book data
428 ratings,
4.37
average rating, 113 reviews
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published
June 1990
by Amphoto Books
binding
Hardcover, 144 pages
isbn
0817435379
(isbn13: 9780817435370)
description
Black and white photography offers an alternative way of seeing reality, a different mirror on the world, a powerful means of artistic expression. But...more
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avg 4.37
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
One of my favorite photography books, this one taught me to venture into the world of manual camera settings and forget the A, S, and P modes. I've never looked back.
It's written in a clear, engaging style, and the author's examples and photos are fabulous. He's also got a sense of humor. His photographs hold up well even today and I love his style.
I think this is an essential for anyone who wants to learn the basics of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.
It's written in a clear, engaging style, and the author's examples and photos are fabulous. He's also got a sense of humor. His photographs hold up well even today and I love his style.
I think this is an essential for anyone who wants to learn the basics of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.
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1 comment
Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
Beginning SLR photographers
This is easily the best introductory photography book I've ever read. It was a great refresher for the photography stuff that I've forgotten over the last 15 years, full of concise, easily understood explanations of useful photographic techniques. Some of the writing is corny, and the mnemonic devices get old pretty fast, but I'd still recommend it to anyone who wants to learn the basics of shooting with an SLR.
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Truly the BEST photography book I have ever read. If you feel even a little unsure about how aperture, shutter speed and ISO work together then you MUST read this book (well, that is, if you WANT to know all that :) His explanations are so clear and easy to follow. This book taught me how to shoot in manual with confidence and ease. This book will allow you to explore photography with more creativity than ever before.
I was amazed at how much I learned, or understood more clearly, after re...more
I was amazed at how much I learned, or understood more clearly, after re...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommended to Crystal by:
Arianarecommends it for: Amateurs who are serious about getting good at photography.
This book is awesome. My understanding of photography has grown leaps and bounds since reading it. The author gives the perfect balance of technical jargon and metaphor to explain how things work and why you would do something so that those going into the book with absolutely no knowledge of what an aperture is, how shutter speed works, and what ISO means can understand.
I'm so glad my friend recommended this to me. I'm really excited to try out what I've learned. I've been goin...more
I'm so glad my friend recommended this to me. I'm really excited to try out what I've learned. I've been goin...more
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Read in January, 2006
recommends it for:
beginning & intermediate photographers
My young friends don't know what f8 means, and they have no interest in finding out. Their automatic cameras set the exposure, so why would they want to study such a dismal subject as exposure, depth of field, and so on.
This book will not appeal to those folks, but if you shoot photos with the intention of displaying them, you should make it a point to understand everything in this book, if you do not already.
I have a lot of photography experience, and this book didn't sh...more
This book will not appeal to those folks, but if you shoot photos with the intention of displaying them, you should make it a point to understand everything in this book, if you do not already.
I have a lot of photography experience, and this book didn't sh...more
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Read in September, 2008
Until a couple of years ago I seldom took photos at all, leaving the task to my wife Carla when we were on vacation, or on special holidays or occasions. Then she gave me a fancy (at least to me it's fancy) Sony digital camera for Christmas. It's not an SRL, but it takes great pictures in auto mode, and I now take lots of photos. But I've never dared to try any of the many other features the camera has, never having quite understood aperture and shutter speed and all that. So some of my atte...more
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Read in June, 2009
I couldn't put this book down! I read almost all of it in one sitting. I am a very amateur photographer and I learned so much from this book. I learned the value of the manual setting and how to properly use it. I learned from where to meter light. I had no idea there was a problem metering light from black and from white images. I learned many insights into creatively composed images and how to make them. Very informative and well laid out. Easy to understand.
Read in June, 2009
While I found this book helpful, I'm not sure why there are so many raves from other readers. I did take away a better understanding of the fundamentals of a good exposure, but the advice was fairly basic, serving primarily to refresh my limited knowledge. I paused several times to look for an online tutorial with more information than what Peterson provided here.
Most useful were the examples of a single scene captured with several different combinations of aperture and shutter speed...more
Most useful were the examples of a single scene captured with several different combinations of aperture and shutter speed...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
SLR beginners with an aversion to technical stuff
A very intuitive introduction to exposure, the book goes over 7 basic creative exposures: 3 with aperture-priority (to control depth of field), 3 with shutter-priority (to control motion), and macro (extreme close-ups). The prose is fluid, and analogies about buckets and bees are used to explain the mathematical relationship between aperture, shutter speed and film speed. Tons of photographs are splattered throughout, captioned with how the author got each shot. There's also a brief discussion o...more
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Read in September, 2005
One of the best introductions to exposure out there. The key to understanding how to actually use a camera. Peterson writes in a very clear, easy to understand way and uses lots of examples and excercises. This book will vastly improve your skills as a photographer. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to become more than a point, shot and hope photographer.
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Excellent suggestion from Jo ... I am part way through and it is so well done, easy to follow and already I am seeing changes in my photos. And I've taken photography courses, but this gives really practical tips and boils things down to the basic elements, so it is easy to use and not at all confusing!
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Read in April, 2008
Understanding Exposure starts with the basics, describing the concept of 'exposure value' and explaining the relationship between aperture and shutter speed. The author, Bryan Peterson, then moves on to talk about exposure under various lighting conditions (front-lit, side-lit, back-lit, low-light and night). He gives excellent tips on how to meter (use the sky, usually).
He also talks a bit about aperture and depth-of-field. In fact, depth-of-field is the backdrop to much of his disc...more
He also talks a bit about aperture and depth-of-field. In fact, depth-of-field is the backdrop to much of his disc...more
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An absolute must read for anyone wanting to learn how to properly expose their photography. Decidedly non-technical in his writing, Bryan Peterson takes you through various conditions and helps the newbie photographer understand how camera settings + lighting = good or bad pictures.
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Great overview of the Shutter Speed/Exposure/ISO triangle. Ignore Peterson telling you how great he is and how much money he made and how wonderful his wife is, and it's a fantastic (must) read on the three variables you need to understand.
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Read in January, 2009
After just 5 pages, I realized I had more settings on my camera to play with!
Though my photos have actually gotten worse as an effect of playing, it has only inspired me to try more.
Easy to read. Immediately useful.
Though my photos have actually gotten worse as an effect of playing, it has only inspired me to try more.
Easy to read. Immediately useful.
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Read in June, 2009
This is THE book to get if you are ready to venture into shooting in manual. As you learn to adjust your settings, you gain the control to achieve exposures that are "creatively correct." If you do the suggested exercises and internalize the info in this book, you will become comfortable shooting manually and want to do so the majority of the time. Lots of technical information, but it is presented with casual dialogue. (I did have the benefit of taking the online class (Understan...more
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Read in December, 2008
Possibly the best photography book out there. Wonderful basics and wonderful advance techniques with some gorgeous photos. I would highly recommend this book for beginning or advanced photographers.
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I like it, but I think it's too confusing to be the universal book recommended to beginner photographers. Perhaps I just don't learn in the way it's presented, but it just didn't cut it for me.
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Read in February, 2009
recommended to Heather by:
www.twopeasinabucket.com
Absolutely fantastic!!! Definitely lives up to the rave reviews I've read on other websites. Now I've finally got the knowledge (and the confidence) to shoot in Manual mode!
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Decent book on exposure but not hands on enough for me. The example photos in the book were pretty inspiring and it was pretty interesting to read about how the shot was made.
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