The Digital Photography Book, Volume 1: The Step-by-Step Secrets for How to Make Your Photos Look like the Pros [NOOK Book]

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Overview

Scott Kelby, the man who changed the "digital darkroom" forever with his groundbreaking, #1 bestselling, award-winning book The Photoshop Book for Digital Photographers, now tackles the most important side of digital photography--how to take pro-quality shots using the same tricks today's top digital pros use (and it's easier than you'd think).

This entire book is written with a brilliant premise, and here’s how Scott describes it: "If you and...
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The Digital Photography Book, Volume 1: The Step-by-Step Secrets for How to Make Your Photos Look like the Pros

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More About This Book

Overview

Scott Kelby, the man who changed the "digital darkroom" forever with his groundbreaking, #1 bestselling, award-winning book The Photoshop Book for Digital Photographers, now tackles the most important side of digital photography--how to take pro-quality shots using the same tricks today's top digital pros use (and it's easier than you'd think).

This entire book is written with a brilliant premise, and here’s how Scott describes it: "If you and I were out on a shoot, and you asked me, 'Hey, how do I get this flower to be in focus, but I want the background out of focus?' I wouldn't stand there and give you a lecture about aperture, exposure, and depth of field. In real life, I'd just say, 'Get out your telephoto lens, set your f/stop to f/2.8, focus on the flower, and fire away.' You d say, 'OK,' and you'd get the shot. That's what this book is all about. A book of you and I shooting, and I answer the questions, give you advice, and share the secrets I've learned just like I would with a friend, without all the technical explanations and without all the techno-photo-speak."

This isn't a book of theory—it isn't full of confusing jargon and detailed concepts: this is a book of which button to push, which setting to use, when to use them, and nearly two hundred of the most closely guarded photographic "tricks of the trade" to get you shooting dramatically better-looking, sharper, more colorful, more professional-looking photos with your digital camera every time you press the shutter button.

Here's another thing that makes this book different: each page covers just one trick, just one single concept that makes your photography better. Every time you turn the page, you'll learn another pro setting, another pro tool, another pro trick to transform your work from snapshots into gallery prints. There's never been a book like it, and if you're tired of taking shots that look "OK," and if you’re tired of looking in photography magazines and thinking, "Why don't my shots look like that?" then this is the book for you.
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Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble
The Barnes & Noble Review
What makes professional digital photographers' work look so great? In this book, Scott Kelby has rounded up some 150 tips and techniques the pros know and amateurs typically don't. Each technique gets one page, max -- and we're talking about specific information, not abstract theory. Do what Kelby says, and you'll get dramatically better images -- period.

Up-front, Kelby explains why professional shots are so much sharper than yours -- and how to create "tack sharp" images of your own. It starts with the right tripod (and Kelby offers recommendations for every budget). But it doesn't stop there. Kelby covers everything from DSLR mirror lock-up features to steadying handheld shots to sharpening in Photoshop.

Then, it's on to six of the most common areas of digital photography: shooting people; landscapes and wildlife; sporting events; weddings; travel and city life; and flowers. Each gets a full chapter of tips: both for using your camera and for the non-technical stuff that'll affect your work. (What's the best way to get a big group shot where everyone's got their eyes open? How do you schedule wedding photography to get the best shots of the bride and groom, and still leave time to catch Uncle Arnie?)

What's the best way to shoot fireworks, waterfalls, forests, newborn babies? If you miss the winning goal, what do you shoot now? How do you avoid white balance problems? In which season is battery life shortest? How do you keep from accidentally erasing memory cards? How do you show movement in nighttime city shots? It's all here, and with the exception of a few "throwaway" tips at the front, it's all immensely useful. Bill Camarda, from the December 2006 Read Only

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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780132101639
  • Publisher: Pearson Education
  • Publication date: 9/6/2006
  • Sold by: Barnes & Noble
  • Format: eBook
  • Edition number: 1
  • Pages: 240
  • Sales rank: 40,816
  • File size: 71 MB
  • Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.

Meet the Author

Scott Kelby is President of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) and Editor-in-Chief of both Photoshop User and Layers magazines. Scott serves as training director for the Adobe Photoshop Seminar Tour and is the technical chair of the largest Photoshop gathering in the industry, Photoshop World. He has written numerous best-selling creative technology books.
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Table of Contents

Ch. 1 Pro tips for getting really sharp photos 1
Ch. 2 Shooting flowers like a pro 23
Ch. 3 Shooting weddings like a pro 37
Ch. 4 Shooting landscapes like a pro 61
Ch. 5 Shooting sports like a pro 93
Ch. 6 Shooting people like a pro 113
Ch. 7 Avoiding problems like a pro 129
Ch. 8 Taking advantage of digital light like a pro 145
Ch. 9 Taking travel & city life shots like a pro 159
Ch. 10 How to print like a pro and other cool stuff 177
Ch. 11 Photo recipes to help you get "the shot" 195
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4
( 190 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(74)

4 Star

(52)

3 Star

(29)

2 Star

(17)

1 Star

(18)

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 192 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 21, 2006

    A Good Book That Begins Beyond the Basics

    Since I¿m offering an opinion (and review) on the book, The Digital Photography Book, I think a brief look at my background may give what follows a bit more veracity. I am an enthusiastic advanced amateur photographer with roughly 40 years of experience that includes a goodly number of awards and published photos. I shut down my wet darkroom a few years ago and have happily traded film and silver-based images for electrons, pixels and ink jet printing. Enough about me now let¿s look at the latest book by Scott Kelby (of National Association of Photoshop Professionals fame): The Digital Photography Book. This is a different kind of animal in the world of self-help photography books. The author describes the experience of reading the book as having your good friend¿who also happens to be an expert in digital photography¿standing besides you while you¿re taking pictures. The book lives up to Scott¿s description¿complete with the frequent interjection of his quirky sense of humor. (Warning, watch out for the first page of Chapter One.) I don¿t feel this is a book for complete novices¿either in photography or in the use of digital equipment. Scott assumes the readers already know the basics of how their cameras work (what and where the controls are) and have used their cameras long enough to know what else they want to learn to take better photographs. Another reason some basic knowledge of photography is necessary to get the most from this book is that Scott doesn¿t shy away from including the terms in common use by digital photographers today: ISO, white balance, focal length, lens aperture, etc. He also assumes the readers have the desire to move up in the ranks from point-and-shooters to at least competent amateurs. Therefore, Scott includes numerous suggestions about photographic gear he feels can help any photographer take better pictures¿and, although he breaks his suggestions down by price range, much of the gear still comes with a hefty price tag. A look at the chapter titles also confirms that Scott was not writing a teach-everything book for all readers. The 11 chapters include specialized topics, such as, Shooting Flowers like a Pro, Shooting Weddings Like a Pro, Shooting Sports Like a Pro and Taking Advantage of Digital Like a Pro. For me, the final chapter, Photo Recipes to Help You Get ¿The Shot¿, was the best part of the book. This is where Scott puts everything together and takes his readers into the field to practice what they¿ve learned. So, do I like The Digital Photography Book? More importantly, do I recommend it? Yes, to both of these questions but, as I mentioned above, to get the most out of the book, the reader should have at least point-and-shoot digital experience and a basic vocabulary of photographic terms. One final note. The book can be read front to back, or chapters can be sampled at random to learn just the techniques each reader needs. At the offered price, I think The Digital Photography Book definitely has a place in a well-rounded photographer's library.

    47 out of 48 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 4, 2007

    Down to earth, layman's terms

    Scott has done an excellent job of giving you the best information without technical jargon most of us don't understand or need. He takes through different scenes and scenarios, how to set up, camera settings, and angle to shoot from. He also recommends gear for different budgets. I have read through the book several times and have taken notes for the field. I highly recommend this book.

    12 out of 13 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted June 25, 2009

    The Digital Photography Book Scott Kelby

    Scott has written a very fine book. I refer to this book often, have recommended it to friends, and have purchased it for gifting. The intended readers are AMPs -- that broad range of photog buffs from AMateur to near-Professional. Beginners may benefit from the book but are apt to need additional self-study of basic info on ISO, white balance, focusing, f-stops, and similar mechanics. As stated by the author, this book was not written to explain these mechanics but how to use them to get great shots. Each of the 11 chaps treats a general subject (e.g., Chap 4: Shooting Landscapes like a Pro), and each page within the chap describes a technique to improve your shots (e.g., p. 68: Where to Put the Horizon Line). The explanations are clear and concise, and better yet, each page has a crisp, colored photo illustrating the discussion. Chap 11 brings together ideas from the previous chaps and gives recipes on how to get The Shot. The color photos are beautiful, comprising shots of people, autos, flowers, water-ways and such, and the detailed info is rich (Scotts talents are well displayed here). I love this chap, and know it will increase your creative juices. Sprinkled throughout the book, Scott describes and recommends pieces of gear such as ballheads, cable releases, lens filters, and so forth. And he gives sound reasons why you should add certain pieces of gear to your photog inventory. In a number of recommendations, Scott lists gear prices for folks with low, medium, or high budgets (humorously describing high-budget folks as: doctors, senators, and venture capitalist -who do not really have a budget!). While it is fun to window-shop, some careful thought is needed here on what price gear you need to purchase to truly improve your skills. For example, a high-end ballhead, described as Really Right on p. 9, is listed for $455 - not the tripod plus ballhead, just the ballhead! Candidly, I got sticker shock! Let me explain by a personal example: I recently enjoyed a shoot at Yosemite Park using a tripod-plus-ballhead that totaled $140! Now, would I like that $455 ballhead? You bet! Would it have improved my Yosemite shots (over using my $140 rig)? Don't think so. From this AMPs perspective, I did note a caveat: On p. 182 Scott debunks the current sales trend to push large Megapixel (Mp) cameras. Technically, what he describes about linking Mp to desired photo print size is true (e.g., a 4-5 Mp camera can yield an 8-by-10 inch print). Practically, however, this is seldom the case; as AMPs we often need cropping to improve our shots. A personal example in is order: Recently on a hike in Yosemite Park -- on a gloomy day -- the sun briefly peered between clouds and shone on Yosemite Falls. I had scant time to whip-out my 8 Mp camera, judge the available light, choose an aperture value, focus, and shoot. Later upon careful review I noted that this somewhat-standard shot would blossom into a great keeper upon cropping from 8 Mp to 4 Mp. Should I have been more skillful? I suppose. But by cropping I now have a great 8-by-8 inch photo of Yosemite Falls. (Good enough for bragging rights!) Lesson learned: AMPs may not always take such great shots that every Mp contributes to the photo. My advice: purchase a larger Mp camera, say 10 Mp, and while learning your craft, be able to crop as needed. Having said that, caveats for this book are very, very few, while the advice, tips, and techniques are abundant. Summary: Very Fine Book!

    7 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 22, 2010

    Awesome tips!

    This book was full of awesome tips. It is not very technical for the new photographer, but that can be a good thing. Quick read, helpful once you are familiar with your camera, and terms of the business.

    6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted June 13, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    Simple title, tells exactly what the book is about

    I especially enjoyed this book. It was clearly written, with humor, and had reams of very practical and useful pointers on how to improve my
    photography. I did not contain a lot of theory, just basic how to get better pictures. This is a very good book for beginners as well as advanced amateurs.

    5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 7, 2007

    Must have reference for new digital photographers

    This is a fantastic book covering all aspects of digital photography with dSLR's, although probably a little simplistic for veteran photographers. The author mostly references techniques of Adobe Photoshop elements and/or CS. If you don't already own or plan on buying either of these programs, you may want to look elsewhere. Granted, the basic tips of shooting dSLR pictures are great, and the author covers all types of shooting situations and scenarios. Additionally, the book covers presentation, printing, and even making money with your camera. Fantastic book overall, and highly recommended to anyone getting serious with digital photography.

    3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted May 8, 2010

    Beginners choice...

    ...this book is a great choice for those wanting to do more than just point-and-shoot. I have owned a dSLR for a couple of years, but this book still taught me a few thing.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted February 16, 2010

    Great Book

    This book is written in a language that is easy to understand for us unprofessional photography people who are usually written for in what I call "First Grade Words". This book isn't like that at all. It's interesting, it's not too simple but not too technical. I am learning a lot from this book and enjoying my Nikon more than ever. I believe that it is a great book for those people with a good camera that are tired of wasting all of that great technology that you have available with a digital SLR by always putting it on automatic and aim & shoot.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted September 17, 2009

    I Also Recommend:

    The Digital Photography Book, Volume 2: The Step-by-Step Secrets for How to Make Your Photos Look like the Pros
    The Digital Photography Book, Volume 3: The Step-by-Step Secrets for How to Make Your Photos Look like the Pros

    Better than Excellent

    The single best book I have read regarding photography..!! Straight-forward and to the point..Easy to read, easier to understand...The author clearly has succeeded with his objective which is to write the book as if you were out shooting with him and asked "how do you do that"!!!

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted November 27, 2011

    Helpful

    I haven't read all of the book but am finding tips along the way. I do recommend it.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted November 23, 2011

    more from this reviewer

    Informative

    I needed this book. Well written. I am enjoying my new camera, thanks to this book.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted January 10, 2011

    I am bored out of my mind!

    I bought this book to get digital SLR photography insight; I am on page 22 and the only tip has been for tack sharp pictures use a tripod. Duh! The rest of the 22 pages, the author's lame attempt at humor. I trusted the publisher on this purchase; Pearson Education usually has the best in educational works. I gave the book one star because I had to.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 9, 2011

    Holy Cow!

    This book is fantastic. I am relatively new to photography and this book offers a lot of excellent tips that will make shooting much more interesting and enjoyable. Easy to read and simple to understand.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 21, 2010

    great info......

    very informative,have learned a lot .Good explanation ,etc..Great Book !!!!

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted December 19, 2009

    I Also Recommend:

    Scott Kelby's Digital Photography Boxed Set, Volumes 1, 2, and 3

    I couldn't put this book down.

    I purchased Volume 3 at a retail outlet. After reading it I had to get the other two volumes. Very imformative. The Author presents all criteria in easy to understand dialogue.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 3, 2009

    I Also Recommend:

    The Digital Photography Book, Volume 2: The Step-by-Step Secrets for How to Make Your Photos Look like the Pros
    The Digital Photography Book, Volume 3: The Step-by-Step Secrets for How to Make Your Photos Look like the Pros

    Fun & Easy

    I bought this book for my stepdad for Father's Day and he LOVED it. He is an amateur photographer, and he really appreciated all the tips. He also loves that each tip is one page long--you can read up on a specific technique quickly and easily.
    The writing style is fun and irreverent--very anti-textbook. This is a great book for any amateur photographer out there. It also has tips for breaking into the business professionally.

    1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted July 25, 2009

    Good book for the syudent and learning to be an advanced picture taker

    This will take you beyond the basic understanding

    1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted March 2, 2009

    Scott Kelby digital photography very useful for beginners

    I just retired and always wanted to take more pictures of landscapes. I never considered myself a photographer. I find this book on the barnes and Nobel web site. this book is extremely informative and give me more insights into photography..(things that I thought I knew)... but found a whole world of knowledge new from this book. This is truely a Bible of photography for me. I recommend this book to anyone who needs a hobby...thank you scott kelby you saved my life.

    1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted February 16, 2009

    KUDOS for both the novice and the intermediate...

    I bought this for my nephew, as he's inspiring of going into the field of photography. Being a novice, this book is proving to be a great tool for the newbie to digital photography. This book also makes a great reference resource for refreshing the intermediate professional.

    1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted February 9, 2009

    Digital Photography 1 by Scott Kelby

    I highly recommend any of Scott Kelby's books. I have learned many things just from reading his books. This book is especially great for beginners in digital photography - AND - good reveiw for others.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 192 Customer Reviews
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