Bryan Peterson's Understanding Photography Field Guide: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera |  | Author: Bryan Peterson
Publisher: Amphoto Books
Category: Book
List Price: $24.99
Buy New: $14.20
as of 7/31/2010 10:20 CDT details
You Save: $10.79 (43%)
New (24) Used (12) from $14.20
Seller: BRILANTI BOOKS
Rating:  50 reviews
Sales Rank: 1488
Media: Paperback
Edition: Original
Pages: 400
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 8.5 x 5.7 x 0.9
ISBN: 0817432256
Dewey Decimal Number: 770
EAN: 9780817432256
ASIN: 0817432256
Publication Date: August 18, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Features:
| • | ISBN13: 9780817432256 | | • | Condition: New | | • | Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed |
|
| Similar Items:
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Everything you need to know in one take-anywhere field guide!
This all-in-one guide from renowned photographer, instructor, and author Bryan Peterson will help you take better photos anytime, anywhere–with any camera.
Want to finally understand exposure? Interested in learning to "see" and composing your images more creatively? Ready to master the magic of light? It’s all here, the techniques every amateur photographer needs to take better nature, landscape, people, and close-up photos. You’ll even get creative techniques, like making "rain" and capturing "ghosts," and practical advice on gear, equipment, and postprocessing software. Filled with Bryan’s inspirational photographs, this is the one essential guide for every camera bag.
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 50
The New Standard - Absolutely Stunning Photos August 22, 2009
Ryan E. Duncan (Milwaukee, WI United States)
108 out of 111 found this review helpful
I have owned many photography books over the years and Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Photography Field Guide" will be the book I pack with me from here on out.
The book is organized into the 11 chapters detailed below and each chapter is organized into smaller sections which help you seek out the specific topics you want to review.
1) A Few Digital Basics - Chapter topics range from file format and shooting in RAW to a gem of a section on white balance that explained better in 2 pages how this setting can really improve my photos than anything else I have come across in the past.
2) Exposure - Topics in this chapter include exposure explanations, the photographic triangle, creative exposures, and more. Bryan is a master at de-mystifying exposure and you will improve your photography with this chapter.
3) Aperture - This chapter does much more than just explain the effects of proper aperture settings, Bryan teaches you how aperture helps you tell the story you intend to with the photo.
4) Shutter Speed & ISO - This chapter offered one of the best explanations of how ISO effects your photos I have found since being introduced to digital photography and I find the section on "motion in low light" to be very good. Bryan also explained the relationship between apeture and shutter speeds in an easy to understand and apply in the field format.
5) Learning To See - This chapter covers a lot of ground on lenses and selecting the right lens for the right shot. Advice sections such as "shooting up" and "looking down" are helpful if you are looking for new ways to shoot but the photos included throughout the book are the best way to get new ideas for framing your shots.
6) Designing A Striking Image - This chapter is the largest in the book and covers more than I can go into. Suffice it to say that this chapter is all about composition, choosing your subject, getting creative, etc. These kinds of chapters have always been inspiring to me because the photos are amazing and Bryan does not let you down here. If you aren't motivated to get up and grab your camera after reading these sections you should probably put it down for good.
7) The Importance Of Light - This chapter covers a lot of ground from the best light, to low light, to backlight, etc. I found the material on exposure settings for various light conditions helpful and I was surprised that HDR exposure was covered in the detail it was...though not enough to start shooting HDR in my opinion. It seems as though you would still want to buy an HDR book to get into that in earnest.
8) Close-Up Photography - This chapter is a pretty good introduction to macro and it did answer many questions I have had. I have been flirting with getting more into macro and this chapter has helped me get just a little bit closer to making the investment.
9) Photographing People - This chapter is really about being a more professional, courteous photographer when people are the subject. This is the smallest chapter at just 7 pages and Bryan uses most of them to play armchair psychologist at getting people to like you taking their picture so you can get the best photos possible.
10) Unconventional Techniques - This chapter covers various "tricks of the trade" such as "making rain" or unusual ways to mount your camera and it will only really be useful on a lazy weekend day when you can't find anything else to do or photgraph. Fun info here but basically a bonus chapter.
11) Useful Tools - Here is the chapter that every photo book has and it basically feeds the gear addiction...tripods, filters, and more...
It is impossible to get into all of the details that you will find in this book, and at 400 pages you will not be short of info to learn from and grow as a photographer.
A couple other comments about the book itself...it is very high quality with good, heavy, high gloss paper that make the photos really pop of the pages. The book is very well built too and I can see that it will last for many years to come being lugged around in my camera bag and on trips. Also, this has to be the most compact and small 400 page book I have ever seen which is great because I do want to carry it with me when I go.
And the photos...they are simply spectacular. I have found myself just flipping through the pages to look at the photos and that can be just as instructive as the text in my opinion. Bryan has selected excellent examples to demonstrate his topics/lessons and all of the photo captions have detail about the photo's exposure settings which I like because it helps reinforce the lessons being taught.
I do not think anyone will be disappointed with this book and unless you are a seasoned pro already you will learn and grow as a photographer when you read and re-read this book's thorough chapters.
Excellent guide for beginners, highly portable, covers guidance from his current books August 31, 2009
Amazon Addict (Redmond, WA)
29 out of 30 found this review helpful
I'm just getting into DSLR photography and have taken several classes at a local community college. Bryan Peterson's books have been great learning tools for supplementing what I've learned in class. I've read his "Understanding Exposure" book cover to cover multiple times and had just started "Understanding Shutter Speed" when i saw this guide while on vacation. The guide covers a lot of the same (if not identical) content as his other books, but its portable size alone makes it worth buying, even if you have his other books. I really like his writing style, and he includes some really inspiring photographs that aren't too difficult for beginners to duplicate. While on vacation I've used his guide to (among other things) take photographs at dusk as well as experiment with shutter speeds. He lists some of his "must-have" accessories (e.g., neutral density filters) that I should have bought before vacation and fortunately was able to buy thanks to Amazon's affordable overnight Prime shipping.
And yes, it's been worth it to haul my tripod across the country! Get this guide--it's worth every penny.
If you can buy only one book August 29, 2009
Dennis T. James (Ponce Inlet, Fl)
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
Having purchased 30-40 photography books in the last 2-3 years including some of this authors other books, I can honestly say, that if you can only purchase one book, then this is the one to buy. One of the best things, maybe THE best thing about this book is that it truly is a field guide and one that will fit in your camera bag on a shoot. With several workshops coming up, I will review the parts of this book that apply to the shoot ahead of time or even at location if I am stumped.
Bryan Peterson's Understanding Photography Field Guide September 17, 2009
D. Dwyer (New Hampshire, USA)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
I'm a long-time "fan" of Peterson's books (I own several), and I admire his eye and techniques for image making. His "teaching" is informative, personable, and inspiring. This book, Understanding Photography Field Guide, is in many ways a distillation of Peterson's other books, offering much of the same content and using many of the same text-supporting images. So if you want the benefit of Peterson's teaching without buying his other books, this is the book to get. If you already own many of Peterson's other books (such as Understanding Exposure, Beyond Portraiture, Learning to See Creatively, Understanding Digital Photography, etc.) you may still find this new "Field Guide" useful as a summary of Peterson's teachings. And the Guide is a convenient, take-with-you size, and so lives up to its billing as a "field guide." I recommend it!
Bryan knows his stuff - and can relate! September 23, 2009
Guy T. Phillips (The Great State of Texas)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Bryan Peterson has a gift for taking complex or intimidating information and making it very easy to understand - and to do!
I have several of his books, and some of them do 'overlap', but every one of them are packed with great tips and ideas that can make you a better photographer. In using many of his ideas, my photos have become more powerful and I have dramatically increased my enjoyment of capturing images of all kinds.
I would highly recommend any of Bryan's books or his on-line courses.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 50
|
|
|
