look fantastic.
If you really want to see some interesting examples, get this book: Photographer's toning guide
This other guy wrote a book on it, too: The Print
http://www.amazon.com/Turn-Left-Orion-Hundred-Telescope/dp/0521781906
http://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Astronomers-Guide-Terence-Dickinson/dp/1554073448/ref=pd_sim_b_3
I'm a hobbyist photog and a digital marketer by trade since 2003.
You're correct that the website is just a business card, and its ability to draw and convert customers for you really depends on how well you've defined your market. If you're targeting something high-level and non-regional, it will be very hard to find traction. If your niche is local and specific, you can probably find success, but that will be driven by hustle and building relationships.
> i'm not a fucking blog in the first place and i'm not going to pad my website with transparently bullshit text to generate sales.
That's one way to think of blogging and content marketing, I suppose.
But there are many businesses that use blogs/CM as ways to bring value to customers and non-customers, or to contribute back to the community they're a part of. And those are the blogs that actually drive revenue, because that's how customers stay informed of what you're doing, and how potential customers see that you are worth looking into.
For micro stock, it doesn't matter nearly that much, someone has a defined need for a certain type of picture, so they find that picture and their need is met.
But when it comes to selling prints to consumers, you are as much a part of the product as the actual picture - and maybe more, when it comes to selling prints. Most fine art print buyers are buying on wants and emotional fulfillment, not on a defined need. That's why successful fine art photogs build email lists, tell stories about the photos in their prints, offer limited editions, etc. The blogging/content/email marketing is about making the consumer feel special and a part of something worth belonging to. The keywording and tagging doesn't do that - it just helps with discovery in the first place.
>I have tried so many ways to google specifically "photography marketing specialists" and that apparently is not a job that even exists.
I've thought many times about starting just such a business, since I know marketing and photography, and there are definitely opportunities for success when merging them. But I don't think there's enough volume in fine art, nor enough margin dollars to actually support an industry of people who provide marketing services to photographers.
The places where photography marketing works are on the platform side (SmugMug, zenfolio, etc) which can scale, not on the photography services side (lead gen, branding, etc).
>What do you guys do? Does ANYONE know what the fuck they're doing in this field or are they all bullshitters?
Almost all successful photography marketing is pure hustle from the photographers themselves, or a small team that works for them. And most of that successful photography marketing is not about selling photography, but about selling ebooks, tutorials, PS actions, etc.
There are some good resources out there. This book from Alain Briot is a bit dated, but I own it and think it's pretty solid. I've also got this Zack Arias book that has some ideas on building a photography business.
The people who are winning in selling prints are not winning online, they're winning in relationships with real people: interior designers, hotel purchasing folks, people who just moved into town, etc. They are getting their marketing in front of people in their target markets who have the ability ($$$) and the willingness to buy their art/photos.
The Ansel Adams series
Camera
Negative
Print
Learn how to use the camera at your own pace then learn about processing at your own pace. And finally printing if you want to do that at your own pace.
Read This If You Want to Take Great Photographs. Great book. Not very detailed in technique and not niche - very good for beginners and getting an overall understanding of photography and the related physics and skills. This book can also be good for pros to get inspiration... the author is great at taking some skill/style that you thought you knew and sticking it in your face to look at again, and most of my friends (and a photography teacher in high school) said the book gave them a new perspective on photography.
All exposure meters are built to work with reference to a certain reflectivity—specifically 18%, hence the grey cards of that tone—with the idea that with the indicated exposure and “normal” processing of film and “normal” printing in the darkroom the area of the print corresponding to the metered area will have the same reflectivity.
For an averaging meter it's the whole scene that's measured. With a spot meter it is a small area. So, spot meter off a shadow and, without adjustment, it will come up at 18% grey and the highlights will be blown. Spot meter off a bright area and the shadows will block up.
Meter off a shadow area and then reduce the exposure by a few stops, and we can get the shadow to not quite block up and still show detail. The full explanation of this is in Ansel Adam's book The Negative, and the technique is known as the Zone System.
If you're going to be looking into the academic side of it, you will definitely be encountering some math. A degree in astronomy will be nearly tit-for-tat with physics majors in math classes. I'm not either (engineering, here) but from what I've heard they are very much alike.
I would say that starting at a community college is a great idea! Higher chances of boosting your grades and looking more attractive to other universities. If you do, maybe consider transferring to a larger, more prestigious school once you've got a a good foundation/GPA. Not necessary, but a great move if possible.
I got a book this past Christmas to fuel my armchair-interest in astronomy - I believe it was recommended by this subreddit too! Here's the link:
http://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Astronomers-Guide-Terence-Dickinson/dp/1554073448
Good luck!
I’m a beginner myself, but here are some things that really helped me to understand the true basics:
https://tldr.photography/
I also bought this book, which gives you an insight of the art behind photography:
Read This if You Want to Take Great Photographs https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1780673353/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_kxr5XO1i42ldv
What I recommend though, is practice, practice and practice! And never delete pictures, you’ll always make mistakes and learn from them, to improve you further as you go along.
Everybody knows it but it still needs to be said: shoot, shoot, shoot.
Willief is spot-on in my opinion. An exercise I think you might find helpful is to give yourself assignments. Just like practice, or buying books about photography, it only works if you stick to it. You have landscapes, and your still-life work is coming along well too. I would say that in addition to portraiture (both studio and candid), you should consider other genres that 'put you out there' more, that are less under your control than your current work. Street photography instantly springs to mind - you don't have to live in NYC or LA to have amazing opportunities at street photography. If you're in a more rural locale, consider work like Frank's "The Americans," or Bruce Davidson, or even combine what you can do with what you want to learn, something like R.E. Meatyard.
When you want to push your landscapes farther, I would send you in two directions: Ansel Adams for technical mastery (if you haven't, read the holy trilogy, Camera, Negative, Print), and Minor White for artistry/composition.
You're already doing great work, keep on keeping on, never settle.
You have to take the free Zion Shuttle to get to the Observation Point trailhead at Weeping Rock (7th stop on the shuttle). You have no choice - no cars allowed in the main canyon unless you're staying at the lodge. Springdale also has a free shuttle that gets you around the main street and drops you off where you can get to the Zion Shuttle.
Edit: You can rent bikes and bike to the trailhead. You have to be considerate to the shuttles though. They have to stop until you get off the road.
Lots of places for photo spots but tricky lighting at times. I'd look to see if your library has some books like Photographing Zion or Photographing the Southwest for ideas.
Give this book a go.
Photographic Composition
How to Photograph Your Life is a good very beginner book for family photography. Each page takes a common situation (photographing a kid's birthday party, doing a group photo of a dozen people, etc.), provides an example from the author's own catalog, talks about why it isn't a good picture, then gives a suggestion of one technique to try and an example photo to go with it.
It's not a complete guide (there are many things that combine to make a great photo, and he only touches on one for each), but it has some good suggestions for going from "meh" to "good" for someone who has never spent much time researching photography. And the way it's structured makes it easy to use as a quick reference right before heading out to an event. It's also available from several sellers for 1¢ + shipping, so it's not much of an investment.
This is the most general of his books, but there are also ones for families and babies.
This.
https://www.amazon.ca/Backyard-Astronomers-Guide-Terence-Dickinson/dp/1554073448
Hey /u/buffalogriller this is a really thoughtful answer! You totally get what I'm trying to do. Unfortunately, I'm only going to visit him and he doesn't live nearby enough for us to share a camera. I actually did think about giving him mine with a 35 mm lens... but it's my only camera.
I'm definitely going to give him my great Henry Carrol books to try and stir something up too (this one and this one)
There's basically a whole chapter devoted to this in the classic Ansel Adams book, The Negative.
Basically you take the meter reading and add a few stops. But I don't live in a place with snow either, so my personal experience isn't the best.
Draw and draw and draw and draw. facial expressions reference book
And draw some more. If you learn the anatomy of the face it makes life a lot easier.
Someone else might be able to point you toward something online, but for me, The Negative and The Print are pretty essential. Understanding the Zone System opens up a new world of possibilities when you're ready to progress past blindly following manufacturer recommendations for developing. :)
And step two.
If you’re interested in dashboard design, I can’t recommend this book highly enough.
http://www.amazon.com/Information-Dashboard-Design-Effective-Communication/dp/0596100167
I'm a beginner too, and I recommend you Read This Book If You Want To Take Great Photographs by Henry Carroll.
It doesn't have a lot of technical stuff; this book talks about different techniques to take good photos (using different light, exposure, lenses, etc), and inspires you to be creative and to start shooting with your camera. It explains everything in a simple and effective way, and it's easy and entertaining to read.
When i went for my college course, they had us buy this book.
http://www.amazon.com/Facial-Expressions-Visual-Reference-Artists/dp/0823016714
I love Utah, and it's a photographer's dream. In case you're interested, here are some more of my photos from parks and hikes in Utah.
I recommend Photographing the Southwest. The series of books is very helpful for finding photo opportunities.
Read This If You Want to Take Great Photographs https://www.amazon.com/dp/1780673353/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Cgi1Cb5XKRJTX
I mean the title itself sounds pretty "clickbaity" but I did enjoy this book, it talks about perspectives and angles and technique. it's a pretty good and easy read.
or maybe even one of those photo challenge kind of books. I've never bought one but they're books that have like ideas and tasks in them and your job is to take a photo and place it in the book and that's how you complete the challenge. makes sense since she likes to make albums and such.
Pick up the book: Read this if you want to make great photographs of people. It covers almost every basic stylistic and conceptual approach you would want to take.
https://www.amazon.ca/Read-This-Great-Photographs-People/dp/1780676247
This one is a great little read, very informative without being patronising. Goes into some of the more advanced information as opposed to beginner knowledge. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Understanding-Composition-Expanded-Guides-Taylor/dp/178145051X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1419099021&sr=8-2&keywords=understanding+composition
> What makes pantone any different than going to a hardware store and getting their paint swatches for free?
Because Pantone is guaranteeing not just the color ink is right, they're guaranteeing that the print is right. Those are two totally separate things.
There are about a million different ways to fuck up a physical print. Open up some art books and compare the pictures of the same piece of art. You'll see all kinds of range of colors on the page. Consider, one of the reasons art collectors place a premium on lithographs is because one of the things you pay for when you get a lithograph or other "pure ink" facsimile of a piece of artwork is the guarantee that it will continue to actually look like the same thing according to the people that are the ones that define what "it" actually is.
There are lots of photography videos on YT for beginners and plenty of good books and I can recommend this one. The make of camera should not make any difference as they all have the same basic functions.
The K70 is a great camera as I have the same model bought it a few years ago and it's pretty damn good.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Read-This-Want-Great-Photographs/dp/1780673353/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2LGKL8ZRUGMS0&keywords=read+this+if+you+want+to+take+great+photographs&qid=1573052581&sprefix=read+this+%2Caps%2C152&sr=8-1
You might enjoy this book called "50 Photo Projects" by Lee Frost. It's an old standby for me. I flip through it when I'm in a rut, but it's also great for introducing new perspectives, people wanting to dig deeper into their photography, etc.
> Do you guys have any tips on how to start?
Get a camera
Invest in a decent DSLR, just an entry level camera, doesn't have to be fancy, and just start playing around with it.
Learning
Depending on your learning style, whether it be in a classroom environment or more hands-on, start learning the fundamentals, like ISO, aperture and shutter speed and how they work together. There are plenty of books, blog posts and video tutorials online to help you.
I found this book helpful: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Read-This-Want-Great-Photographs/dp/1780673353/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Once you get to know the basics, see if you can find a local photographer who would be willing to let you assist them.
Post-production
Find a tool that works for you that allows you edit your photos. I use Lightroom as it allows me to organise and make adjustments to my photos.
Practice emulating others
Find other photographers whose work you like and try emulate them. I don't mean blatantly copy them as your own work but this helps you to practice shooting and editing in different styles. This helped me to understand what I did and didn't like about someone's work. You might also find your own style along the way!
> What helped you getting in to photography?
My grandfather was a keen amateur photographer and his father was an artist so I guess it runs in the family a bit for me. I used to draw and paint a lot but sometimes I felt impatient because drawing and painting takes time. Photography was a little more 'instant' and it allowed me a lot more freedom edit in post-production. I also live in London now so I don't have a lot of space to store physical art equipment. Photography allows me to be creative, expressive and capture things/people but without taking up too much space!
> What inspires you?
There are a number of photographers out there who inspire me. I primarily shoot weddings and portraits so I guess people and people in love inspire me :)
As my stock answer to this question, I've found [this book] (http://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Astronomers-Guide-Terence-Dickinson/dp/1554073448/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334180556&sr=1-1) to be the easiest to digest and most informative out there. It also serves as a jumping off point as it references many other great resources. I've got a Master's in Applied Physics and it does a great job of building up from the basics without being too dense (because who really wants to DO the Maths in their spare time?).
I also use Sky Safari Pro for my iPad to learn and control my computerized telescope. That's more of a safety net, and no replacement for knowing the night sky.
I get asked a variant of this, which is "are those the real colors?" I wrote an article to answer the question.
I'm reading a fascinating book now called Coloring the Universe: An Insider's Look at Making Spectacular Images of Space about the creation of those incredible images from space. I never realized that the photos started out as b&w images with no color at all. It's a great explanation as well of the limitations of eye sight. And there are the two books Ansel Adams wrote on post processing, The Print and The Negative.
If we're talking about photography as an art form, then this question is equivalent to asking a painter if they mix their paint, or only use them as they come out of the tube. It's a stupid question (not that I would tell a viewer that), but it comes from the newness of this medium as an art form and to some extent, the insecurity of photographers themselves.
All of the comments sound like good advice to me too. Standardising the processing is a good plan also - to my mind there are far more interesting parameters to experiment with. I'd also endorse looking at Adams' zone system - The Negative, it's mainly intended for sheet film, but he's an easy read and it gives a really thorough grounding in what can be achieved with film - I'll bet it improves your digital work too
My favorite educational book on photography is probably "The Art of Photography: An Approach to Personal Expression" by Bruce Barnbaum.
My favorite book on portraiture is "50 Portraits" by Gregory Heisler and for landscapes it's "Treasured Lands" by Q.T. Luong.
All of these have a big focus on film photography.
Another good set is Ansel Adams trilogy, The Camera, The Negative and The Print, which you can get used on Amazon for about $20 for all three books. However, they focus primarily on large format cameras, black and white negatives, and darkroom printing, so unless you're doing specifically that, I'd go with The Art of Photography above.
Astronomy is an expensive hobby. I would start (for about $100) with:
Where you go from there depends greatly on your viewing habits/locations (e.g. will you generally be looking in light polluted skies or nice dark skies, any interest in astrophotography or just viewing? Do you want to spend a lot of time viewing the planets?, etc.).
Also keep in mind that having a telescope with no accessories is kind of like having a car with nothing in the engine compartment. You also need a few eyepieces, a telrad or some other mechanism to help with spotting, and soon you'll want filters, a spotting scope, a CCD (if you want to do astrophotography), a better mount, etc.
Anyway, I'd advise to start with those first 3 components and see how you like it. :)
The other day I was recommended /r/prettygirlsuglyfaces for people making expressions that are atypical and not beautified. Pause a movie mid action sequence and you'll also get some like these. My high school had a copy of this book if you have some cash to spend. Good luck! :)
I don't think there's a single answer to the question of "how much post-processing is the right amount?". I think it really depends on the type of photography and the photographer's vision. For example, for photojournalism, there are fairly strict rules about post-processing, in order to maintain the truth about the story, but for high art photography, the sky is the limit when it comes to post-processing.
Personally, I think as long as the photographer is honest about the amount of post-processing done, there are no limits, and the "right" amount of post-processing is whatever it takes to make the best picture possible. For example, I'm perfectly fine with with green screen photography. That type of photography necessarily requires a fair amount of post-processing, and not only is it a lot of fun, you can achieve shots that would be otherwise impossible.
I also want to respond to one comment made by the OP, where he answered "Yes" to the question: "Do you think Ansel Adams made great images by just using "in camera" negatives."
I think the OP needs to study Ansel Adams a bit, because that's not correct. Adams spent A LOT of time in the dark room, at least as much time as he did taking pictures in the first place. In fact, he wrote an entire book (The Print - https://www.amazon.com/Print-Ansel-Adams-Photography-Book/dp/0821221876) on the darkroom work required by his Zone System. There's even a quote of him saying darkroom work is 50% of the photographic process (http://expertphotography.com/10-photography-lessons-from-ansel-adams/).
To be fair, it's not to say proper camera technique isn't important. It absolutely is, and there's nothing wrong with challenging yourself to taking outstanding shots without post-processing. But similarly, there's absolutely nothing wrong with doing heavy post-processing to make fine art photos.
Photo Idea Index book
Whenever I meet someone that is about to have their first baby, I mention the book How to Photograph Your Baby by Nick Kelsh. I got this JUST before my first son was born and I followed the book's advice religiously (eg. use natural light and no flash as much as possible but not direct sunlight). My pictures turned out great and people thought I was a professional when I showed them my pics (NOT a pro, but someone with a keen eye).
I have followed the advice for other things I have taken pictures of (work outings and family gatherings) and people are surprised I have my pictures "Photoshopped" so quickly after the event. A lot of taking pictures is prep and realizing what might be seen in the background.
My favorites are:
The Backyard Astronomer's Guide, http://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Astronomers-Guide-Terence-Dickinson/dp/1554073448
A Guide to Backyard Astronomy (I found this one at a 2nd hand bookstore, not sure if it's still in print. This is my absolute favorite because of some great starhopping tours they put in the back)
http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Backyard-Astronomy-Starhopping-Exploring/dp/187701933X
EDIT: Here's an example of one of the starhop tours in A Guide to Backyard Astronomy. http://imgur.com/a/enXLO
The icons clearly indicate whether the target is a naked eye, binocular, or telescope object.
Of course there's the ubiquitous Turn Left at Orion. I can't say much about it since I've never actually gotten around to reading it. http://www.amazon.com/Turn-Left-Orion-Hundreds-Telescope/dp/0521153972
Alternatively, check out http://eyesonthesky.com/
as well as Mr. Fuller's YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/eyesontheskyDOTcom
The "Basics" playlists are damn good, and unlike a lot of other sources, the practical demonstrations on video make things super clear to understand.
For those interested, this is an excellent read!
looks like it exsists, to some extent amazon.
Turn Left at Orion is often recommended. It seems to be great for learning about navigating and observing the night sky with binoculars or a telescope and what you can expect to see.
I have the Backyard Astronomer's Guide, which is extremely comprehensive and teaches just about everything such as navigating the night sky, information about the various types of objects, observing with the naked eye, binoculars, and telescopes, details about different types of telescopes and accessories and how to use them, and a few sections on astrophotography.
However, it is a bit hefty and not super cheap. And it doesn't include a detailed sky atlas (but it does talk about them).
Stellarium is a very popular planetarium program. It's awesome. And free!
http://www.amazon.com/Print-Ansel-Adams-Photography-Book/dp/0821221876
Ansel Adams is the original HDR. Seriously. He has an entire book dedicated to the art of bringing out the desired, pre-visualized dynamic range of a print, via in-camera and darkroom techniques.
Of course, his images don't look like ass.
Awesome! I kind of fell into the job. I was initially hired as a web developer, and didn't even know what BI was, and then got recruited by one of the BI managers and fell in love. To me, it is one of the few places in IT where what you create will directly impact the choices a business will make.
Most of what I do is ETL work (taking data from multiple systems, and loading them into a single warehouse), with a few cubes (multidimensional data analaysis) and SSRS report models (logical data model built on top of a relational data store used for ad hoc report creation). I also do a bit of report design, and lots of InfoPath 2010 + SharePoint 2010 custom development.
We use the entire Microsoft BI stack here, so SQL Server Integration (SSIS), Analysis (SSAS), and Reporting Services (SSRS). Microsoft is definitely up and coming in the BI world, but you might want to try to familiarize yourself with Oracle BI, Business Objects, or Cognos. Unfortunately, most of these tools are very expensive and not easy to get up and running. I would suggest you familiarize yourself with the concepts, and then you will be able to use any tool to apply them.
For data warehousing, check out the Kimball books:
Here and here and here
For reporting, get good with data visualizations, anything by Few or Tufte, like:
Here and here
For integration, check these out:
Here and here
Also, if you're interested in Microsoft BI (SSIS, SSAS, SSRS) check out this site. It has some awesome videos around SSAS that are easy to follow along with.
Also, check out the MSDN BI Blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/bi/
Currently at work, but if you have more questions, feel free to shoot me a message!
Information Dashboard Design
a good book for the next one - https://www.amazon.com/Information-Dashboard-Design-Effective-Communication/dp/0596100167
This book came recommended to me and I absolutely love it. It will specify some good targets for every time of the year.
As far as software, on my computer I currently use:
Backyard EOS (Costs a bit but is more or less necessary for capturing images with a Canon DSLR, you can set up sequences with specified times, mirror lock delays, save frames as flat, dark, light or bias, and even focus with a live view through the camera).
Sharpcap
DeepSkyStacker
Stellarium
Registax
PixInsight
Photoshop
Some cool online resources:
Photoshop DSO processing.
PDF DSO Guide.
Astrophotography Youtube Tutorials.
Forrest Tanaka's Youtube Channel.
One does not simply get into photography.
Allusion to meme aside, it's pretty easy. Do you not have a smart phone? Start taking photos with it. Think about what you like and don't like about the photos. Read some websites and or books about photography. I really like this book: https://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Photograph-Lessons-Photographers/dp/0810972972 it changed the way I thought about photos.
I highly recommend this book.
Which one of these are you talking about?
https://www.amazon.com/Information-Dashboard-Design-Effective-Communication/dp/0596100167
https://www.amazon.com/Information-Dashboard-Design-At-Glance/dp/1938377001
I'd suggest this book !
Great question. I think about this a lot as well. As someone who was previously really bad at design and has gradually gotten a little bit better:
I run an 8" schmidt-cassegrain and from my backyard balcony on clear cool nights I can see some spectacular stuff in the city (some colours on Jupiter, the rings of Saturn if I am lucky, some larger nebula). If you don't want to spend a fortune, and are okay with something bulky get him a Dobsonian, the larger the aperture the better light collection and a better chance he can pierce through the light pollution of our city. Some Dobsonians can be broken down for easier transport.
For better viewing head to a park (nose hill, fish creek, etc.), or better yet out of the city (I know not feasible).
The U of C has an observatory south of the city towards priddis/millarville, and I believe they have open nights for amateurs that you and your son could visit to get taste for things. If you contacted the U of C they might be able to get you in touch with the people that go and you could car pool out there to see what its like. While there talk to the people on what to get him, and get some contact info help get things setup, they are super friendly as a community.
To feed his appetite you could buy him the The Backyard Astronomer's Guide which has tons of great info.
Edit: Forgot to say... When I got started it was with a reclining lawn chair and some binoculars, you can work your way up from there if he really stays interested.
I'm not an architect but somebody who's moving focus into a design related field (who has a healthy interest in the field) - I'd get her the following.
To keep on her, a GOOD sketchbook, Mechanical Pencil, Pen, small Ruler and a Camera (a point a shoot should be fine) and a good backpack.
For the home, craft supplies and lot's of them, don't go to the store and buy them order them in bulk and online, get her a selection of cutting mat sizes and some scalpels and scissors and glue / tape, kid's want to create and they just love having the thing to hold and show off with.
Also book's there are lot's of really dry books on the subject but there are also wonderful ones as well, and also harking back to my suggestion of getting her a camera get her a book or two on photography - I live with a x100T on my at all times and it's taken so many pictures of interesting buildings new and old to serve as inspiration to me, I'd get this one for a start - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Read-This-Want-Great-Photographs/dp/1780673353/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1500713320&sr=8-1&keywords=read+this+if+you+want+to+take+photographs
It's a older book but it's more about skill than it is the hardware she will learn a lot from just reading it to be honest.
Does anyone have experience or own this book?
https://www.amazon.com/100-Best-Astrophotography-Targets-Telescopes/dp/1441906029/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1537816644&sr=8-1&keywords=100+astrophotography+targets
I just picked it up on amazon, and despite being advertised as having full color images (which would be very helpful considering the subject material), all the images are in black and white and look like they were simply photocopied (very poor quality). I sent it back to amazon and I'm waiting for a new copy, but I'm curious if I'm missing something...
Try this. Read This If You Want to Take Great Photographs https://www.amazon.com/dp/1780673353/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_4l06ybNTSSPHW
Lighting an area helps to draw the eye to it, it's a natural response. So, for example, lighting a subject/actor, making them "pop" from the background, will help the viewer's eye focus on that piece of visual space.
In opposition, using shallow depth of field to blur the background will make those details inconsequential.
Empty spaces can also help other regions of the frame became more pronounced. If your shot is mostly dark, for example, except for one area lit by low-key lighting (.e., in a noir film), then the eye will be drawn to that lit area versus the dark one.
There are several YouTube videos where DOPs will walk through how and why they lit a scene, which can be informative.
Composition rules such as rule of thirds are effective because it lends itself to what the human eye naturally finds to be pleasing in a shot. A lot of it has to do with how the shot is balanced, as a decision in aesthetics. Just remember that the visual space is where you can compose semiotics -- signs and meaning making.
I think a book in composition, such as http://www.amazon.co.uk/Understanding-Composition-Expanded-Guides-Taylor/dp/178145051X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1419099021&sr=8-2&keywords=understanding+composition, that shows how visual elements can work together, would be informative for you.
I don't know what country you are in but you can usually get this good book on composition really cheap used.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Read-This-Want-Great-Photographs/dp/1780673353
This book is an amazing starting guide that will help her get a lot out of her present.
Not sure if these are good are not but are on my wishlist
http://www.digital-photography-school.com/500-composition-hints-tips-and-techniques-for-photographers-book-review#more-4587
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375505105?ie=UTF8&tag=dpsgeneral-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0375505105
http://www.amazon.com/50-Photo-Projects-Kickstart-Photography/dp/0715329766
http://www.phaidon.co.uk/store/photography/steve-mcurry-the-iconic-photographs-limited-edition-9780714856339/
http://www.phaidon.co.uk/store/photography/steve-mccurry-the-unguarded-moment-9780714846644/
http://www.phaidon.co.uk/store/photography/steve-mccurry-south-southeast-9780714839387/
I would recommend ["The Print"] (http://www.amazon.com/New-Photo-Negative-Ansel-Photography/dp/0821221868) by Ansel Adams. A techincally deep but easy to read book covering the zone system and how to capture different forms of light.
For thinking about photography Susan Sontag's ["On Photography"] (http://www.amazon.com/Photography-Susan-Sontag/dp/0312420099/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341440297&sr=1-1&keywords=sontag+photography) a great book on the meaning of photography.
Both are somewhat dated, but are the basis upon much has been written since. They are the touchstones.
Oh, gotcha. I understand now. Then yeah, get him a telescope and he'll appreciate it. More than anything it shows that you pay attention to him and care about his hobbies. Also, be sure he has a copy of Stellarium (it's free) and for future presents you can get him copies of The Backyard Astronomer's Guide and Turn Left at Orion not to mention the countless accessories that are available in the astronomy world. Just pop back over to /r/astronomy if you need more ideas!
Edit: Stellarium link
Here's a stab at answering this one.
In the context of b/w negative film density refers to the darkness of the dark areas, which will be highlights in the print. Increasing exposure increases density, as does increasing development. Each film/developer combination can produce a maximum density and has a minimum density (film base + fog caused by developer).
At the same exposure a high speed film will build more density than a low speed film.
Adding development time will increase density in highlight areas (and effective film speed) but will also have undesirable effects (increased contrast and grain, for example).
For a given scene, a film will have an optimal combination of exposure and development time that will accurately reproduce it the way the photographer intended. Fine-tuning the relationship between exposure, development, negative density and the final print is the whole point of the Zone System. For more information see The Negative by Ansel Adams (especially chapter 10) or The Zone VI Workshop by Fred Picker.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0823016714
Buy that book. Draw from it randomly. Over and over.
You can also draw from photos you find online, but don't draw from modeling shoots or porn. They both blur too much and remove too many shadows.
Drawing from r/humanporn is one of my practice exercises.
If you're serious about learning photography starting from the basics, then you could do a lot worse than doing black & white and developing your own films. You get a real appreciation for how each part of the process fits together, and how delicate parts of it are. If you develop your own, you can experiment with different developers - personally I liked Agfa Rodinal and DiXactol. The latter was developed by Barry Thornton, who goes into a lot of detail about this and other aspects of B&W photography in this book, which is highly recommended. DiXactol is pretty hard to get hold of these days though.
Developing your own (B&W) films is easy to do without a darkroom and with minimal equipment. Unfortunately printing requires much more space and equipment, so it might not be an option. There's always the option of a half-digital setup, where you develop the film and then scan it to get prints. Speaking of which, IME you'll get better results with a film scanner than a flatbed scanner, and the former will allow you to use slide film as well as negative film with equal ease.
One thing I learned too late myself is not to experiment with too much at once. I spent a lot of time geeking out and trying to perfect the technical side, which drew my attention away from creative photography. I ended up with results that were at best well-executed but soulless, and often just wholly bad. Using digital has actually freed me up a lot by preventing me from worrying about the various steps that I now can't control, fun though that part of the process is.
The Print, The Negative, and The Camera by Ansel Adams.
The /s makes all the difference :D
Good to get an explanation out. If anyone's interested, this book is great. It even got me to do significant math before I went out in the field to help get the best shots I could. It was from an era before all the fancy point and shoot toys we have today that clutter /r/space with shots from their systems. (Not being critical, it's cool to see the shots, but there's an art that's being automated and it's worth reading a book from the end of the film era!)