The Digital Photography Book

8 reviews for The Digital Photography Book

1. 

   Gloria July 11, 2020

   Kelby is one of my favorite authors of photography books, and this book does nothing to diminish that. Yes, it’s a good book for beginners in photography, but also very useful for people with years of experience. he covers the bases and more. I would recommend this book to any photographer. What I like most about author Scott Kelby is that he is maximally informative while at the same time entertaining us with his writing. He is one of my favorite photography book authors. In the beginning he says “if your photos aren’t sharp, the rest doesn’t matter.“

   Kelby explains that he’s going to tell us the how-to of getting better photographs, as in, push this or that button. I appreciate that he won’t go into the myriad technical aspects of how a camera works.

   The author is clever to have only short sections interrupted by gray boxes with hot tips. I love it, because pages and pages of text can lose my interest. Breaking up the topics this way keeps me awake and involved. He has a great, helpful section on autofocus and how do use it, especially for wildlife and other things that move. I could never get enough information on how to focus better. Well done!

   Kelby’s chapter on lenses is just perfect: he doesn’t only describe the various lenses but also talks about how to clean them, lens compression and what we need to know about that, and even lens hoods. I love that he titles in one section “you’re probably going to lose your lens hood.“ 🙂

   If you have not yet specialized, no problem: Kelby covers the gamut. He talks about landscape photography, travel photography, taking portraits, using flash, shooting weddings and sports, wildlife and macro, and even some tips on shooting the sky. I marvel that the author is even able to fit in a decent piece on when and how to shoot HDR, and also how to include the moon in a landscape picture and keep the details.

   Toward the end of this well-done book the author gives us tips on how to do a better job printing your photos – a welcome lesson for me always. And at the very end Kelby include several of his own photographs with recipes for each one. I always appreciate that sort of how-to information.

   This author does not disappoint. The book is full of useful information for beginners and also photographers with experience. On top of that, he’s a joy to read.

2. 

   claire1 (verified owner) September 12, 2020

   This book has arrived at a perfect time for me. I have been a sports photographer for many years and I love it. But I realised I was becoming stale in my approach. I am trying very hard to learn new things – this book covers all the subjects I need. It’s brilliant at supporting me whilst my photography muscle memory isn’t quite there. Scott is great at explaining stuff clearly and succinctly which means I can remind myself what I should br doing and thinking about. Searching the e-book whilst stood in a field has happened several times!

   And Scott’s reminded me that this part of my photography life is meant to be fun!

3. 

   mike55 (verified owner) September 12, 2020

   Now here’s a really GREAT “get it done” type of book. No B.S., just tip after tip of ways to enhance your photography experience. It’s a real helpful compilation of tips and tricks to enhance your photos. I’ve already recommended this book to a friend and won’t hesitate to recommend it again. Thanks for writing this great book, Scott. Mike

4. 

   Tim Oliver (verified owner) September 16, 2020

   Excellent update to a necessary book for any photographer, in my opinion, especially those just starting out. I had the original print edition and lent it to some friends and family interested in photography. It is now a poor, tattered little guy that has seen many miles, so the new updated e-book was a must have. Love the format, love the information and it isn’t a Kelby book without the entertaining intros to each chapter. I especially like chapters 9 and 10 where Scott fills the pages with pro tips for many situations. Otherwise each chapter covers a specific discipline such as travel, landscape, portraits, weddings, etc. Scott Kelby does an amazing job of simplifying everything, turning what seems complicated into easily digestible bites for the brain and imagination. Just follow the photo recipes in the last chapter and Bob’s Your Uncle (whatever that means) you’ve created an amazing photograph. Word of warning, you will get hooked. Once you buy one Kelby book you’ll want more. Thanks Scott and the team at RockyNook for another winner.

5. 

   painter (verified owner) October 1, 2020

   This book is written with humor and is filled with the type of information you really want. When you don’t want or need all the technical information but instead want “ to-the-point” answers to your questions, this is the book for you. Easy and fun to read.

6. 

   sescott69 (verified owner) October 2, 2020

   Scott Kelby books are always a good read. This book breaks down subjects so it easy to understand. All skill levels can learn something from this book. I highly recommend it.

7. 

   Doug (verified owner) October 6, 2020

   Excellent book filled with tons of useful information A great resource book thats can be easily stored in a camera bag for instant access A great read with Scotts usual humour. An excellent read covering all aspects of photography.

8. 

   wepsphoto October 17, 2020

   Scott Kelby’s The Digital Photography Book is a new edition of a book that summarizes a series of books by the same title (Parts 1-4 published from 2008-2012). In this updated work Kelby not only covers new technologies and tools, but he also takes a new approach to teaching the reader how to get the most from her camera.

   The camera is no longer the focus of the lesson- the time previously spend learning how the exposure triangle works and how to implement TTL flash is abandoned for a less professional, but highly effective, workflow- trial and error. Since his 2017 The Flash Book, Kelby has become far more comfortable stepping away from teaching theory and strict technical skills and directed his lessons at simplification of steps to get better photos. Rather than explaining and mastering the frustrating TTL flash modes (which vary manufacturer to manufacturer and model to model), his new approach is quite simple: put the flash on Manual, take a shot, examine it on the LCD screen, and adjust as needed. Why the change? Much of it is due to the far better LCD and electronic viewfinders of today’s cameras- and, of course, the trend toward mirrorless cameras. Reviewing an image is quick, easy and accurate, and with a bit of practice it’s faster to trial-and-error your way to success than it is to work through a maze of menu items to get automated systems to work as you want them to.

   The book’s chapter titles well-define their subject matter- Getting Sharp Photos, Lenses, Printing, and Tips for Getting Better Photos. There are several chapters entitled Shooting “xxxx” Like A Pro: the topics include Landscapes, Travel, Portraits, Sports, and Flash. Of course, this is not “pro” training- the tips, tricks and ideas are designed to avoid common pitfalls and suggest some creativity when shooting.

   The simplicity can be a bit misleading- when he discusses lens selection, Kelby advises that expensive, fast lenses should always be shot wide open because “you’re getting your money’s worth by shooting it at the f-stop you bought it for.” That’s not always good advice. And despite plenty of direction about making exposure choices to freeze action or to choose depth of field, the exposure triangle is never mentioned, the foundation for really understanding how these choices affect each other.

   But again, this is not a book designed to help you understand your camera as much as it is a book to help you to utilize it- you don’t have to understand combustion to drive a car, and today’s cameras can provide tremendous control over your image without understanding what’s happening “under the hood”.

   The Digital Photography Book is an ideal book for the beginning photographer or the enthusiast who is looking to develop more skills and exercise greater creativity with his camera. It won’t replace the Owner’s Manual (or a good YouTube “how-to” video) when it comes to specific camera model operation, but it is filled with wonderful tips on tools that you may need, techniques that you should develop, insights that may not be obvious, and ideas to help broaden one’s photographic horizons.