Practical HDRI: High Dynamic Range Imaging for Photographers by Jack Howard is the latest book I have read on the subject. I haven’t touched my Photomatix software (indeed, even my camera) for some time. Reading through this book helped inspire me to get back out shooting photos, and also to see if Olympus was doing anything to help with the capture of HDR images. As it turns out, the recently released Olympus E-620 has far better support for proper image bracketing to get the exposures you need.

The book itself is fairly short - just 168 pages. But these pages are full of good information and practical examples using more than just one software package. What I like most about it is the frankness of the author when it comes to producing realistic HDR images, as opposed to some of the cartoonish extremes that have come to symbolize the genre. I much prefer a realistic image that has great depth in all ranges between the darkest and lightest sections of the image. In addition to the software examples (Photoshop CS3, Photomatix and FDRTools), the author tells you what to watch for when capturing the images, well before they see the computer.

All in all this was a very worthwhile book, with more than enough interesting bits for the novice and experienced alike. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for more information on HDRI.

Exposure Photo Workshop: Develop your digital photography talent, by Jeff Wignall, is part of a new series of books by Wiley. Suitable grouped as Photo Workshop, these books add a modern twist on the classic photography topics we all hold dear. Topics like exposure, composition, lighting, portraits, macro and more, this series will be applicable for years to come.

The reason they will remain applicable is that they have been written specifically for the digital age. In this book, Exposure, the author goes to great lengths not to identify his equipment (at least the body), telling the reader that it doesn’t matter what your gear is, the concepts are the same. One thing I particularly liked about the book (and the whole series follows this pattern) was that, at the end of each chapter, the reader is given a “homework” assignment based on what they just learned. Following this, they are encouraged to upload the photo to a central site where all readers of the series can post and critique photos. For someone too intimidated by places like the dpreview forums, this can be an invaluable experience.

This book covers all the usual aspects you would expect, from light controls, aperture versus shutter speed, depth of field, low light, flash, etc. It even went so far as to talk briefly about off camera flash. There was a lengthy discussion about taking photos of neon at night, which I might use to start a photo book project.

All in all this book is well worth the $29.99 cover price ($19.79 at Amazon) and I look forward to reading more from this series.

“The Art of Black and White Photography”, by Torsten Andreas Hoffman, is the latest Rockynook book that I have read. So far, only one Rockynook title has disappointed me. “The Art of Black and White Photography” was definitely not a disappointment.
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When you are shooting a room with a great view, it is a good idea to show that view, if you can. But that is more complicated when you think about the exposure levels outside versus inside the room. Since I was in an awesome location recently (the Park Hyatt in Beaver Creek, Colorado), I decided to use the property to do some practice on. I have posted a few images from this test in the Photography For Real Estate Flickr group (yes, it is a Flickr complement to Larry Lohrman’s excellent site/ blog) and have received some useful feedback from it.
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When it comes to posing subjects, my natural gift of interacting with people helps them achieve comfortable positions for shots. But I have trouble posing group portraits and making sure I carefully pose a subject to flatter their figures. To get a more sound understanding of the fundamental skills needed to pose men, women, couples and groups, I picked up acclaimed photographer Norman Phillips book, “Professional Posing Techniques for Wedding and Portrait Photographers.”

The book is a comprehensive, must-have tool for photographers new to portraits, but it’s also got enough new tricks to keep old hat photographers interested as well.

I loved the chapter on slimming techniques. The photographers who get the most business are the ones who are aware of making their subjects look their best. I also found the group portraits chapter indispensable. Phillips’ decision to split his examples into groups of two, three, four and larger were extremely helpful in learning how to keep subjects visible, evenly lit, and showing some type of affinity for one another. The important of placement of arms, hands, feet and legs is simply, yet effectively, explained to make sure one subject doesn’t dominate another. His design strategies for group portraits offer reliable concepts a photographer can arm himself with no matter the shooting situation.

Highlights in the book include:

Understanding the goals of good posing, and the most common obstacles to success.

Styles of posing, from formal to casual

Critical differences between posing me and women

Understanding body language and how it impacts the viewer of a portrait

Tips for making each part of the body look its best

Standing, seated, and floor poses

Strategies for posing group portraits

Before and after sequences showing common posing problems and how to fix them

Using careful posing to flatter every figure type

I picked up Bryan Peterson’s “Beyond Portraiture”, not because it was written by Bryan (that alone would have been a good reason), but because I have been looking for help on some specific things where portrait photography is concerned. I didn’t really find what I was looking for, but as with all of his books, I did get a lot of helpful insight into making better photographs.

Before I get to what it was I was looking for, I want to tell you what this book does bring. Aside from what you would come to expect (discussions on lighting and exposure), the author starts off by getting you comfortable with talking to people, helping them to understand what you are trying to achieve, and making them into willing participants. For someone like me, this was a very valuable section. From there, the book moves into considerations in actually working with people, and the different types of people you might encounter. Some example of corporate report types of work are included in the book, which I found interesting given how much I follow the work of notable Colorado-based photographer David Tejada.

After the sections on dealing with people, the book then moved into a discussion about light (and I think Bryan is a master at this). From there we get an in-depth look at composition. This was particularly useful, as composition considerations are definitely different for people than they are for landscapes, etc.

The last section was perhaps one of the most useful for me, covering different techniques to digitally edit photos. As long as I have been using Photoshop (since 1995), you would think that I would know a lot more than I do. But for me it has always been a tool for editing web images. I have always known the power that Photoshop has, but never taken the time to learn more about it. The edits that Bryan presents are relatively simple and could be immensely useful if you don’t already know them.

All in all, I highly recommend this book. It didn’t have “posing” information that I have been looking for, but I got far more out of this book than that one subject is worth. Pretty sure I can find that info somewhere else.

With this photography thing, I sometimes I feel like I am cramming a lifetime of learning into as small an amount of time as possible. But I am learning, which is always a good thing to do. I hope you are continuing to learn as well.

Take Your Photography to the Next Level: From Inspiration to Image, by George Barr, is a collection of the most helpful postings from his blog over the past few years. I rank this book right up there with the works of Bryan Peterson in terms of it’s importance to photographers in general. In fact, I would declare this a must read.

Mr. Barr has taken the liberty (well advised in my mind) of editing his prior posts so that they are more current or relevant for this book. I had never heard of him before, but the author is very impressive in terms of how he is able to “see” a great photo in what seem like ordinary or common objects. I do believe that, in the course of my learning to take better pictures, this is the hardest thing to do.

One of the more impressive things about this book is how the editor, author, and Rocky Nook were able to take the blog postings and meld them into a cohesive book. It follows a fairly structured order, and includes excellent photographic examples along the way. I also particularly like how the author intentionally stayed away from mentioning specific settings and (most of the time) gear used to make certain images. In a few sections of the book, it is pointed out clearly that it is the person taking the photos that is more important than the gear being used, and I agree completely (he does cover the gear he uses at the back of the book).

One other very useful sections is how to deal with rejection and criticism and the whole mindset of taking pictures. I know a few people that could apply the principles of that section (did I mention Barr is a doctor) in their photography or other aspects of their life. Very good stuff, and just another example of how Barr is able to relate to the casual and serious photographer alike.

I could go on and on about this book, but you really should get a copy for yourself. It is outstanding!

As a photographer I am always being told to read this book or check out that book. Usually I will try to pick up whatever is recommended and at least glance at it to see if it’s really THE book that I need to read to become a better photographer.

Since I got back in to serious shooting two books have been mentioned repeatedly, Bryan Peterson’s Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera and most recently The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world’s top shooters by legendary photographer Joe McNally.

The Moment It Clicks is not just a recommended read by me, but a true MUST HAVE!! Every photographer, from the new adopters with a simple point and shoot to the most seasoned pro, should OWN this book. This is not a book you read, this is a book you experience.

I will admit to you, I am writing this review without having actually read the book. Simply, I can’t just sit down and read this…it’s not that kind of book.

Each page contains a tip from Joe, be it something he picked up shooting for National Geographic or something he picked up as a photographer at the New York Daily News or just some simple idea that seems obvious once you read it, but just never really entered your mind. Along with each tip is a quick story and photo with how the photo was taken at the end. But these aren’t your usual stories, many of these are inside industry info that one would get if they were out in the field shooting in, oh let’s say Antartica for a Time magazine feature, and got a request from a photo editor.

In the past two weeks since I bought this book I have found myself just picking it up and opening to a page and starting from there. I have a Post-It pad next to the book so I can sticky those tips that I want to remember…my book is now FULL of sticky notes.

Seriously, this is not a book that I received for review, this is a book that I went out and purchased with my hard-earned money and it was worth every penny. I give this book 4 out of 4 stars…10 out of 10…whatever rating system you want to use, The Moment It Clicks rates tops!

Originally posted on 2*3 Photos

Photography is all about light. Exposing a sensor or strip of film to light is how an image is made. So one can only imagine the number of books written covering this very subject. Add one more to the pile with O’Reilly’s Practical Artistry: Light & Exposure for Digital Photographers (Practical Artistry) by Harold Davis.

This book is specifically geared toward the digital photographer, but almost all the ideas can be used for old school film photogs as well.

The book covers a lot of topics including evaluation of light, aperture and shutter speed and an explanation of ISO. There are also chapters on using a digital darkroom and some post processing tips.

Overall the book does a fine job of explaining the basic techniques of lighting and exposure, but it really does try to cover a bit too much. The book does not go in too much detail on any one aspect which left me wanting a lot more.

Understandably the book is a light read with some amazing images (and each image has a brief explanation of settings used to achieve the image) and a good refresher for someone who already has a grasp of lighting and exposure, but if you are looking for a good starting point on lighting and exposure, this may not be the book for you.

Originally posted on 2*3 Photos

I read a lot. I am one of those types who actually learns from reading…I know, odd in this day in age. Occasionally I will pick up books that seem to offer something for me to learn in their pages, sometimes it’s just because of a recommendation…and other times its on a whim.

I grabbed 100 Ways to Take Better Portrait Photographs on a whim while waiting for a friend to show up at Borders one day a few months back. I figured if nothing else it would be good to have something in the car to read when I had downtime.

Well the book wasn’t as full of learnable (is that a word?) knowledge as I had hoped, but it was full of page after page of inspirational images and techniques. On first glance the book is an easy paced guide to how to make beautiful people more beautiful in photographs. The models on ever page are simply gorgeous…from the women to the men to adorable children. I was very easily drawn in to the images and forgot the words.

But on each page you find an image and a technique that image shows.

I didn’t get a lot of technical know how from this book, but I did get a ton of inspiration from it. I honestly picked up my camera and started shooting anyone who would let me to try out some of the ideas from the book.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars, mainly for the inspirational images found inside and many of the clever techniques the book covers.

Originally posted on 2*3 Photos