Photography Made Easy

A guide aimed at beginner and intermediate photographers. It introduces the basics of taking, making, managing and sharing digital photos. It includes features on how digital cameras and smart phones work, taking great photographs and how to get the best from your computer, to creating photo libraries, and sharing images by email.

The author of Create presents “an all-in-one, easily accessible handbook . . . [that] will show you how the pros do it. Study this and take your best shot” (Chase Jarvis, award-winning photographer). In Advancing Your Photography, Marc Silber provides the definitive handbook that will take you through the entire process of becoming an accomplished photographer. From teaching you the basics to exploring the stages of the full “cycle of photography,” Silber makes it easy for you to master the art form and create stunning pictures. From thousands of hours of interviews with professional photography masters, you will learn valuable insights and tips on beginner, amateur, landscape, wedding, lifestyle, sports, animal, portrait, still life, and iPhone photography. Advancing Your Photography features: · Top tips for making outstanding photographs from iconic photographers and many other leading professional photography masters of today · Numerous step-by-step examples · Guidance on training your eye to see composition with emotional impact · Tips on mastering the key points of operating your camera like a pro · Secrets to processing your images to professional standards Photography and the technology associated with it are constantly evolving, but the fundamentals remain the same. Advancing Your Photography will help to bring you the joy and satisfaction of a lifetime of pursuing the art of photography.

Are you an aspiring photographer? Not sure where to start? Have you been taking pictures that your just not happy with? I was in the same position as you were several years ago when I first got a DSLR camera. I shot everything in full auto mode and I didn't have a clue what all those buttons and knobs were for, I just pointed and shot. This resulted in inconsistent, blurry, unbalanced, over-exposed, or under-exposed photos. I decided to learn how to take control of my camera and actually learn what all of those buttons and knobs were for and become an actual photographer as opposed to someone that just took pictures. After studying many books, watching tutorial videos and years of trial and error, I have compiled the best and fastest way to break free of "auto mode" photography and explore all that my digital camera had to offer. When reading this book you will see references to settings and various parts of your camera. Since there is a wide range of brands and all cameras are slightly different, I recommend you refer to your owner's manual to better understand your particular camera's layout and functionality. I have included pictures and easy to follow diagrams and I explain things in an easy to understand and simple manner. My goal is to teach you all the important photography basics and enhance your skills so you can capture professional, high quality photographs that you will be proud of.

A guide to digital photography covers such topics as camera types, memory cards, camera controls, transferring pictures to a computer, burning pictures to a CD, emailing photographs, and printing photographs.

The top-rated and top-selling photography ebook since 2012 and the first ever Gold Honoree of the Benjamin Franklin Digital Award, gives you five innovations no other book offers: Free video training. 9+ HOURS of video training integrated into the book’s content (requires Internet access). Travel around the world with Tony and Chelsea as they teach you hands-on. Appendix A lists the videos so you can use the book like an inexpensive video course.Classroom-style teacher and peer help. After buying the book, you get access to the private forums on this site, as well as the private Stunning Digital Photography Readers group on Facebook where you can ask the questions and post pictures for feedback from Tony, Chelsea, and other readers. It’s like being able to raise your hand in class and ask a question! Instructions are in the introduction.Lifetime updates. This book is regularly updated with new content (including additional videos) that existing owners receive for free. Updates are added based on reader feedback and questions, as well as changing photography trends and new camera equipment. This is the last photography book you’ll ever need.Hands-on practices. Complete the practices at the end of every chapter to get the real world experience you need.500+ high resolution, original pictures. Detailed example pictures taken by the author in fifteen countries demonstrate both good and bad technique. Many pictures include links to the full-size image so you can zoom in to see every pixel. Most photography books use stock photography, which means the author didn’t even take them. If an author can’t take his own pictures, how can he teach you? In this book, Tony Northrup (award-winning author of more than 30 how-to books and a professional portrait, wildlife, and landscape photographer) teaches the art and science of creating stunning pictures. First, beginner photographers will master: CompositionExposureShutter speedApertureDepth-of-field (blurring the background)ISONatural lightFlashTroubleshooting blurry, dark, and bad picturesPet photographyWildlife photography (mammals, birds, insects, fish, and more)Sunrises and sunsetsLandscapesCityscapesFlowersForests, waterfalls, and riversNight photographyFireworksRaw filesHDRMacro/close-up photography Advanced photographers can skip forward to learn the pro’s secrets for: Posing men and women. including corrective posing (checklists provided)Portraits (candid, casual, formal, and underwater)Remotely triggering flashesUsing bounce flash and flash modifiersUsing studio lighting on any budgetBuilding a temporary or permanent studio at homeShooting your first weddingHigh speed photographyLocation scouting/finding the best spots and timesPlanning shoots around the sun and moonStar trails (via long exposure and image stacking)Light paintingEliminating noiseFocus stacking for infinite depth-of-fieldUnderwater photographyGetting close to wildlifeUsing electronic shutter triggersPhotographing moving carsPhotographing architecture and real estate

Photography is now more popular than ever thanks to the rapid development of digital cameras. Read This If You Want to Take Great Photographs is ideal for this new wave of snapshooters using DSLR, compact system and bridge cameras. It contains no graphs, no techie diagrams and no camera-club jargon. Instead, it inspires readers through iconic images and playful copy, packed with hands-on tips. Split into five sections, the book covers composition, exposure, light, lenses and the art of seeing. Masterpieces by acclaimed photographers – including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Sebastião Salgado, Fay Godwin, Nadav Kander, Daido Moriyama and Martin Parr – serve to illustrate points and encourage readers to try out new ideas. Today’s aspiring photographers want immediacy and see photography as an affordable way of expressing themselves quickly and creatively. This handbook meets their needs, teaching them how to take photographs using professional techniques.

If your past attempts at learning flash have all ended in failure (not to mention tears and/or blind rage), then The Off-Camera Flash Handbook is about to change everything for you. For years, photographer Vanessa Joy has been using off-camera flash to create gorgeous portraits that look like they were shot in the most beautiful natural light at the perfect time of day. Well, guess what? That consistent look was not created thanks to the most amazing luck with the weather. No. It was created by a pro photographer who mastered her use of off-camera flash. And with her down-to-earth and practical explanations, that’s exactly what Vanessa teaches you in this book.

Vanessa breaks down off-camera flash into an easy-to-understand approach, and instead of focusing on the gear and the settings (which are also included, of course), she focuses on the kinds of shots you want to make. This book is about learning to use off-camera flash easily and quickly so that you can create beautiful, natural-looking light in any situation, at any time you need it…regardless of the weather or time of day.

The book is divided into three parts. Part One covers the fundamentals of off-camera flash, and it does so without blasting you with a firehose of information. Instead, Vanessa gives you the basics you need so that you can start shooting right away without becoming overwhelmed with technical jargon.

Once you’re set up and ready to go, Vanessa jumps right into Part Two with specific photo scenarios and real-world situations where you’ll learn key techniques for using your flash to create consistent, beautiful photographs. For each scenario, Vanessa provides the goal for the shoot, a gear list, the step-by-step shooting instructions, and images that show both the progress of the shoot and the behind-the-scenes shots or lighting diagrams of the setup. She also discusses problems you may encounter, variations on the shot, and additional practical scenarios for each situation.

Just a few examples include:

• Recreating the golden hour at any time

• Shooting groups

• Making indoors look like outdoors

• Enhancing natural light

• Using flash at events

• Working in harsh sunlight

• Creating silhouettes

• Shooting at sunset

• Fixing an ugly-light room

• And much more

Finally, Part Three tackles the questions you’ll likely have once you’ve got the basics under your belt and you’re already creating great photos with your off-camera flash—things like high-speed sync, sync speed, a practical understanding of the inverse square law, etc. There is also a helpful FAQ section at the end of the book.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART 1: GETTING STARTED WITH OFF-CAMERA FLASH (OCF)

You Already Know This

Getting Your Flash Off Camera

Getting the Exposure

Light Positions and Modifiers

How to Add More Lights

PART 2: Off-Camera Flash Techniques

Creating Golden Haze

Creating Golden Hour

Creating Twilight

Photographing at Sunset

Making a Magenta Sunset

Group Shots with One Light

Individual Portraits

Portraits of Couples

Enhancing Natural Light

Making Indoors Look Like Outdoors

Super Soft Portrait Light

Warming up the Sky

Keeping a Blue Sky

Light like It's Coming Through a Window

Creating a Silhouette

Turn Day into Night

Tiny Little Details

Table Details

Event Speeches

In Harsh Sunlight

Shooting with Reflectors

Event Bounce Flash

Using Gels for Fun Color Effects

Using Gels to Color Correct

Lighting a Dark Room

Making a Rainy Day Sunny

Lighting to Look Like Window Light

Making Front Bokeh

Filling in Shadows

Wow, This Indoor Light Sucks

Rim Lighting

PART 3: Features, Troubleshooting, and FAQS

WTF Are You Talking About?

But Light Doesn’t Do That

FAQs about OCF