(Part 2) Best photography & video books according to redditors
We found 4,011 Reddit comments discussing the best photography & video books. We ranked the 1,706 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
36. Understanding Exposure, Fourth Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera
9 mentions
I'd recommend a book named Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004FEFS5E
It's an amazing book. That Rockwell guy advocates using auto mode- this book will have you hating it in about 30 minutes.
Also, shoot RAW + Jpeg. Ken Rockwell's Jpeg-only advise is horrible, imo.
Light: Science and Magic
Fundamentals of lighting different shapes and materials. It's good for everyone learning lighting, but especially good for people learning to shoot trickier stuff like metal and glass.
Also check out strobist for cheap lighting logistics and general lighting info.
>The Best Camera Is The One That's With You: iPhone Photography by Chase Jarvis
> - Chase Jarvis of the Internet
I use that iPhone app. And for fuck's sake I got a lot of much better photos out of that than I got with my 7D. ... Maybe if I buy that $2000 lens and put it on that $2400 camera.... hmmm...
I would suggest picking up a copy of Bryan Peterson's excellent "Understanding Exposure" and reading it. Once you understand this, you're pretty much set.
https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-Fourth-Photographs-Camera-ebook/dp/B0104EOJSK/ref=sr_1_1
Information Dashboard Design by Stephen Few
http://www.amazon.com/Information-Dashboard-Design-Effective-Communication/dp/0596100167
I like Light, Science and Magic.
Honestly if you don't know what they need from asking them, a gift card to Amazon. I'd much rather have that and spend it on what I need or whatever G.A.S. tells me I need than to receive a piece of kit that I didn't choose. I don't mean to sound rude, it's just that I rather prefer researching and choosing my own gear.
If you absolutely must, though, I recommend a book.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1907708952/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0817439390/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0961454733/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/159711247X/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312420099/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Or a notebook for taking notes while out shooting, scouting, etc.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/8883701127/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Agreed but didn't they also write the #1 selling book on digital photography? To me that gives them a little more cred than most of the other youtubers that just grab a camera and start spouting stuff:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0988263408
Books: Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland, Critcizing Photographs by Terry Barrett (you can find previous additions used a lot cheaper), and On Photography by Susan Sontag.
I've got some tips!
I went to film school at an expensive place and stopped going because the commute was a nightmare and the cost was unreal. I later enrolled in the state school in my town and found out that they were teaching much of the same stuff for a significantly lower cost. Moreover, everybody got director experience, not just the people who were "good enough".
Filmmaking is a tough career to get into, so consider what you want to do with it. I know lots of talented people working in news, sports, and documentary, but not a ton doing steady work for feature films. If that's the kind of work you're looking for, you'll need to live in a place where they are made on the regular. (LA, NYC, Vancouver, etc.) If you have a wanderlust, cool, but city living is expensive.
If you've got the bug and want to make movies, don't wait for school to start. Grab a book and your phone and start shooting. You'd be surprised how little it has to do with your equipment and how much it has to do with proper technique. (I was on a team that won a national award for covering an election. We used iPhones and Skype.)
Here's some helpful books:
How to Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck
Television Field Production and Reporting
This is an older edition of what they are using in schools to teach electronic news gathering.
Good luck!
You should check out Light: Science and Magic and its discussion of the family of angles, if you haven't already. If the subject is reflective, you can utilize the difference between intensity of light falling on a subject and reflecting from a subject. Light that falls on a subject adheres to the inverse square law and quickly loses intensity the further the subject is from the light. However a surface that reflects light sill display the incident light at essentially the same intensity of its source (depending on just how reflective it is).
So here is a more concrete example. You want to photograph a mirror on a wall but you want the wall to be as black as possible. First put the light far enough away from the wall to get the exposure you want. Then angle the camera so you can see the light in the mirror's reflection (note, you'll need the light source to be big enough to fill the mirror's entire field of view). The light source viewed in the mirror will appear as bright as the light source itself while the light that falls on the wall will still be minimal because it isn't reflective.
Anyhow, it's kind of a hard thing to describe without visual help so sorry if that didn't make any sense. But check out the book. It's actually a pretty interesting trick.
The Magnum Contact Sheets book covers this particular photo series and the roll it comes from. All in all it's definitely a great book for anyone interested in photo journalism, the role of a photo editor, and how the context of a photo in the larger set of a roll of film can be an important part of the story as well and one we don't often know.
I tried to locate some detail from the book on the Leipzig shots, but ended up stumbling across this, which has some interesting points to say about Magnum and Capa, and what might be an embellished or outright false story they've been hawking for decades...
Quite academic, but a classic:
Susan Sontag - On Photography
It sounds like you're unfamiliar with all of the functions of the camera. I have that camera and I recommend these books:
David Busch's Guide
Scott Kelby's The Digital Photography Book
A pretty solid book to look at to gain perspective is Magnum Contact Sheets. Flipping through it helped my view of how my own photos looked quite a bit.
Arbus' contact sheet for that photo is pretty enlightening due to the context it was taken in.
this?
Material World: A Global Family Portrait
You have no clue how many people wished a Hasselblad 500C/M fell in their laps. You're lucky.
No, about learning on film. I see no problem with that. If you understand exposure and can get your hands on a cheap light meter, you will have no problem shooting film. The Hassy is very simple. You have aperture and shutter speed. You tell it those values on the lens, you compose, then focus, and then press the shutter. Not much different than a DSLR, really.
Two books come to mind: Understanding Exposure and Creative Camera Control. The 2nd book is very short and very simple. I'd recommend that because it easily explains how to get shallow Depth of Field, how to use slow shutter to blur movement, etc.
Here are some films ordered by cheapest first. If you shoot B&W, you can process it at home for much cheaper than having others process it for you.
Check out some of these shots taken by other Hasselblad owners on Flickr.
Or, if you change your mind, I have $200 in my paypal account that I can send you for the Hassy.
Read a lot, trial and error as well as Scott Kelby's books and online trainings.
A few books to recommend:
David Ziser's Captured by the Light - He's a wedding photographer, but what he covers in this book is universally applicable.
Scott Kelby's Digital Photography books.
Scott Kelby's Photoshop for Photographer books along with his online training videos.
As we as some websites...
Digital Photography School's section for beginners (the whole website is good, but this will probably be most helpful).
Strobist because eventually you'll want to learn to light.
David Ziser's blog gives a lot of good tips, too.
Good post processing isn't necessarily in the post processing. It really does begin by getting it right in the camera, first. Understanding light, composition and the mechanics of your camera will do more for your editing than just about anything you could do in Photoshop (unless you're looking for abstract techniques like cross processing or the other crap that's really popular now).
(shamless plug)
I might try to do this, too. I'm just a photo student, but I have a decent amount of experience critiquing photos and being critiqued. (The photo program I'm in is small, the classes are smaller, and we're all essentially friends honestly critiquing each other so I like to think I've gotten good at critiques.)
And, you know, you're totally right about the lackluster bodies of work. I actually downvoted a couple people in here who are now kinda complaining about downvotes (but not whining, so respect to them). I went through. And one of the people I downloaded posted… an unedited contact sheet. But like, just that. Didn't ask for help editing. Didn't point out the photos they liked.
Just posted the contact sheet.
That's… lazy. Contact sheets are generally, just, they aren't 24 or 36 super amazing photos. Even in Magnum Contact Sheets, you generally only see a keeper or two per sheet. And these are largely super famous sheets.
Do you know that photo of the cloud of white butterflies engulfing a downed satellite? Pretty fucking amazing. Now look at (part of) the contact sheet.
It isn't enough to just… shoot film. I actually like this subreddit a lot. I haunt it more than daily. I plan to post more to it as I gain access to a scanner again. But, you know, just 'cause you're doing something uniquely analog, or just shooting film, doesn't mean what you're doing is all that interesting. Shit. I don't know. I want people to post! I do, I really do. But we don't have a community and there's just a bit too much saturated/unsaturated tumblr.com or 500px.com trendy trite. :/
Philippe Halsman's portrait of Salvador Dali is a spectacular image that captures the manic nature of the artist. Naturally this kind of photo isn't the easiest to get right on the first take and in Magnum's book of famous contact sheets they have included some of the unused photos and a little more info about the shoot.
Time magazine's website has a bit more info on this piece and on the influence of Halsman's work on portraiture in general.
Must-have: Magnum Contact Sheets.
The Photographer's Eye
Get it. Read it. Analyze it. Sleep with it.
not quite what you are talking about but cool with regard to "stuff" and what people around the world own ... or what might own them
this book has people remove everything from their dwelling and display / arrange it all in front of their home
fascinating to see the differences in what we own in all the different places around the world
https://www.amazon.ca/Material-World-Global-Family-Portrait/dp/0871564300
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
https://www.amazon.com/Filmmakers-Eye-Learning-Cinematic-Composition/dp/0240812174/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1502971148&sr=8-1&keywords=filmmaker%27s+eye
https://www.amazon.com/Visual-Story-Creating-Structure-Digital/dp/0240807790/ref=pd_sim_14_10?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0240807790&pd_rd_r=C197QEE8EMEY1KGN3N2E&pd_rd_w=PKzWC&pd_rd_wg=vF29K&psc=1&refRID=C197QEE8EMEY1KGN3N2E
https://www.amazon.com/Cinematography-Directors-Guide-Creative-Collaboration/dp/1932907556/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1502971260&sr=1-10&keywords=cinematography
The Filmmaker's Eye - Easy to read book that I've fallen in love with. Not sure if it's what you're looking for, but definitely something to consider!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Information-Dashboard-Design-Effective-Communication/dp/0596100167
or this:
https://www.amazon.com/Material-World-Global-Family-Portrait/dp/0871564300
I'm in the same boat except I'm an editor trying to improve my motion design work. I've been reading about design and trying to find ways to practice. I started with Karen Cheng's How to become a designer without going to design school blog post because she's aggregated a lot of great resources there.
So far the best book I've read that she references is: Picture This: How Pictures Work which well illustrates some fundamentals about design and composition.
I'm also taking the first Mograph Mentor online class which has been a great experience but costs money.
I'm a fan of this book, The Filmmakers Eye.
MA in Photo History and BFA in Studio Photography here. If I was teaching beginning photography, these would be the books I would use to illustrate the history, theory, and techniques behind photography:
The two theory texts (Sontag and Barthes) are collegiate level so I would introduce them lightly - maybe use a section out of both to structure a project around. If you want to PM me I can email you a syllabus I created for when I taught 6 week adult course at a community studio. This will give basic gist of how it can be structured and what you will need supply-wise. Also- if you want - I'd be happy to review any syllabus you make.
I really enjoyed Scott Kelby's The Digital Photography Book - Vol 1 -3
It's got a lot of practical information for beginners, and covers stuff like explaining aperture, focus, etc to finishing photos in Photoshop and everything in between. And if you want to save some money, he has Kindle versions of his books. Of course, being a book on photography, it won't look great on the actual Kindle, but it looks great on the computer.
You absolutely need to get yourself a copy of this book (Speedliter's Handbook, by Syl Arena). In addition to the already mentioned strobist website, you should be ready to tackle most anything coming your way.
Magnum Contact Sheets - I really want this book, I saw it for about $90 at my local bookstore.
I took my XE-1 for a long-deserved outing after a long month of exams in school. Made a daring (for me, at least) cropping decision, and I really like it. Here's the photo in question.
Also bought the Magnum Contact Sheets book from Amazon with their 30% discount offer, and I can't wait to get it.
Oh, and bought some RAM as well as an SSD that would hopefully make my PC less laggy when I run Lightroom.
Normally I'll just drop my cameras for a short amount of time, and read two books I always find hugely inspiring.
The Photographer's Eye by John Szarkowski is a must-own book for anyone who takes photos.
And so is The Nature of Photographs by Stephen Shore.
Another thing I'll do is pick up my Instax and take a single photo a day for 10 days.
>I would say a professional is someone who lives off their photography and says nothing about their abilities.
The problem with your reply, well intended as it may be, is that it veers into whataboutism territory. The OP is framing their request as seeking resources for a path to excellence, and your reply asserts that some people are professional despite a lack of excellence. While true, it sidesteps the issue and doesn't contribute anything meaningful - as opposed to the post you're replying to, which is not only accurate, but also helpful.
I'm a pro. I can tell you while it's 100% correct that I see two of my defining qualities as exactly what /u/ShitWookie describes, I would add to it a third pillar which is understanding, being receptive to and directing the human component of a shoot. Working to deliver consistency under compromised circumstances, and having a vision are both fantastic… but being able to navigate the egos, the emotions that percolate on set, to quickly gain the trust of your subject and have them engage in a willingness to experiment and go out of their comfort zone, all of that is exceptional. And to repeat for emphasis, the major unifying factor at play with all three is just going out and doing the work a lot. Set goals, fail to hit them, refine and repeat. It's extremely helpful to define objectives clearly and put your work in a guided context.
To the OP's question about resources, I suggest:
For a set of actionable exercises and several new ways to think about your work, try The Photographer's Playbook:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/159711247X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511023706
To expand your ability to read a photo and get meaning from it, and in turn, have a more rich vocabulary to impart to your own work, try The Ongoing Moment: https://www.amazon.com/Ongoing-Moment-Geoff-Dyer/dp/1400031680
To see what a 4 time Guggenheim fellow says about his method and the psychology behind how a photo works, check out Winogrand's full speech/workshop/Q&A at Rice University:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wP6lP3UaP24
To take the mystery out of the working style of a legend in fashion, watch June Newton's doc on her husband Helmut, titled "Helmut By June" - Google it. Often online in 8-10 parts. The whole thing is about an hour and amazing.
If you can't get on set and assist an established pro covering a subject that excites you in a style you admire (this is the single greatest accelerant for learning), the next best thing is creating a list of current working photographers you admire and Googling "their name" plus "bts video". Take notes on their lights, light placement, distances and try to recreate their setups and see what you discover in the process.
Check out The Red List: https://theredlist.com
The Photographer’s Playbook from Aperture should keep you busy. I use it with my students and it’s overwhelmingly amazing.
> Start with manual and don't touch other modes for a while until you learn how to expose the way you want to.
I could not disagree any more strongly.
If he starts in manual, it'll be harder to understand how aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc, each individually affect exposure (among other things) because it won't be obvious which change to which function caused which effect on the outcome of the shot.
On the other hand, if he's willing to take classes, then I might - note that I only said might - agree.
I definitely DO agree that he needs a good foundation. Perhaps a book like Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson, among others. And I definitely recommend downloading the manual to the camera.
Sorry you're not getting a very warm response here. I haven't done studio photography myself, but I can suggest some photography education.
Here is a portrait lighting tutorial from Tony and Chelsea Northrup, while it's not exactly fashion photography, many of the same principles apply.
I also wholeheartedly recommend Tony Northrup's book, Stunning Digital Photography. Starting at $10 for the ebook, available on his website or Amazon. Some of the videos from the book are available for free on their YouTube channel, such as the one I posted above.
The book eases into the technical knowledge while teaching about composition and lighting, which apply to all types of photography. They have specific chapters for landscapes, wildlife, portraits, and others. The portrait chapter would be most applicable to fashion photography.
They also do a live show where they critique viewer submissions, and they did one on fashion photography with Roxy Rodriguez (she was in a photography competition sponsored by Adorama) so perhaps you can get some inspiration and ideas from that.
Information that would be helpful to know: What gear do you have (camera, lenses, flashes, lighting modifiers, etc.)? How do you post process your photos, do you have Lightroom? How comfortable are you with the technical aspects of photography already (fstops, shutter speed, depth of field, etc.)?
Your equipment is fine this side of support (a tripod really opens up a lot of flexibility), maybe read a book on lighting like Light Science and Magic. An older edition is dirt cheap.
Light: Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting https://www.amazon.com/dp/0240808193/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_6Xv4xb3DHHAPS
Best advice is to read Light: Science and Magic. Literally "the book" on doing lighting.
http://www.amazon.com/Light-Science-Introduction-Photographic-Lighting/dp/0240808193
>This is a cheap way of eliminating shadows which are unflattering, which makes the person using the mirror look more attractive compared to a bathroom mirror with one large bulb.
I am sorry but that is not true. You use multiple light sources to evenly light an area (usually the face) to be better able to apply and check makeup.
You try to eliminate shadows so you can check for hard transitions and color changes in makeup that are not desired (especially important in beauty photography where the face is magnified plenty fold).
Edit: Oh and of course the idea behind multiple lights is also to get rid of the hand/pen/brush shadow of the person who applies the makeup so she/he can control his strokes better.
BTW: The light from those styling lights (at least modern ones) is not really flattering since the desiered light color temperature is 5500-5600K
to emulate sun light and strobes.
>You can also use diffusers or reflectors to break up the monotony of a single source so that the rays arrive at the destination from all different angles. Again if you've ever seen behind-the-scenes footage of a film shoot there's often a guy whose job is to hold a big speckled white (or sometime shiny) board, a diffuser whose job is to emulate an infinite number of light sources by covering more angles.
Again not exactly true (maybe I have misread you).
The idea behind a diffuser is to create a bigger light source.
First of all: The bigger the light source the softer the shadow.
Hard shadows are seldom desired in movie and photography so you use diffusers and bounces to emulate huge light sources (that was earlier done by the help of a big window without direct sunlight shining in and/or by subtracting all remaining light with the help of black cloth or placing the object/subject in the shadow when outside).
Soft shadows soften skin texture and evoke a certain feeling (depending on the desired effect, like a window or a overclouded sky).
Big light sources have another benefit:
The reflection of a light source on the object that is lit by said light source.
This is also often used in photography and film to alter the look of skin and fabric (in fashion photography for example).
That reflection of course is not clear but diffused by the material that is lit.
The effect can be quite pronounced but you usually don't realize it, except if you know what you are looking for.
Most of that can be read in the book "Light - Science and Magic. An Introduction to Photographic Lighting"
Sorry if some of my syntax or choice of words sounds odd, I am not a native English speaker.
@OP:
>And, also, how much would adding another 90W light bulb do that unlit area? Is there a diminishing return?
Could you maybe explain what you mean by that? Ad another light source to the already existing two or replace the unlit area with a lit light source?
Since you don't say whether you want to learn how to operate a camera or the field of photography in general and what interests you in photography in particular this is quite a stab in the dark but here are a few suggestions of books I keep coming back to or hold important.
This assumes that you have a basic understanding on how to operate a camera. If you don't, read your camera manual or something like Adam's The Camera and .
Technical advice
Theory/Motivational advice
On Photography by Susan Sontag
http://www.amazon.com/On-Photography-Susan-Sontag/dp/0312420099
Good theory on why people do what they do with cameras. It's a little bit tough sometimes and takes a bit of harsh introspection to fully grasp, but studying one's own motivations will make you think harder about what you photograph and why.
First off, let me paste this... I keep this in a text file on my desktop for this question, when it pops up:
You're on the right track, starting with the /r/photoclass subreddit. Now for your other questions...
As far as what is and isn't relevant, given most of your work would be shown on the web, don't get all hard over megapixels. Get what you can afford, but don't let yourself be swayed into getting a camera with a huge MP count. The higher numbers of megapixels come into play when you're doing close cropping, or printing large prints.
For example, take a look at this picture. I shot this several weeks ago with my Canon 40D, which has 10 megapixels. Are there cameras with higher megapixel counts? Sure. For the type of photography I do, though, this camera suits me perfectly.
As far as why you should get a DSLR versus a point-and-shoot, the biggest reason is lens interchangeability. A DSLR will let you change your lens based on the kind of shots you're taking, which gives you much MUCH more freedom in the kind of pictures you take. Also, DSLR's generally can offer you more freedom as you grow in your photography due to more advanced features (full manual mode, the ability to shoot Raw, etc), which ultimately give you far greater control over the finished product.
So to blanket answer your question, it's not the camera that produces great photos, but the photographer. Hand Ansel Adams a point-and-shoot camera and I guarantee he'll outshoot me with my 40D. You want to get a camera that you feel comfortable with, you can afford and gives you the greatest freedom to grow as your interest grows.
Does that help? :)
Anything by Bryan Peterson, and
Scott Kelby's Digital Photography Boxed Set, Volumes 1, 2, and 3 by Scott Kelby
[http://amzn.com/0321678737]
Also, if you have one of the more popular cameras, see if David Busch has written a book on it. You'll get a LOT of detailed in-depth info on it,and beyond-the-basics photography in general.
A more concise series of e-books can be found here: [http://www.digital-photography-school.com/learn]
it's Chase Jarvis, the book is here
You're making this too easy for me. See, with that statement, I just have to list one single pro that contradicts you. And that's quite easy.
Meet Chase Jarvis, who published a book in 2009 shot entirely with his iPhone. Who uses gear from Nikon, Hasselblad, Olympus, Fujifilm, Canon, Sony and, obviously Apple. He calls his cameras "boxes with holes in the front that record pictures" and is the youngest person to be named Hasselblad Master, Nikon Master and ASMP Master.
People who care too much what kind of gear they use are the photographer equivalent of the "your camera takes nice pictures"-people. I don't care if a Hasselblad or a shoebox was involved in taking a picture. It's the picture that counts.
Off-camera flash. http://imgur.com/IZ9cYnX
Picture is from this book http://www.amazon.com/Speedliters-Handbook-Learning-Craft-Speedlites/dp/032171105X
Theft is a problem, yes...but fear gets in the way of good photography.
First, get some black gaff tape, and cover all the brand-names on your camera. Next, get a body cover and rough it all the hell up. Delkin makes a body protector for your camera called a Snug-It. Scuff it. Maybe spray paint it a little bit. Make it look horrible. This may serve as a deterrent to someone who is looking to steal cameras for resale. It may not. But (in my humble opinion) it's better than walking around with a shiny, sexy camera body.
Another way to lower your profile is, as you said, to carry your camera in a small, unobtrusive bag. I don't have a Nikon, so I can't comment on how durable they are. My Canon 5d Mark iii had to have its LCD screen replaced because it broke at some point. I don't know where or when. But 5d's are supposed to be relatively robust. So do be aware, putting your camera in a bag not designed for a camera could be rough on your camera.
Low profile camera bags are a thing. And while they're not cheap, they're not very expensive, in terms of what camera stuff usually costs. Do the same thing. Get one, make it look crappy.
Big lenses are also attractive to thieves. And at the beginning, big zooms and such are a distraction (at least they were for me). If you're going to get a lot out of your camera, you need to learn to shoot in a more precise way than the camera's auto setting (though they do pretty well, usually). You'll see the terminology "zoom with your feet" a lot. That means changing your position instead of relying on a zoom. Two good beginner lenses are a 50mm, or an 85mm. I would go with the 50 for all-purpose use. The 85 is great for portraits and such. They both are. But I like the 85 better for that.
Beyond that...there's not a lot you can do if someone decides to nab your camera. Keep an eye on your surroundings...be aware. But that's true whenever you're taking photographs.
As for learning the basics, I would pick up the Digital Photography Book. Easy to follow, teaches how to push the right buttons on your camera.
Youtube videos are also helpful. Usually, you can put the make and model of your camera in, and lots of folks will have made free tutorials for you.
In the beginning, you just have to learn how to get your camera to work for you, so you can tell it what to do. It's about proper exposure. I'm three years in, and I haven't figured it all about. The main thing is this, take lots of pictures before you go on vacation. Every day. On your lunch hour, at night, whenever. You don't want to go on vacation and be distracted by trying to learn your camera. You could miss the fun times. Try to get the basics down pat before you go. There's always an element of learning something new in every new situation. But you'll enjoy yourself more if you're not grumbling at yourself for missing a moment because you got the settings wrong.
Most of all...don't take it all too too seriously. You'll learn by doing.
Good luck!
These all come from the book Things Come Apart. I've got it on my shelf a few feet away--great book!
You may also like this book. I got it for my father last year for Father's Day and he loved it.
I have this book! It’s called Things Come Apart
Here’s an amazon link to the book
I quite like my copy of Magnum Contact Sheets. It might be a good choice.
I've heard that Magnum's Contact Sheets is really incredible.
Magnum Contact Sheets
Let me recommend this book to you. It's a very cool collection that shows entire rolls of film that famous photos came from (e.g. the iconic photo of Che). It's mostly targeted at film nerds like me but it is also a great piece of storytelling and I think you might enjoy it based on your comment.
General 'snapshot' street photography is a matter of chance, with a small amount of composition. Very little work and thought goes into the output. What's notable about HCB is that he frequently framed a shot based on artistic composition; and waited for something to happen. Other times he had time to compose a shot he took the time to find the geometry. Even when just out snapping, he looked for scenes where geometry was striking. If you're curious about the way he does this, he talks about it in an old movie.
Asking someone else how to make your work stand out is inherently uncreative, for the record.
One of the most important things I ever learned about photography was that buying gear isn't really useful. Having a working camera and some working lenses is necessary; but if you have something 'semi-professional' or above, there's little to no advantage in upgrading. You have an M8 (or possibly an M6 by now?) and a lens. As long as both are in functional condition; that's all you need in terms of equipment.
Instead, buy books. Here's some suggestions that you might want to consider:
You can also look at libraries for these, and keep an eye on thrift stores and used bookshops. I think you're in London, right? There's a huge gallery on Oxford street, and in Mayfair there's a Leica store where exhibitions are held a few times a year.
The key point is to look at photos; individual photos, contact sheets and whole curated books and exhibitions. Think about how the artists made something like documentary and snapshot photography into an art. Look for ideas you can use, and look for things that haven't been done that you could use to be unique. Look at studio photography. Look at erotic photography. Look at cinema and still life and landscapes and architecture and paintings and drawings and every other image created with artistic intent, that represents a moment of reality. And go from there.
https://www.amazon.com/Shoot-Video-That-Doesnt-Suck/dp/0761163239
/u/Iandeloney - enjoyed looking at your website - terrific work. I agree that aperture, shutter speed/angle and ISO are very important building blocks for video - but there are a few other topics you will want to master to make your filmmaking better.
Here are the books I would recommend to get started:
Hope this is helpful, good luck with adding video to your repertoire and Happy New Year to you and yours!
This book focuses more on the general process of video production, but it has a section on editing and is filled with various exercises to help you improve filming as well as editing. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0761163239/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1456888590&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=how+to+shoot+video+that+doesn%27t+suck&dpPl=1&dpID=51MzH-YZtoL&ref=plSrch
This presupposes of course that you have at minimum a basic video camera but I don't think that assumption is too unreasonable. A phone camera should work in fact.
Additionally, an exercise I recommend is that you get someone to record dialogue for a fake (or parody) infomercial and then edit together a video to go with it using clips from YouTube (download with something like MP3 Rocket).
Most of all, it really helps to have someone else who also enjoys editing that you can form a constructive-competative relationship with. This is particularly beneficial when it comes to inspiration and getting notes as to what you've done well and what you need to improve.
There are two books of that title--this creates some confusion. You're probably speaking of the first one?
http://www.amazon.com/Photographers-Eye-Composition-Design-Digital/dp/0240809343
http://www.amazon.com/Photographers-Eye-John-Szarkowski/dp/087070527X
This Photographer's Eye or this?
Also tossing Tony Northrup and Matt Granger in the mix of Youtubers to check out. Very knowledgeable folks.
Tony has a book (used to write books for Microsoft) that has helped me out a bit here and there, covers tons of stuff! It comes with access to videos you can watch while going through, which is neat.
Just read the manual and start taking lots of photos. You will figure it all out. This is a pretty good book: http://www.amazon.com/Tony-Northrups-DSLR-Book-Photography/dp/0988263408/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418237796&sr=1-1&keywords=photography
I think after getting the basics down (exposure triangle) it’s about composition and making creative decisions.
There’s a book called The Photographer’s Playbook that might offer you some cool ideas.
I also like Ted Forbes’ Photo Assignments series on YouTube.
I bought this book about five years ago when I was just starting out and it was such a great resource. I always recommend it to friends and family when I know they've just bought their first DSLR. I hope it helps!
r/photoclass_2016
This book is often recommended -
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B004FEFS5E/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
I believe that a strong understanding of the fundamentals of photography is important.
I don't agree with all the teaching techniques in this book, but it's the one that seems to get recommended most often.
Understanding Exposure.
Bet yet, IMO, would be to take a class. Most people learn better and faster when they have a knowledgeable instructor to walk it though with them in person.
I teach photography classes and our most popular class is along the lines of 'how to use your DSLR'.
Classes certainly cost more than a book or watching youtube videos, but good knowledge pays for itself over and over again for the rest of your life. 99% of people who take my classes are more than happy with the value they get for the cost of the class.
If you have not read this I recommend it highly. Completely helped me up my low light game.
Light: Science and Magic
A bit dry, but it is THE definitive guide to lighting. What's not in there about lighting theory isn't worth knowing.
Light: Science & magic
http://www.amazon.com/Light-Science-Introduction-Photographic-Lighting/dp/0240808193
The only book on lighting I've read that treats lighting as a theory, rather than a recipe. More of the why, less of the how.
Hey man. I agree with you on the 'more meaningful way' bit. I definitely got heated. Might have something to do with sleep deprivation and the marathon of HIMYM I'm currently on.
Regardless, excuses aside. Sorry man, shouldn't have been that harsh.
I would LOVE to go into detail about every single one of your shots and what I would've done and what I thought needed work. But to be honest. It's all subjective. It's an art. You might like something that I hate.
THAT BEING SAID, there are some basics you should really avoid. And there are are things you need to learn in order to accurately pull that idea out of your head and successfully get it into film.
Instead of yelling at you. I'm gonna gather up some resources for you that I really hope you take the time to learn from.
Now, you asked to see some of my work. Linking you stuff would just throw away the point of the 'throwaway' account since my first comment was so god damn harsh and to the point. Now I stated that
"You wasted 2:45 seconds. A lot of short films can make a grown man weep in that time"
I would just like to show you an example of what 2:42 seconds can do.
Here's the list:
QUICK VIDEOZ UP IN DIS BITCH:
Hands on lecture about Cinematography
Get out of AUTO mode! Some quick tips on shooting with a DSLR. I assume you're using a DSLR because that's what I started with. Regardless of camera this is great advice to start with
Wise words from my man Kevin Smith on independent filmmaking
Intro lecture on pre-production, script writing, and filmmaking in general
More DSLR tips and tricks
READING MATERIALS YO, READ DIS SHIT:
http://www.amazon.ca/The-Filmmakers-Eye-Cinematic-Composition/dp/0240812174
http://www.amazon.ca/The-Filmmakers-Handbook-Comprehensive-Digital/dp/0452297281
Now I understand if you can't afford to buy the books. When I was in highschool I was lucky enough to be able to beg my friends to borrow their camcorders in order to film my shorts. It's how I got started.
That being said I don't want to break rule #2 of this subreddit that I fucking love.
THAT BEING SAID.
LET'S JUST SAY.... THAT A CERTAIN BEARDED PIRATE.... IS CHILLING AT A CERTAIN BAY... AND IF YOU JUST GO TO HIM AND SAY THE WORDS "The Filmmaker" I'M SURE HE COULD HOOK A BROTHA UP WITH SOME OF DEM KNOWLEDGE PAPERS YA DIG?
Anyways brother/sister. I'm sorry about being harsh on your film. I wish you the best of luck in the future. All the stuff I've thrown your way you don't have to go through it all in one sitting. Just delve into some of them on your freetime every now and then.
Peace bitch. (I mean bitch in the nicestest most Aaron Paul way possible)
Cinematography is a very nuanced art, but if you're looking for a entry level way in to understanding its principles I'd recommend The Filmmaker's Eye. It's a great book in that it's visually oriented, and though the writing is philosophical in nature it's basic enough that a beginner/hobbyist can understand it and begin to learn why cinematic composition differs from photographic composition.
I am currently reading The Filmmaker's Eye by Gustavo Mercado
I am enjoying it a lot
Very cool. If I can recommend a book or three - Scott Kelby Digital Photography 1-3. Really great books for learning because they are simple lessons - one page, one lesson. No need to read through, you can pick and choose what you want to learn. There are two others, books 4 and 5. I have 4 and found it less useful than 1-3 but some of that is because I moved past it in skills before I bought it. No idea about 5. His blog is great too - lots of free knowledge. Same with Joe McNally.
Good luck!
P.S. What camera did you get?
I would recommend Scott Kelby's Digital Photography Boxed Set. 3 books that show a bit of everything and tips on Lighting, Exposure, Basics, and more advanced techniques. http://www.amazon.com/Scott-Kelbys-Digital-Photography-Volumes/dp/0321678737
Go buy this.
And, like everyone else...shoot shoot shoot!
By definition, if you take a photo, you are a photographer - there are "photographers" that publish books taking pictures with an iphone. She took the picture, she owns the copyright and therefore, has the right to request it removed from the site.
Not being paid for your pictures does not make one less of a photographer.
http://www.amazon.com/Best-Camera-One-Thats-You/dp/0321684788
http://www.amazon.com/The-Best-Camera-Thats-With/dp/0321684788
These are pictures I took on my iPhone 4s in Guatemala.
I took it with my phone because it wasn't safe to bring my "real" camera into many of those environments. I am a professional photographer, and I love my big expensive cameras BUT The best camera is the one you have with you!
Yeah it does stand out from the rest, not only because of the subject and the pose, but because there aren't any environmental cues like the rest (black background). Glad I could be constructive with my comments.
A good starting point is a softbox/umbrella 45 degrees over, 45 degrees up, torso pointed towards the light source, face turned about 45 degrees away from the torso/light source (towards the camera). Keep a ratio of about 2:1 key to fill light (or use a reflector), and if you want to use a rim light or kicker behind the hair for it. Or google Rembrandt lighting, which is similar.
The Syl Arena book is pretty much the gold standard of flash photography:
http://www.amazon.com/Speedliters-Handbook-Learning-Craft-Speedlites/dp/032171105X
Neil V's Tangents blog is a great online resource:
http://neilvn.com/tangents/flash-photography-techniques/
And of course there is strobist.com
Some of the BH photos are amazing resources. Here are a few (with differing levels of relevance):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5byuHJ9uBns
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWhi4I20s10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eoi5uxZq7z8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtcD84l9eUw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9RQ6YPVWhA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJHfT7lYqCo&list=FLqfXHErKeDtB3zYN9zaNfmg&index=3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxPkxS_ezVg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcpRdrVrtz0
Cheers!
Are you shooting Canon or Nikon? For Canon get a copy of the Speedliters Handbook. For Nikon get a copy of Hot Shoe Diaries.
I am a fan of speedlights after reading Syl Arenas' Speedlighter's Handbook. I use the following equipment:
Rather than surprise her, you might ask your girlfriend what she wants in a lighting kit. Personally, I would be delighted if someone surprised me with new gear but disappointed if it wasn't what I actually needed/wanted.
Here are some excellent reads;
In addition, this very nice article by PetaPixel has a nice breakdown of the best free online Photography Courses and Tutorials.
r/knolling might be close
Also this book:
Things Come Apart: A Teardown Manual for Modern Living
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0500516766/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_1aBvDb0VT6Q59
Sixties Design A fun romp through the sixties curvy day glow design bent
Eames: Beautiful DetailsDefinitive Eames Book.
Industrial Design Raymond Loewy My favorite all time designer.
Infrastructure by Brian Hayes Not Sexy, but necessary.
Industrial Design A-Z, Taschen Everything by the letters.
PreFab HousesGood, if dated a little on prefab potential
1000 Chairs Bible of chairs
Things Come Apart They destroyed it beautifully for you
Trespass Street Art photographed and credited
Type Vol. 2 The Taschen site-order version comes with a digital code for Hi-Res digital downloads of each plate. Not sure if the amazon version does. Still worth it either way.
D&AD 11 All the D&AD books are a real tight look at that years best and worst commercial work.
Logo Design 2 I'm sure this has been updated, but good enough and much cheaper now.
DDR Design I have a soft spot for bolshevik propaganda forced into design.
1000 Retail Graphics It is what it says it is, not much more. Good for brainstorming, but not really inspiring.
This book is an interesting read. Not quite a “science” book per say but very fascinating.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0500516766/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr=
I have also been interested in this book, which I am actually considering as a gift for my own partner who is a doctor.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1905367872/ref=dp_ob_neva_mobile
Just bought the book! So cool! http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0500516766
I love contact sheets! Looking through mine really brings me back to the time I took the pictures.
Also, check this book out. It's massive, probably the highest density of photography-per-page and by far my favorite photo-related book.
Assuming he knows a decent amount about the basic technical side of photography, I'd really suggest a book of photos. There are tons, and they're not only beautiful pieces of art but also invaluable learning tools! This one is a crowd favourite, but there are plenty of other choices. :>
If he's more of a reader get About Looking by John Berger
Its a great book that talks about why we take pictures of the things we do and much more.
If he's more interested in looking at actual photographs, I would recommend a number of books
Genesis by Sebastiao Salgado
Magnum Contact Sheets
The Americans by Robert Frank
The Last Resort by Martin Parr
Usually when Amazon does something like this it's for a day or two and then it's over. This is the lowest it's ever been. https://ca.camelcamelcamel.com/Magnum-Contact-Sheets-Kristen-Lubben/product/050054431X
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
Admire the initiative and effort of making your short film, must've taken some work!
Allow me to recommend the book "How to shoot video that doesn't suck" by Steve Stockman. It basically details every basic rule to help your viewers suspend disbelief, and how to look at cutting out any little thing that doesn't progress the story. If you do anything else, get this book. You're already on track to grow if you keep making films, the book will only expedite it and give you a strong foundation. Cheers!
https://www.amazon.com/Shoot-Video-That-Doesnt-Suck/dp/0761163239
I don't really think instruction books are worth it anymore. You can learn the basics much faster online for free. What the internet can't provide is a good printed book filled with classic photography. If she is going to Columbia (and perhaps hearing the great Rosalind Krauss), these classics are mandatory anyway.
One of the best books on photography ever written:
Barthes: Camera Lucida
A few classic photography books everyone with a faint interest in the medium will love:
Ansel Adams
Diane Arbus
Henri Cartier-Bresson
The Photographers Eye
Szarkowski's The Photographer's Eye and Looking at Photographs.
The MoMA publication from the 2005 Lee Freidlander show
John Szarkowski's book The Photographer's Eye this is not the same as the other book titled "the photographer's eye" by Freidman which is just trash for digital monkeys to get more likes on flickr.
Uncommon Places by Stephen Shore
william eggleston's guide
and a trip (or, if you can, hundreds of trips) to your local art museum.
within these books and experiences lies every lesson in visual awareness, and by extension, photography, you'll ever want.
I also really liked the photographer's eye by john szarkowski (https://www.amazon.com/Photographers-Eye-John-Szarkowski/dp/087070527X), which is similar to stephen shore's book but much older.
Coworker: I immediately thought she should get a really graphic Batman poster. You could even get it framed if you have enough left over. Here are some from Etsy: 1, 2, 3, 4, this one's a little different.. but it's video game related so.. here! 5
____
Boss: A nice photography book would probably be a safe bet: 1, 2, 3, 4, last one is $5 over budget, but 5
__
Professor: I'm sorry I don't have more original ideas for him but here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
__
GOOD LUCK!!
This reminds me of Peter Menzel's Material World. It is the most fascinating coffee-table book!
"You may also like:"
http://www.amazon.com/Material-World-Global-Family-Portrait/dp/0871564300
Check out these two:
Material World
Women in Material World
My first DSLR was a Nikon D3100 and I remember finding it so intimidating I was almost afraid to hold it or pick it up. I've definitely been there! You have a fun adventure ahead of you, so enjoy it! Get a good book or do some youtubing to understand your camera. I recommend both of these:
Before even diving into them though, I'd check out some web articles or youtube videos on your specific camera, but also on the exposure triangle so you have an idea of the basics of photography in general, and you can build from there. Your camera has a lot of bells and whistles, but the most important thing is learning aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Everything else is icing. Have fun!
OK, I get asked this type of question a lot so I have some pre-fab answers for you:
>Someone asked me about teaching yourself art (which is the way I learned) I thought I would share my replay in case It might be helpful to some of you.
>Fundamentals (walk before you run):
>How to draw http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933492732/ref=oh_details_o08_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 $30
Figure drawing for all its worth http://www.amazon.com/Figure-Drawing-All-Its-Worth/dp/0857680986/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401411454&sr=1-1&keywords=figure+drawing+for+all+it%27s+worth $25
Color and Light (this book blew my mind) http://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Guide-Realist-Painter/dp/0740797719/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401411299&sr=1-1&keywords=color+and+light $15
Imaginative Realism http://www.amazon.com/Imaginative-Realism-Paint-Doesnt-Exist/dp/0740785508/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y $15
>Digital Painting:
>Digital Painting Techniques 1 – 6 http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=digital+painting+techniques+&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Adigital+painting+techniques+ About $35 each = $210 total
>Also pick up some art books for games like Halo or Assassin’s Creed. There’s lots of great concept work in there to give you an idea of what to pros do.
>Visual design:
>Picture This (a very simple explanation on how all the components of a scene can tell a story) http://www.amazon.com/Picture-This-How-Pictures-Work/dp/1587170302/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401412344&sr=1-1&keywords=picture+this $15
Essentials of Visual Communication (A detailed breakdown on how the human brain consumes an image and how you can use this knowledge to best communicate your ideas) http://www.amazon.com/Essentials-Visual-Communication-Bo-Bergström/dp/1856695778/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401412394&sr=1-1&keywords=Essentials+of+Visual+Communication $30
>Structured Education:
>Digital Tutors (Perfect for learning a program) http://www.digitaltutors.com/11/index.php $50 a month or $515 a year
Ctrl+Paint http://www.ctrlpaint.com/ Free
CGMaster Academy https://www.youtube.com/user/CGMWORKSHOPS/videos?view=0&flow=grid
>Also I wrote on my blog “Become a better Artist Overnight” http://garretaj.blogspot.com/2012/12/how-to-become-better-artist-overnight.html where I take you through tried and true techniques on how to do focused learning revolving your sleep pattern. This is the way I did it (and still do it)
>Communities a must for getting feedback and ideas:
>http://conceptartworld.com/
>http://www.artstation.com/
>https://www.facebook.com/groups/400586640025350/
>https://www.facebook.com/groups/221278101324638/
>https://www.facebook.com/groups/awesomehorse/
>The final thing is you. You have to really want this, it’s not easy. Don’t buy this stuff or go to an expensive art school because you think it’s some kind of shortcut. The focus here is not becoming a good artist, but becoming a good student. Learn how to learn effectively, learn how to love learning, bust your ass, and always work on improving yourself.
>Do that and nothing can stop you. Or don’t.
Hope this helps
Books on composition. Start with this, move on to this and this, and when you feel you're ready for more advanced stuff get this.
The world is full of people who spend thousands of dollars and years of their lives taking technically perfect photos of their cat. Don't end up like them.
Grab a copy of Molly Bang's How Pictures Work.
Non-mobile:
^That's ^why ^I'm ^here, ^I ^don't ^judge ^you. ^PM ^/u/xl0 ^if ^I'm ^causing ^any ^trouble. ^WUT?
Guess I can mention something that hasn't been said.
Master studies. You don't need to reinvent the wheel. Just like with photos and movies as mentioned by others. Find works of art you like, do your own "version" and ask yourself the same "why" questions. Pay attention to darks vs. lights. negative space. All those art clichés. They start to make sense after a while.
Also, for a quick run through of what works and what doesn't.
Picture This: How Pictures Work
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1587170302
Not an amazing mind blowing book. But a good reference for a lot of plain fact. Things we may not consider that much but seriously, they are simple and they are true and they'll give you something to look for in masterpieces, movies, photographs, you name it. Things to look for and understand. Trust me. It's very clever in its simplicity.
You could find a project to take up. This book is pretty cool for finding ideas. A 30 day photography challenge with different photo requirements each day can be fun too.
Here's a book full of ideas: https://www.amazon.com/Photographers-Playbook-307-Assignments-Ideas/dp/159711247X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536092081&sr=8-1&keywords=the+photographers+playbook
Highly recommend this read: https://www.amazon.com/Photographers-Playbook-307-Assignments-Ideas/dp/159711247X
​
The "prompts" (jf you can call them that) are intellectually and creatively engaging--and they're from some of the best photographers alive right now
I am a hobbyist wildlife photographer but it was only a few years ago that I started so maybe I can point you in the right direction.
First what is your basic understanding of you camera? If you don't have the basics a specialized wildlife instruction session isn't going to help you too much. For the basics I highly recommend the book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson, it's the best beginner book for photography out there.
Off the top of my head I can think of photographer named Steve Mattheis up in Jackson Hole who does instruction. He's also got an awesome YouTube channel.
Frankly YouTube is your friend, I spend a lot of time watching YouTube videos on photography.
Understanding Exposure
I think what you're really missing here is proper lighting. The valley is shaded except for that lip of sunlight in the back-right of the photo. You can play around with some color settings to try to get what you're looking for, but I don't think it'll come off looking quite as natural as what you'd want.
I always suggest taking a look at Understanding Exposure.. It's a great help in learning 1) the relationships between ISO/Aperature/Shutter Speed to achieve proper exposure, and 2) how lighting affects your image.
The exposure seems correct for the lighting situation, but the timing/composition is where you missed the boat on this particular shot. Good work, though, composition just comes down to lots of practice and exposing yourself to other photographers' works!
https://www.amazon.fr/Tony-Northrups-DSLR-Book-Photography-ebook/dp/B006KY2VZ2
5 euro
you will learn everything you need to know
I bought http://www.amazon.com/Tony-Northrups-DSLR-Book-Photography-ebook/dp/B006KY2VZ2 best ten bucks I ever spent
100 percent this. The best investment you can make is $10 on a good photography book. For a no-nonsense and easy to use book, I recommend How to Create Stunning Digital Photography https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006KY2VZ2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_1znKzbFKX4TZJ
It's not perfect, but if you spend 1 hour reading and watching his videos, you can easily make your images 10x better than they are today with your existing equipment.
The keys for photographing kids are simple - great light (easily accessible outdoors in the shade), focused composition (a significant fraction of the photo should be occupied by the kid, hopefully with nice light in his or her eyes), and a good situation (kid joy at going down the slide, wonder at the big t Rex sculpture in the park, happiness at sitting on Grandpa's shoulders).
After that, shoot a lot of pictures and try out different techniques! Eventually you'll want to do some post processing, too - I recommend the free Snapseed app - but that's for after you're comfortable with the basics!
Edit: join us over at /r/photography if you like beautiful photos and/or photography gear addiction
Hi and congrats. I just purchased my new cam about 2 weeks ago. It was recommended that I read this book and I have to say that it's a life saver for anyone with anew dslr. I highly recommend it:
https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-Fourth-Photographs-Camera-ebook/dp/B0104EOJSK/ref=mt_kindle?_encoding=UTF8&me=&dpID=51TQak7WXxL&preST=_SX342_QL70_&dpSrc=detail
https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-Fourth-Photographs-Camera-ebook/dp/B0104EOJSK/
https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Shutter-Speed-Bryan-Peterson-ebook/dp/B004JHYK88/
I think those books should have the main info. But the basics of how the picture is made should be readily available in google also. Don't worry, we all have been beginners. Remember that the lens are more important than camera and photographer is most important. Composition and light make the picture. Just take a lot of pictures and don't worry if they don't look good, most photographers take a lot of pictures and only show the best. It's important to take pictures ;)
+1 for [Art and Science of Digital Compositing]
(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004HHOC8I)
Heres a few more I can recommend:
Digital Compositing for Film and Video
[Production Pipeline Fundamentals for Film and Games]
(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IOPYVIU)
[Maya Python for Games and Film]
(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005OI23OO)
[Introducing ZBrush 3rd Edition]
(https://www.amazon.com/dp/1118244826)
[Digital Modeling]
(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006QRYPC0)
[The HDRI Handbook 2.0: High Dynamic Range Imaging for Photographers and CG Artists]
(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VB46ACG)
[Professional Photoshop: The Classic Guide to Color Correction, Fifth Edition]
(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004USQQOC)
[Understanding Exposure, Fourth Edition]
(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0104EOJSK)
I'm not sure if the OP is asking for ideas or learning material, but shooting glassware after reading how in [Light: Science and Magic](http://www.amazon.com/Light-Science-Introduction-Photographic-Lighting/dp/0240808193"Light: Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting") should cover both.
Glad to be helpful! If you want to learn more about, the first few chapters of the book “Light: Science and Magic” are immensely instructive
The book Light: Science and Magic has all sorts of great stuff about this, flagging the lights for less bleed, preventing reflections, etc.
http://www.amazon.com/Light-Science-Introduction-Photographic-Lighting/dp/0240808193/
Understanding Exposure is EXTREMELY basic, beware.
the filmmakers eye
http://www.amazon.ca/The-Filmmakers-Eye-Cinematic-Composition/dp/0240812174
The Filmmaker's Eye is a brilliant basic starting point. Very easy to read quickly.
My favorites:
The Visual Story
In the Blink of an Eye
How to Read a Film (personally bored by it but a lot of film classes I took in uni versity used it)
The Filmmaker's Eye (huge fan of this book)
The rest of this post is just general advice on how to gain a deeper knowledge of film.
If you want to learn the grammar of film, read about film history (it will help introduce you to editing/camera movement/directing techniques and the filmmakers/films that influenced your favorite directors).
Read criticism from Pauline Kael, Andrew Sarris, David Bordwell (his blog is a fantastic resource), Jonathan Rosenbaum, and older critics such as Bazin/Eisenstein. There are more out there, but this is a good start.
Read reviews after you watch a film instead of beforehand--those reviews will hopefully give you a deeper view of the film. That being said, you really have to look around to figure out who you like, stylistically speaking. There are a lot of critics that have no idea what they're talking about from a technical standpoint. If you're bored with short reviews without substance you might like FILMCRITHULK.
Watch YouTube tutorials and video essays on filmmaking. Video essays are particularly helpful at illustrating and pointing out things that you might not have noticed otherwise. It's also a hell of a lot more entertaining than reading criticism that was written in 1962 in another language.
From a practical standpoint, pick up a camera and shoot something. Edit it. Read books on composition--I've found that photography composition books are pretty helpful. Read scripts from films you love and films you haven't seen to get an idea of how a film exists before the first day of shooting takes place.
Keep watching films, and watch them actively. Don't text during films, and try to watch them in one sitting. The goal is to immerse yourself in the image and analyze the shots/cuts/etc. as they happen. Watch films with commentaries, watch them with the sound off, and branch out into different genres and time periods so that you can attain a more concise view of film.
Above all else, watch as many films as you can. You'll find that the watchlist keeps growing, no matter how many films you see.
this is the book we are using in my cinematography class. I really like it.
I liked The Filmmaker's Eye
What have your read about composition?
http://www.amazon.com/Shoot-Video-That-Doesnt-Suck/dp/0761163239/ref=sr_1_1
http://www.amazon.com/Filmmakers-Eye-Learning-Cinematic-Composition/dp/0240812174/ref=sr_1_1
What videos have you watched that talk about composition?
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=film+composition
I'll reccommend a few books chock full of essays that I found useful...it might take awhile to pick through them but there are some real gems.
Photography: A Critical Introduction , The Photography Reader , On Photography , Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography
Not exactly research but check out Susan Sontag's "On Photography". There's a reference about Japanese tourist dealing with anxiety using their cameras as a "shield".
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.
Should read Susan Sontog's "On Photography"
Scott Kelby has a great box set of books. They go through everything you could imagine in a very easy to follow set u.
I bought the set for myself and have since shared them with my girlfriend and mom, both had very little experience with photography, but had no problems reading through the books and understanding how to go about using what they learned.
The set is called Scott Kelby's Digital Photography.
here's a link from amazon,
http://www.amazon.ca/Scott-Kelbys-Digital-Photography-Volumes/dp/0321678737
And an excellent place to start it is.
Not sure of your age and whether or not you've never taken a photography course in high school or college. Not even sure if they still teach film photography in high school (gosh I'm old). But if you haven't then I suggest reading one of these books on basic photography principles. Familiarizing yourself with f stops, ISO, shutter speed, basic composition principles will go a long way.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321678737/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0321678737&linkCode=as2&tag=httpwwwpho006-20
as far as lenses go I would start with a prime lens. For the a6000 I suggest something closer to the Full frame equivalent of 50mm. In this case you'd be looking at the Sony 35mm f1.8 or Sigma 30mm f1.4. Using a prime will force you to move in our out to frame your shot and will prevent you from using your zoom to frame a shot. Old school photographers like my pop says zoom lenses make people lazy. You'll also get the pleasing depth of field and bokeh look out the gate.
One other tip from a non professional photographer to another is to take your camera everywhere and shoot everything. The best way to learn is to do IMO. Mirrorless cameras are light and compact so there is no excuse to not take it with you.
Edit: And if you;re on a budget I would absolutely start with the kit lens then work your way up to a prime lens. But go for a prime lens if you can.
If you are new to photography, these books are worded in an easy to understand way to get you shooting the results you want quicker. My fav set of books that still give me tips and I have been shooting for years. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0321678737
It seems that your comment contains 1 or more links that are hard to tap for mobile users.
I will extend those so they're easier for our sausage fingers to click!
Here is link number 1 - Previous text "No"
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^Please ^PM ^/u/eganwall ^with ^issues ^or ^feedback! ^| ^Delete
https://www.amazon.com/Best-Camera-One-Thats-You/dp/0321684788
You and most of the commenters sound like gadget collectors, not photographers. I can still take a good photo with my mechanical film camera from highschool(well if I can find film). You don'r need a good camera to take good photos. Instead of concentrating on the tech, try new things with composition, lighting or subject matter. I've taken ok photos with literally a toilet plunger(made into a pinhole camera).
It is less about the camera and more about the person behind the camera. iPhones can take great photos. This book was shot entirely with an iphone camera
The iphone camera is plenty good enough to create appealing images. You might have seen the pro fashion photography with an iphone video here recently: http://fstoppers.com/iphone/
or this photography book shot all with the iphone:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0321684788/
And applying some post-processing to make up for the cameras weaknesses is a good thing! Some of the effects are over the top and/or cheesy, but he will learn to apply them more subtly with time.
Personally, I think these are quite good - [http://www.flickr.com/photos/codysanfilippo/4807166199/in/set-72157624533460560/](the Kiss) in particular. I've never shot anything that "emotional" with any camera.
Finally - the images here show that a lot of time and effort have gone into them. He spends some time shooting, some time selecting the good ones, some time post-processing them, and then he goes to the hassle of putting them online, and even asking for criticism here. And the best you come up with is "it's shit".
I guess you are right that your photos are not relevant here, but at least you could try with some constructive criticism. Or perhaps just not comment.
I recommend picking up this book, Speedliter's Handbook: Learning to Craft Light with Canon Speedlites.
You'll learn a variety of techniques you'll be able to use in a wide range of situations.
also speedliter's handbook has been highly recommended if you ever get a speedlite as it is written exclusively for canon and its flash system.
check out the strobist blog as well for more flash related things
*edit:grammar
I don't feel 100% confident with my flash, but I know the basics of how to use it and it's functionality. I own and have read (some of) Speedliter's Handbook - I should probably spend the next hour in a flash crash-course.
EDIT: PM me if you have video questions. I'd love to help.
This book is excellent on all aspects of lighting: Speedliter's Handbook: Learning to Craft Light with Canon Speedlites - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/032171105X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=032171105X&linkCode=as2&tag=digitalphot09-21
These two books (best sellers in photography) worked for me. They're also very active on youtube. You can read Kelby's in a night though will take time to learn to apply everything. Everyone learns differently but given they're best sellers good chance it will speak to you.
Books Links
Their youtube channels
Scott Kelby has a good introductory series. It is what got me started into the basics of photography. Book one is a good point of entry for only $15.
http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Photography-Book-Part-2nd/dp/0321934946/ref=la_B000APPRO4_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415410842&sr=1-5
[This book from Scott Kelby]()http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Photography-Book-Part-2nd/dp/0321934946/ is great for beginners and really helped me a lot when I first started, it skips all the technical talk and goes straight to how to get those great shots.
Not sure what is out there now but I know that when I started learning by myself almost all of the books out there where either too technical or complete garbage as a learning tool, lots of books out there that are more like the authors personal portfolio and this is the one that actually taught me in an easy fun way.
There are 3 books on this series but I don't really recommend the other two unless you really like the book and like the author style because they are more like an expansion of the first book and not as good bang for your buck.
https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Photography-Book-Part-2nd/dp/0321934946
This book series is great help.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0321934946/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1521743688&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=photography+digital+book&dpPl=1&dpID=51vm11Ve5iL&ref=plSrch
Buy an entry level camera (t6i) for $500. Best way to learn is to do it, and not just learn from a book. Experiment with apertures and shutter rates. And the lighting is the most important. Then experiment with geometry and angles and leading lines. It transforms regular snap shots into photography.
just like this book!
https://www.amazon.com/Things-Come-Apart-Teardown-Manual/dp/0500516766
For anyone interested someone on a previous thread where this image came up said that it can be found in this book:
Things Come Apart: A Teardown Manual for Modern Living
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0500516766/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_9wQ7wb3Q1HT0D
There's a book full of this kind of stuff , Todd McLellan: Things Come Apart
Photography Changes Everything by Marvin Heiferman
EDIT: More:
Magnum Contact Sheets by Kristen Lubben
Photography: The Definitive Visual History by Tom Ang
Michael Kenna: Images of the Seventh Day
Raised by Wolves by Jim Goldberg
The Photography Book: 2nd Edition by Ian Jeffrey
The Photographer's Eye by John Szarkowski
The Photographer's Eye by Michael Freeman
The Photographer's Vision by Michael Freeman
Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson
The new addition is a bit more than half the price. I've been meaning to pick it up for a while now now so ordered it immediately when I saw the cheaper price. More than worth the $50.
Thanks for the advice. I can't find your Flickr. Your flair links me to your website. I'll start checking out John Free's videos today.
On Books:
I'm currently in the process of deciding which book(s) to get. I was thinking The Americans by Robert Frank or Magnum's Contact Sheets. At some point, probably both. I was originally looking for written books by author describing how they think when out shooting, but all I usually find on Amazon and the web are bland books on the essentials of your camera, such as how to get good exposure. Or only the basic compositions like the rule of thirds.
On Gear:
I actually really do agree with you on the gear part. Books(education) over gear. This is partly why the only camera I own, which I purchased a year ago, is my Fuji X100S. One camera, one lens. My thought process is that I want to earn my next camera. Meaning not switch over to another camera or lenses until I have finally decided I can benefit from it when my photos begin getting better.
On Resources:
That John Free guy is a great resource. I also find that Adam Marelli and Eric Kim do well to put out good info. Though the former is more reserved (I think he would rather get paid via a workshop for it). But if you have any more people you can think of on photography techniques and/or philosophy, please let me know.
Thanks for the detailed reply. I know The Americans but not the rest; very helpful. Since we're living out of the car, I'm limited on book space. So, for the next 18 months, I probably shouldn't purchase a book. I downsized my library to a Kindle pre-trip.
Do you know of any great PDFs/digital books that would be worth considering? That's one of the benefits of the course; to be able to do work and study from anywhere.
Regarding Magnum Contact Sheets, can you help me understand the difference between these two?
$55 hardcover vs stupid expensive.
Any courses you might recommend now that I've made the lack-of-space a bit more clear? :) I'm attempting to get work as a non-paid second shooter in the cities we travel to.
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
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
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:
A couple ideas
https://www.amazon.com/Shoot-Video-That-Doesnt-Suck/dp/0761163239/ref=mt_paperback?_encoding=UTF8&me=
https://www.amazon.com/YouTube-Channels-Dummies-Rob-Ciampa/dp/1118958179/ref=mt_paperback?_encoding=UTF8&me=
Don't want to make any assumptions, but the right gear is pretty low on the list if you are new to filmmaking or taking video. In photography here everyone will tell you knowing what ISO/Aperature/Shutter speed mean and how to work with them will make a MUCH bigger difference then if you don't learn that and just buy nicer gear.
In video this applies DOUBLE at least. Because now when you edit it all together you will need specific shots. My wife is an excellent photographer and spent a few weeks this summer doing photography and some video work for a nonprofit working in Africa and came back with some footage that was pretty tough to use, not for the sake that she didn't have the gear or equipment. Almost unusable just because the shots were not there, not the right length, not the right distances, etc.
Focus on the video aspect, the storytelling aspect, how to take and "think in shots" first and foremost. Don't worry about the gear yet.
This is incredible and concise and I cannot recommend it enough: "How to Shoot Video that Doesn't Suck"
But not to come across smug or anything and blow off your question, some gear recommendations:
A cheap, battery powered lapel mic with extra batteries. If you do any interviews on site (you should try!) this can improve your audio dramatically for dirt cheap.
Tripods make a difference in panning and zooming and whatnot, but honestly the MAJORITY of your shots should NOT be panning and zooming shots (this was the problem with all of my wifes footage). So don't worry too much about this.
SD cards obviously you'll need very fast cards, but even on top of that some are better than others with different cameras I have no idea why. I can put a "90m/s" SD card in my 60D that works fine, and another that runs out of buffer in 5 seconds, even when trying to reduce quality or other issues. Both are the same "speed" cards! I recommend checking your specific camera or some forums where people have discussed that.
Some of those editing tips:
What it is going to boil down to is if you sent some professional video crews out with iPhones they would come back and put something much more watchable, interesting, and engaging than a group of beginners with the best equipment. This is sort of true in photography as well to some degree, but absolutely a fact in video. So focus on the important part.
Anyway tl;dr, focus on learning the language of video, filmmaking, and that kind of stuff before worrying too much about gear.
(But really let me if you have any more specific questions or need any other help, I am not professional at all, but have been doing a lot of amateur video work and editing perhaps a dozen small projects and stuff over the last few years, I can show you some specific examples of stuff too. Do a lot of overseas work and deal with portability issues and stuff. Have even been teaching a beginners crash course "media" class with the disaster relief organization I work with, mostly focuses on ethics and stuff. We send teams with a very low end but user friendly video setup I put together to use for the work we do).
That's also a book-- I have it! Great tips for all levels. https://www.amazon.com/Shoot-Video-That-Doesnt-Suck/dp/0761163239/r
I've recently gotten into film making myself and found the book Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck! as a great introduction. It's an easy read and covers a lot of basics.
https://www.amazon.com/Shoot-Video-That-Doesnt-Suck/dp/0761163239 a good read
Not sure if it's quite the same, but my parents have this as a coffee table book. Similar at least, it's all the possessions of people around the world. Pretty interesting.
I saw a book like this once. they took every possession families owned and put them on the front lawn and took a pic. they did that all across the globe. really put some stuff in perspective.
http://www.amazon.com/Material-World-Global-Family-Portrait/dp/0871564300
http://www.amazon.com/Material-World-Global-Family-Portrait/dp/0871564300
Great book for comparing lifestyles around the globe.
This is from a book called Material World http://www.amazon.com/Material-World-Global-Family-Portrait/dp/0871564300
I have it somewhere, read it as a kid. Really good book, also had great pictures where they'd take like... ALL of their possessions and display them outside their house. Very informative. Worth attributing, even.
Material World: A Global Family Portrait? link
In addition to getting out taking as many pictures as possible and just having fun I'd recommend buying a book and watching youtube videos.
There are plenty of other great channels but those two are my favorites.
This is a really helpful book. Comes with a lot of video instruction. I think the e-book is like $10. Well worth it. How to Create Stunning Digital Photography https://www.amazon.com/dp/0988263408/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_qpq0BbZTVB12B
I am also new to photography but I have heard great things about Tony Northrup's Stunning Digital Photography book and I am looking to buy it: http://www.amazon.com/Tony-Northrups-DSLR-Book-Photography/dp/0988263408/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421293740&sr=8-1&keywords=tony+northrup+stunning+digital+photography
He also has a helpful youtube channel you might want to check out.
K-70 is a great camera and honestly Pentax cameras are easier to learn than others.
This guy writes E-Books for Pentax and I got one for my K50 and it helped a lot.
https://ebooks4cameras.com/shop?olsPage=products%2Fk-70-book
Also check out this book by Tony Northrop
How to Create Stunning Digital Photography https://www.amazon.com/dp/0988263408/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_I3WWDb2CDSHXJ
https://www.amazon.com/Tony-Northrups-DSLR-Book-Photography/dp/0988263408/
that's a good start imo
Especially with landscapes, but really with all kinds of photography, I can't recommend the book How Pictures Work enough.
It's not a photography book, but it is a fabulous and very simple to understand, book on composition and how/why different shapes and colors make us feel the way they do. It's not a one-stop bible by any means, but it's an excellent resource to get you going.
Force: Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators- by Mike Mattesi
Probably my favorite drawing book ever. Focusing on force and motion rather than stiff posing.
Picture This: How Pictures Work- by Molly Bang
Not really a drawing book per se, but a great book about layout and constructing an image all told with simple shapes and colors.
You've got a very graphic design here, but your shapes are not at all picked for emotional impact on the viewer.
You have some rounds, a lot of sharp edges, horizontals and diagonals without seemingly much purpose. As viewer, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be feeling when I look at this. It's a cute design, but all the hard edges make it somewhat uninviting and harsh.
May I suggest picking up Picture This, a book on shape language. I think designing purposely to evoke particular emotions in your viewers will really take your beautiful work up a notch.
Oh, and it's already been said, but the sheep isn't working as indicator of a dream. It's all too definite. Dreams are fleeting, surreal, soft - the hard borders in your dream path just read as path.
I didn't see any sites that particularly stood out to me, but a lot had good info. Some are simple and some have complex geometric breakdowns. Find what you like and works for you. I personally don't like the complex geometry approach, I have a short attention span and I would never spend the time planning a piece to that point, especially when I can get the same look with a simpler approach. Rule of thirds is the rule I fall back on the most, it never steers me wrong. Based on the two images you posted you have good instincts, don't get overwhelmed by all the rules and theories about composition. In the end, do what you think looks best. The more pieces you create the more you will develop your eye. Also, it is great that you are open to constructive criticism, some artists get so butt hurt that they cannot learn anything.
The Photographer's Playbook: 307 Assignments and Ideas https://www.amazon.com/dp/159711247X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_gHH2CbS43S1K7
You can try this book. I bought it myself, but haven’t used it yet so I can’t tell you if it’s legit worth it. It seems like it has what you’re looking for tho (bunch of prompts to follow for practice).
Not quite a daily assignment thing, but quite interesting.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Photographers-Playbook-Assignments-Ideas/dp/159711247X
I have been told that Understanding Exposure is supposed to be the gold standard for beginner photography education. Unfortunately I can not personally attest to the merits of this book since I have not owned or read it.
This is a good primer: http://photographylife.com/what-is-aperture-in-photography
This is a great book: http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Edition-ebook/dp/B004FEFS5E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1375110728&sr=8-2&keywords=understanding+aperture
Canon, Nikon, Sony or other? (Not like it really matters, they are all just tools)
Tony and Chelsea Northrup's book is incredible and widely recommended. It's inexpensive and has a wealth of knowledge to help you understand what is necessary to make excellent images.
https://www.amazon.com/Tony-Northrups-DSLR-Book-Photography-ebook/dp/B006KY2VZ2
4.8 of 5.0 stars. 2,200+ reviews. It's solid.
Learn about Rule of Thirds and read this book: https://www.amazon.com/How-Create-Stunning-Digital-Photography-ebook/dp/B006KY2VZ2
You're not going to become the best from it, but it will make you understand how to make photos that are more interesting.
https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-Fourth-Photographs-Camera-ebook/dp/B0104EOJSK/
>...Are there any free (or not free, even) resources that I can look at that I'd be able to get the hang of in 5 days, or that I could refer to while there? ...
https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-Fourth-Photographs-Camera-ebook/dp/B0104EOJSK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1524406808&sr=1-1&keywords=understanding+exposure
I have the 3rd rev.
When I first started with my G7 I was a complete beginner as well. I totally recommend this book. It's a super easy read and will help you immensely.
E-TTL doesn't know the visual intent of the photographer. Depending on what camera mode and metering zone you have selected, E-TTL could be way off-base. FEC is necessary most of the time. Don't believe me? Why don't you ask the guy who wrote the book on the subject: http://www.amazon.com/Speedliters-Handbook-Learning-Craft-Speedlites/dp/032171105X
Introduction & enjoyable read:
Scott Kelby's Digital Photography Book series (there are 3 books - 1st one is highly recommended - by many is #1 best selling photography book ever)
...aaaaand The Moment it Clicks (by Joe McNally)
For portraits: Peter Hurley
Masterpiece: James Nachtwey - Inferno (if fact ANYTHING of James Nachtwey - the guy is alone in his own league)
No.