Books for novice photographers

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Kelsey7691

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Kelsey
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Hi, my D-SLR arrived today and I'm very happy with it (The dog not so much, think she's got bored with me using her to experiment with the settings :lol:).

The camera is a Canon EOS 450D, second hand and in very good shape.

I was wondering if there are any good books to help me get to grips with the basics. Preferably one that explains a lot with pictures.

Also any good websites or ebooks

Thanks, Kelsey
 
There are lots of books around and on line info aswell - pop to a local book shop and see which you like the layout / writing style of.

Do you have the user guide ?

There is a field user guide for the 450D which is very good and goes into more detail than the user guide.

And don't forget here - there are lots of people who have / have had a 450D and can offer help / support with your camera.

Enjoy your new camera, Any questions, ask away ...
 
What do you want to learn?
  • How exposure works?
  • How your camera menu options work?
  • How to take an interesting photo?
  • Something else?
 
"Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson was a big help to me when I got my first dslr last year. :)
 
Hi, Understanding Exposure is great, but if you're going to spend cash pounds I'd hold on for a few other recommendations because IMHO it's a bit of a one trick pony. I read it cover to cover in a day and passed it straight on to a friend and to be honest whilst it explains the principles of exposure very well, I personally had already learned everything it had to say by reading this forum and on other sites. I'd look for a more general text that covers composition and light as well as exposure, but unfortunately I don't have anything specific to recommend myself sorry. U E is deffo only a library read for me though.
 
There'd be more interesting photos in the wold if people starting out left the camera to take care of exposure and concentrated on composition and thought about why they were taking the photograph before they took the shot.

The Photographers's Eye (Freeman) and Hot Shots (Meredith) will get you taking interesting photographs. If you're the serious type go for the Freeman book, if having fun with photography is more your thing go for the Meredith book.
 
Alastair said:
There'd be more interesting photos in the wold if people starting out left the camera to take care of exposure and concentrated on composition and thought about why they were taking the photograph before they took the shot.

The Photographers's Eye (Freeman) and Hot Shots (Meredith) will get you taking interesting photographs. If you're the serious type go for the Freeman book, if having fun with photography is more your thing go for the Meredith book.
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The Photographers' Eye - reading this at the mo, it's wordy, but I guess that's the style of a creative conveying his thoughts. Not an easy read but accessibly "in depth" ( just about, for me at least! ) a good amount of examples and diagrams too. There you are then, I guess that's a recemmendation from me as well:thinking:
 
In my opinion:

The manual that comes with the camera should be enough to acquire all the technical information you’ll need about the camera. So start with that and save your hard earned.

As far as books to help you to take great photographs, there is something you should try before you need to get your wallet out.

There are three skills to master:

1. Set the camera to the setting you want to use.
2. Hold the camera still.
3. Point it in the right direction.

These skills will be gained by taking as many photos as you can.

As you are working on becoming expert in these areas, start to learn about the relationship between DoF and shutter speeds.

Then Grasshopper, you are on your way becoming a photographer and you may leave the temple.....
 
While I agree that there is nothing quite like using the camera, as a newcomer to photography I also find that a lot of reading can help me understand.
FWIW I bought the Scott Kelby books and have gained a lot from them. They aren't overly technical and for me encouraged me to take more and more shots
 
beesee said:
While I agree that there is nothing quite like using the camera, as a newcomer to photography I also find that a lot of reading can help me understand.
FWIW I bought the Scott Kelby books and have gained a lot from them. They aren't overly technical and for me encouraged me to take more and more shots
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Agree with this, i bought the first couple of his books at the same tim as my first dslr and they helped me a lot. I hadnt a clue about any settings except auto before i bought these.

Phil
 
+1 for The Photographer's Eye.

You can learn the basic technology of photography fairly easily but unless you were born with a 'good eye for a photograph' this book is very readable and will give you an insight into the structure of good photographs. The iPad version is even better!
 
rueboy said:
Scott kelbys digital photography vols 1/4 books are great link to 1/2/and 3 hes just released vol 4

he talks in plain English and shows you a pic and then goes into how it was taken, plus its funny in places to ive found it very useful.
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Thanks for posting that, just ordered this. :)
 
Yes! I definitely recommend "Understanding Exposure" - A must read especially for beginners.
 
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