Recommend a good book??

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lee
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I am starting a course at my local college shortly but would like to do a little reading on photography so i can understand a little before the course starts.

If anyone has any recomendations that would be great. I am very much a beginner but very very keen!!!

Thanks
 
:plusone: for understanding exposure, very good read.....
 
I have just read Understanding Exposure too (from the library) and found it incredibly informative. Learnt a lot from it and now have just started Understanding Shutter Speed. :thumbs:
 
a good book from Amazon ..........

"Creative Nature and Outdoor Photography" (Paperback)..by Brenda Tharp
 
I found that book very helpful, for some parts I found it quite handy to read it with the camera handy so you can play with the camera as you go through some of the stuff in the book.
 
mrphilk said:
just wanted to bump this so I can come back later :-)
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you actually can do this a better way

click on Tread Tools click Subscribe , then the thread is added to your Control panel for whenever you access it
 
I have seen some vids of Bryan Peterson on the net and like the guy (No! Not in that way!). However his book was mentioned on a recent thread along with another by a British chap I believe. Done a search and can't find the other thread. Anyone knows what/who I'm on about? This would help me and hopefully the OP.
 
If you go to the college you're taking the course at, they should be able to give you a list of the books they recommend. You might find you have to buy the books anyway and if you start now, it'll give you a bit of a head start with spending, as well as with the required reading.

To Understanding Exposure, I would add Basic Photography by Michael Langford. You might find a copy in a charity shop and although the older editions deal with film rather than digital, all the photography aspects are the same - it's just the processing that's different (and I think film is still on the sylabus anyway).

A visit to your local library is worth the time and effort too. If you find any of the books worth it, you could add them to the list of books to look out for in 2nd hand and charity shops.
 
Langford's books are probably already on your book-list from the college - or they should be...

Best darkroom book ever:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ilford-Mono...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272365878&sr=8-1

What kind of photography are you into? I always found it better to look at other photographers' work in the same genre - rather than buying technical books - the nut's and bolts of photography are the same regardless - I spent my money on art books. Images are always relevant, whereas tech books go out of date very quickly...

And if you want to learn portraiture, go to the National Portrait Gallery and look at the paintings - light works just the same rendered in paint as it does for film or pixels...
 
Been trying to find out the local college's book list but there are loads! Depends on the course and tutor (to some extent). A C&G evening class would need less than a degree foundation course.

Best bet is to contact the college you'll be attending and get the list for the course you'll be taking.

As a stopgap, any photography book you can find in a charity shop is worth a punt. If you're sure it's no good after a read, take it back to a charity shop - it's not wasted money, it's just a donation to charity.
 
I find the Scott Kelby books very user friendly and the two Mark Cleghorn titles; they put theory into practice. They do assume some knowledge so possibly would work best as companion books to those titles already mentioned.

I agree with comments about reading lists; I always supply my students with a book list at option evenings and host them on our school's VLE.

Spooks
 
Yardbent said:
you actually can do this a better way

click on Tread Tools click Subscribe , then the thread is added to your Control panel for whenever you access it
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Cool - thanks for this -was wondering if there was a quick way of locating threads, other than writing them down or bumping them.

Spooks
 
Nod said:
If you go to the college you're taking the course at, they should be able to give you a list of the books they recommend. You might find you have to buy the books anyway and if you start now, it'll give you a bit of a head start with spending, as well as with the required reading.

To Understanding Exposure, I would add Basic Photography by Michael Langford. You might find a copy in a charity shop and although the older editions deal with film rather than digital, all the photography aspects are the same - it's just the processing that's different (and I think film is still on the sylabus anyway).

A visit to your local library is worth the time and effort too. If you find any of the books worth it, you could add them to the list of books to look out for in 2nd hand and charity shops.
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Basic photography by Michael Langford was the book that my C&G course required. It is still on my shelf and still gets looked at occasionally, My daughter has even started to look at it to get a basic grasp of things.
 
On a completely different tack to all the technical suggestions, I'll put forward Geoff Dyer's The Ongoing Moment. It certainly educated me about 20th century American photography in a way that few other books have, plus it was an entertaining read. Actually, one of the more entertaining reads I've had in a book on photography in the last few years.

[Observer review 2005]

A couple of oldies, but a goodies (I suspect you may find these on your college reading list, but hey)

Ways of Seeing by John Berger. Essential reading for anyone embarking on a visual media course of any kind IMO.

On Photography by Susan Sontag.

I should probably stop before I lead you on to Roland Barthes :)
 
Just Dave said:
Another of Bryan Patersons books Learning To See Creatively :thumbs:
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I must check out some more of his books, as a newb I wouldn't have had the confidence to take my camera out of Auto/semi auto options until I read Understanding Exposure. It's a good read, so you don't feel like you are getting a wall of text.
 
I find The Digital Photography Book by Scott Kelby to be really helpful. I picked up another book that is quite useful too called Collins Complete Photography Course, by John Garrett and Graeme Harris.
 
Understanding Exposure by Peterson, The Photographers Eye by Freeman and The Photograph as Contemporary Art by Cotton.. three books that between them cover the technique, the aesthetic and the state of the art.
 
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