Reader’s Question: “Book book book book book”

One of my posts last week resulted in a reader’s request via the comments.  Todd Eddy requested I write a post going through some of the photography books that I enjoy.  His dilemma is that “a lot of the books I find are geared towards beginners. I understand things like the exposure triangle, difference between spot and evaluative metering, aperture values and what they mean [and] even have a basic understanding of off-camera lighting.” Seems to me (and to him too, it turns out) that this is covering a lot of bases, so I’m not sure if what I have on my bookshelf will all appeal to him, but it’s no harm to run through the list for any of you who may be interested.  But before I do that it’s time for my blog’s first ever joke.  A chicken walks into a library…

He goes up to the desk and says to the librarian: “Book book book book book”.

The librarian nods, goes away and returns with a book.  The chicken takes it and leaves the library.

Outside he meets a frog.  He holds up his new possession to show the frog and says: “Book book book book book”.

To which the frog replies….

“Read it”.

OK, so now that that’s secured the Best Humour Blog award at next year’s Irish Blog Awards, back to my book shelf.

I grabbed a photo of it for this post this morning (which you see above) and realised too late that not only is it not sharp (due to the 1/25s shutter speed – it was shot in the living room which had the curtains still pulled and was being lit by a few spot lights in the ceiling) but it is also missing my latest acquisition, which I’ll get to in a little while.

So from left to right I have (note all links open in a new window):

Ireland’s Grand Slam season

This was donated to my book shelf by a friend of mine and is produced by Sportsfile photographers.  It has some wonderful examples of really really good sports photography – all rugby related obviously – shot both in day light and under flood lights, and is a pleasure to browse through if you are interested in sports photography, rugby, or both.

World Press Photo 2008

This was a christmas present and is in a similar vein to the previous book, in that it’s not instructive, but just a book of really stunning images.  Some are harrowing, some are humourous, all are top class.  Anyone with an interest in photojournalism could do worse than get this book every year.

Minimalist Lighting – Professional techniques for location photography

A highly instructive book which is exactly about what it’s name suggests, and is an area that I would love to perfect.  I read it through once when I got it, intend on reading it through again, and know it is one of those books that I’ll dip in and out of for years to come.

Understanding Exposure

It seems that there is a 3rd edition of this on the way (linked to above) – this is the book I referred to in last week’s post and is a must read for all photographers.  Even if you think you understand exposure, it’s worth reading this book to ensure you do.  You’ll probably learn something. And it has a few nifty easy-to-remember concepts that will serve you well in the future.

Master Posing Guide for Wedding Photographers | Guide to Posing for Portrait Photography

These two are similar in style and content, and still under review, so I don’t want to say too much as I haven’t gone through either of them fully.  They both do a good job of covering the bases.  They both also have some images that look a little dated to my eye, but I guess the idea is to look beyond the image at the posing and concepts in use.  I’ve learned something from both of them, and disregarded ideas that both of them present also.  Perhaps best as sources of “ideas” to tune to your own liking, but it is good to have some reference books for what works and doesn’t work for posing.  Of the two, I probably prefer the first so far, but neither have yet received my full attention so don’t hold me to that.  And of course the first is more niche.

The Photographer’s Eye

An excellent book, absolutely packed with things I didn’t know.  It covers the wide ranging area of composition, and after each chapter I see things that instantly improve this aspect of my photography.  A must read.  No more to say really.  If you buy one book make it this one.  Or maybe the next one.

Light: Science & Magic

A book that is not full of amazing images, but is possibly the one I would bring to a desert island with me, assuming I could bring some flashes and a camera.  As an introductory text into lighting it is brilliant.  It gets involved with the physics of light, and makes no apologies for it, but does show you why you need to think like light does.  Hard, soft, specular, diffuse – all these terms are covered and explained.  And it’s full of exercises for you to try to learn in a hands-on way. As good as doing a course, and the only book here to which that applies.

Basic Photography

One of the better one-book-suits-all introductory texts to photography that you’ll probably find, it’s as comfortable being a photography text book in the academic sense for the student as it is being a read-from-cover-to-cover book for the hobbyist.  I dipped into it more in the past than I do now, and have never read it through, but it’s a good one to have on the shelf, if for nothing else other than being a source of ideas for when creativity dries up.

Advanced Photoshop Elements 4.0 | Aperture 2

These two are quite niche not strictly speaking photography books – they are essentially the manuals that in an ideal world would come with the associated software.  Both are now outdated thanks to newer versions of the software – Photoshop Elements 8 and Aperture 3 are the current versions.  Of the two, I found the Aperture 2 book invaluable at getting to grips with all the capabilities of it, which may be more a reflection on the software than on the book.  The Photoshop Elements book I looked at less, and not at all recently as I have not used that software in years.

Hot Shoe Diaries | The Moment it Clicks

I’ve grouped these two because they are by the same author – Joe McNally – and are both as excellent as each other.  I could read and re-read these books over and over.   What they offer is not only some great writing telling some great anecdotes from McNally’s long career as a working photographer, but also nuts and bolts technical detail on how the shots were created and lit.  It is this type of writing that encouraged me to start this blog in a format which allows me to breakdown, as much as possible, each image that I post. McNally uses TTL flash off the camera, with anything from 1 flash to numbers in the double digits in use to light subjects that vary from ballerinas to military planes.  While he’s obviously a Nikon fan, the books will appeal to users of all types of camera and flash. Even if you don’t use flash, the books are good for those stories, and are sure to tempt you to try out this area of photography.

Digital SLR Handbook

A very visual book, and one that is a great introduction to the world of SLR photography – for instance for those who have progressed from a compact camera.  As readable as any book here, and full of images to inspire, it’s well structured, informative, not too technical and well within the grasp of even the most novice photographer, while also having something to offer more capable photographers.  Not a book you’ll dip in and out of like the Basic Photography book, but one that has its place on a learning photographer’s book shelf all the same.

And finally, my most recent purchase which has not yet made it to the bookshelf…

On-Camera Flash Techniques for Wedding and Portrait Photography

I bought this because I’ve found that on-camera flash is a necessary evil when photographing a wedding, where time or circumstances don’t always allow for off-camera flash setups, even ones that can be achieved quickly.  What this book shows though is that on-camera flash need not be evil (or look like it’s coming from the camera) when used properly. Written by Neil van Niekerk, who I first came across a few years ago on a photography forum, it is excellently written, well illustrated, and full of technical information.  If you use flash on the camera and feel that it is indeed a necessary evil, or just know you could be doing it better, this book is for you.