Michael Freeman's Photo School: Fundamentals

by Catherine Quinn, Jeff Wignall (Contributor)

Photography is international best-seller Michael Freeman s life, and in this book he works together with fellow photography experts to share his and their knowledge with anyone who wants to learn not only how to take better photos, but also why those photographs work and where they fit in with the history of the craft. Inspired by the structure of a college course and the benefits of a collective learning environment, this book teaches the fundamentals of photography not just through comprehensive lessons and instructions, but also through challenges in which readers can participate. Sample work from Michael s students provides inspiration, and critical evaluations of the results ensure that the core concepts are being grasped every step of the way. Additionally, readers can join in by sharing their work via the series dedicated website. "

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction, Art

352 pages, Paperback

First published May 14, 2013

Reviews

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just as advertised, a well done introduction to the fundamentals of digital photography. What no film? Does that still exist ;) For those of us who have studied film and photography in the dark past when your cameras were manual, nothing special here except for digital editing and some of the digital only items. Don't toss your Ansel Adams books, Ansel took better photos than this book.

Freeman used and critiqued many student photos in this book, most of them didn't grab me or make me want to photograph like that. I did like the challenge portion of each chapter and this is a good basic textbook for beginners.

[Yoda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Very Good Book for those with Photo Experience from Beyond the Beginner to the
Intermediary Level

Any review of this book, as for any book that is intended as a class on photography, would have to start at what levelof photographer it is directed towards (in aggregate). It is definitely not intended for the professionalas they would already know just about everything contained in the book. On the other hand it is also not intended for the beginner. The book, on the aggregate (as opposed to a few chapters), assumes that the reader has an understanding of the basics of photography. It is definitely not for the beginner. It is really for those with a level of knowledge of beyond the beginner through those with an intermediary level.

Hence the question is how well does it perform for those at that knowledge range? The answer if very well. This reviewer has an intermediate levelof knowledge of still photography and was both able to learn new things (especially on the use of photo software) as well as getting insights, from a different perspective, on many topics.

The only weakness of the book is that it was published in 2013 hence it is a little dated in terms of digital technology and software. The other aspects of the book more than make up for this however.