Books to read for a beginner.

aintgotaclue_

aintgotaclue_

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Hi all,

I am pretty s*** at this photography stuff and was wondering what books are worth reading to help improve, or get a different perspective, on how to make a 'good' picture?

Aside from taking pictures, most of my ideology comes from movies or music videos or unrelated arts as to what I want to try and capture. I guess I am looking for a not professional but orthodox way of learning techniques and editing.

If anyone could help, please let me know.

Thanks.
 
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Camera manual and expert tip book on your camera model and then study the work of the great artists and photographers
 
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:plus1: though The Photographer's Eye by Martin Freeman might be of interest to you?
 
There's a spectrum of ways of deciding whether an image works or not, or to what degree.

Some of the stuff to do with image making (that's what we do, right?) is technical - and there's no defect in grasping any of that, except that concentrating too much on it at any given time might swamp the creative urge. It can be like swings and roundabouts. Or see-saws.

Devour technical manuals in your own time. No education is wasted. The aim is to make images that are meaningful to yourself and (at least some) others - without meaning all is lost, really. Happily, meaning doesn't depend entirely on technical excellence. Technical excellence tends to be always good, but isn't an end product in itself - it's possible for a photograph to be exquisitely produced, but fairly bereft of resonance beyond a cerebral aesthetic.

So be judgemental about your own stuff (& that of others) - but don't forget to have fun!

Technique is a baseline, but not the message itself - it's the car, not the driver.

Look at photographs - not so much by Tom Dick & Harriet, but by well-known photographers. Use your own intelligence to interact with them. This is a very important learning curve. Don't feel that you have to like any of them, but try to distinguish their nature - what they communicate and how they do it.

So no, I haven't answered the question, but I've tried to offer a perspective. In the end (whether judging your own results or those of others) - trust your gut. I doubt that there's a book about that. It's emotional, and cultural.

Follow your own path. It's just like life.
 
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