We have selected the best of photography technique books, photo learning books and photography books for beginners. Select a letter to discover our A to Z glossary of must-read tips and technique books:
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This book breaks new ground by doing something for digital photographers that's never been done before–it cuts through the bull and shows you exactly "how to do it." It's not a bunch of theory; it doesn't challenge you to come up with your own settings or figure things out on your own. Instead, it does something that virtually no other Elements book has ever done–it tells you flat-out which settings to use, when to use them, and why.
If you're looking for one of those "tell-me-everything-about-the-Unsharp-Mask-filter" books, this isn't it. You can grab any other Elements book on the shelf, because they all do that. Instead, this book gives you the inside tips and tricks of the trade for organizing, correcting, editing, sharpening, retouching, and printing your photos like a pro. You'll be absolutely amazed at how easy and effective these techniques are–once you know the secrets.
Creative professionals seeking the fastest, easiest, most comprehensive way to learn Adobe Photoshop choose Adobe Photoshop Classroom in a Book (2020 release) from Adobe Press. The 15 project-based lessons show key step-by-step techniques for working in Photoshop, including how to correct, enhance, and distort digital images, create image composites, and prepare images for print and the web.
The fastest, easiest, most comprehensive way to learn. The best-selling series of hands-on software training workbooks, offers what no other book or training program does-an official training series from Adobe, developed with the support of Adobe product experts. Contains 16 lessons that cover the basics and beyond, providing countless tips and techniques to help you become more productive with the program. You can follow the book from start to finish or choose only those lessons that interest you.
Attracted by the image quality, the tactile joy of a finely made camera, and the affordable prices of vintage equipment, photographers around the world are rediscovering the joys of manual photography. This comprehensive guide to shooting film photography covers all the bases, from setting up a camera through film processing. In a convenient format, filled with diagrams, examples, and illustrations, Analog Photography is a portable reference tool for neophytes and experienced photographers alike. With an irresistible package inspired by the aesthetics of vintage user manuals, this is "a great-looking publication and a fantastic place from which to start, or rekindle, a journey into film photography" (Creative Review).
In recent years, film photography has witnessed a significant renaissance-and not just among those who have previously shot with film. Interest in film photography and analog photography has also grown enormously among those who only have experience shooting digitally. In The Film Photography Handbook, 2nd Edition, authors Chris Marquardt and Monika Andrae speak to both types of film photographers as they offer an easy-to-understand, complete resource to shooting film. In this updated and expanded edition, they address today's working climate, including such topics as the hybrid film/digital workflow, the digitization of negatives, and using smartphones for light metering and to assist in film processing.
This book is intended for anyone who is curious about film and analog photography, whether you need a refresher course or are discovering this wonderful format for the first time. You'll learn how easy it is to shoot and process black-and-white film at home, and that just a little special equipment is needed to get into film photography.
Photoshop Elements offers the tools to make quick, simple fixes to photos or to turn your images into completely different pieces of art. Digital imaging pros Barbara Obermeier and Ted Padova walk you step-by-step through the tools that help you take control of this powerful software.
Creative professionals seeking the fastest, easiest, most comprehensive way to learn Adobe InDesign choose Adobe InDesign CC Classroom in a Book (2019 release) from Adobe Press. The 15 project-based step-by-step lessons show users the key techniques for working in InDesign. Designers will build a strong foundation of typographic, color, page layout, and document-construction skills that will enable them to produce a broad range of print and digital publications—from a simple postcard to an interactive Adobe PDF with form fields. The real-world tasks in this comprehensive book are presented in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step format and are designed to train beginning Adobe InDesign users in the program—from fundamental features to powerful layout and output skills.
Creative professionals seeking the fastest, easiest, most comprehensive way to learn Adobe InDesign choose Adobe InDesign Classroom in a Book (2020 release) from Adobe Press. The project-based step-by-step lessons show users the key techniques for working in InDesign. Designers will build a strong foundation of typographic, color, page layout, and document-construction skills that will enable them to produce a broad range of print and digital publications-from a simple postcard to an interactive Adobe PDF with form fields. The real-world tasks in this comprehensive book are presented in easy-to-follow lessons and are designed to train beginning Adobe InDesign users in the program-from fundamental features to powerful layout and output skills.
This entertaining book from beloved National Geographic photographer and Photo Ark founder Joel Sartore shows aspiring photographers how to take great pictures, from framing and F-stops to editing and archiving. Whether you're using your phone or a DSLR camera, you'll learn the fundamentals of photography -and how to put them to work every day.
394A must have! Henry Horenstein may be the world's bestselling photography teacher, with more than 700,000 copies of his photography manuals sold. Now, in this easily digestible book of wisdom, he distills a career's worth of instruction into one hundred memorable pieces of advice.
Photography has never been a bigger part of our lives. But how do you transform everyday snapshots into enduring images -- or merely upgrade your Instagram game? With images illustrating the impact of each tip, and with examples drawn from iconic artists, Horenstein shows casual and expert photographers alike how to take the best photographs on every device--from a DSLR to an iPhone.
Dogs and photography have gone hand in paw almost since the medium was invented and our passion remains undiminished, with pictures of adorable, bright-eyed dogs all over the internet. The photographs in this book offer an alternative to all the fluff. They approach the dog as a dignified, intelligent and noble being, and they consider our relationship with man's best friend for the extraordinary thing it really is. Elegant, beautiful, surprising, sometimes comical, full of drama and heart, these images show the world's best-loved animal in a remarkable new light.
Learning to work with light is an important milestone in every photographer's career, and the ability to craft light to fit your vision for an image is a skill that cannot be overrated. Most often, that crafting of light is spoken of in terms of the quality and quantity of light. But there is an important, third component of light that heavily influences the final look of the image: the color of light. In Chroma: A Photographer's Guide to Lighting with Color, photographer Nick Fancher helps you elevate your game when it comes to introducing the bold, creative, and intentional use of color into your work.
Creative professionals seeking the fastest, easiest, most comprehensive way to learn Adobe Photoshop choose Adobe Photoshop CC Classroom in a Book (2019 release) from Adobe Press. The 15 project-based lessons show key step-by-step techniques for working in Photoshop, including how to correct, enhance, and distort digital images, create image composites, and prepare images for print and the web.
With more manufacturers than ever before producing macro lenses and accessories, and digital technology offering fresh creative possibilities, there has never been a more exciting time to explore this macro world with your camera. This book explains the basics of equipment, focusing, exposure and magnification ratios alongside such topics as lighting for effect, employing color as a compositional device and using depth of field creatively.The author explores digital techniques such as focus stacking and the use of smartphone apps both to compose shots on a camera via WiFi connection and to trigger cameras when shooting at high speed. With subjects ranging from classic close-ups such as plants and insects to micrographics and abstracts, plus showcases of the greatest exponents of close-up, this is a complete manual for achieving creative and professional results.
Veteran photographer and instructor Bryan Peterson is best known for his arresting imagery using bold, graphic color and composition. Here he explores his signature use of color in photography for the first time, showing readers his process for creating striking images that pop off the page. He addresses how to shoot in any type of light, and looks at color families and how they can work together to make compelling images in commercial and art photography. He also helps readers understand exposure, flash, and other stumbling blocks that beginning and experienced photographers encounter when capturing images, showing how to get the most out of any composition. With its down-to-earth voice and casual teaching style, Understanding Color in Photography is a workshop in a book, helping any photographer take their images to the next level.
DSLR Photography for Beginners: Take 10 Times Better Pictures in 48 Hours or Less! Best Way to Learn Digital Photography, Master Your DSLR Camera & Improve Your Digital SLR Photography Skills
When photographing people, you can have a great composition, perfect light, and the right camera settings, but if your subject doesn’t look right―if the pose is off―the shot will not be a keeper. Posing is truly a crucial skill that photographers need to have in order to create great photographs. If you’re looking to improve your ability to pose your subjects―whether they’re men, women, couples, or groups―best-selling author and photographer Lindsay Adler’s The Photographer’s Guide to Posing: Techniques to Flatter Everyone is the perfect resource for you.
In the first half of The Photographer’s Guide to Posing, Lindsay discusses how the camera sees, and thus how camera angle, lens choice, and perspective all affect the appearance of your subject. Lindsay then covers the five most important things that ruin a pose―such as placement of the hands, and your subject’s expression and posture. If you can look out for and avoid these five things, your skills (and your images) will quickly improve. Next, Lindsay dives into “posing essentials,” outlining her approach to start with a “base pose,” then build on that to create endless posing opportunities. She also discusses posing the face―with specific sections dedicated to the chin, jaw, eyes, and forehead―as well as posing hands.
In the second half of the book, Lindsay dedicates entire chapters to posing specific subject matter: women, men, couples, curvy women, families and small groups, and large groups. In each chapter, Lindsay addresses that subject matter’s specific challenges, provides five “go-to poses” you can always use, and covers how to train the eye to determine the best pose for your subject(s). In the final chapter of the book, Lindsay brings it all together as she teaches you how to analyze a pose so that you can create endless posing opportunities and continuously improve your work
Without light, there is no photograph. As almost every photographer knows, the word "photograph" has its roots in two Greek words that, together, mean "drawing with light." But what is less commonly acknowledged and understood is the role that shadow plays in creating striking, expressive imagery, especially in portraiture. It is through deft, nuanced use of both light and shadow that you can move beyond shooting simply ordinary, competent headshots into the realm of creating dramatic portraiture that can so powerfully convey a subject's inner essence, communicate a personal narrative, and express your photographic vision.
In Studio Anywhere 2: Hard Light, photographer and author Nick Fancher builds on the success of his previous book (Studio Anywhere: A Photographer's Guide to Shooting in Unconventional Locations) as he continues to offer candid, practical, and valuable lessons on how to create successful and fresh photographs armed with only minimal gear, a resourceful mind, and a creative spirit. The heart and soul of Studio Anywhere 2: Hard Light resemble its predecessor, but this time Nick focuses his approach on hard light, demonstrating how to use it in innovative and flattering ways, working with subjects ranging from products to people.
Award-winning photographer Craig Varjabedian's new book The Light of Days Gone By was 45 years in the making. It celebrates with stunning imagery the journey of a photographer and the beautiful light he has witnessed and captured along the way. The Light of Days Gone By is a testament to Varjabedian's vision and years of hard work and will appeal to anyone who appreciates fine photography.
Varjabedian's photographs from the magnificent red hills of Ghost Ranch and gleaming white dunes of White Sands to more faraway places—from strong Native Americans to weathered cowboys and more—these expansive landscapes and intimate portraits are all presented in this beautifully printed book.
The 48 color and black & white photographs were carefully curated by Varjabedian's long time studio director Cindy Lane, to not only share the breadth of this photographer's career but also to reveal relationships between individual images and from the themes he has explored over the years. Complementing the images are two essays. Cindy Lane provides insight into the photographer's artistic vision and Myra Bullington looks at the importance of photographs to memory and shares an appreciation for the photographer and his work. The book is not signed.
Museum curator Catherine Whitney writes “Craig Varjabedian's photography captures, with arresting clarity, the ineffable whispers of time and spirit layered deep in New Mexico's cultural landscape. Through the artful combination of his compassionate eye and technical virtuosity, he evokes the past in the present and the holy in the everyday."
Craig Varjabedian is a photographer who explores the back roads of the American West, making pictures of the unique and quintessential. 45 years behind the camera, 14 books, 42 museum exhibitions and hundreds of fine art photographic prints all comprise a rich and rewarding career. His images share awe-inspiring stories of the land and the people who live on it—one photograph at a time.
British photographer Tariq Zaidi presents a fashion subculture of Kinshasa & Brazzaville: La Sape, Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes ("Society of Ambiance-Makers and Elegant People"). Its followers are known as 'Sapeurs' ('Sapeuses' for women). Most have ordinary day jobs as taxi-drivers, tailors and gardeners, but as soon as they clock off they transform themselves into debonair dandies. Sashaying through the streets they are treated like rock stars - turning heads, bringing 'joie de vivre' to their communities and defying their circumstances. Traditionally passed down through the male line, many Congolese women and their children have recently begun donning designer suits. As Papa Wemba (1949-2016, Congolese singer and fashion icon who popularized Sape) once said: 'White people invented the clothes, but we make an art of it.'
Loving: A Photographic History of Men in Love, 1850-1950 portrays the history of romantic love between men in hundreds of moving and tender vernacular photographs taken between the years 1850 and 1950. This visual narrative of astonishing sensitivity brings to light an until-now-unpublished collection of hundreds of snapshots, portraits, and group photos taken in the most varied of contexts, both private and public.
Taken when male partnerships were often illegal, the photos here were found at flea markets, in shoe boxes, family archives, old suitcases, and later online and at auctions. The collection now includes photos from all over the world: Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Japan, Greece, Latvia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, and Serbia. The subjects were identified as couples by that unmistakable look in the eyes of two people in love - impossible to manufacture or hide. They were also recognized by body language - evidence as subtle as one hand barely grazing another - and by inscriptions, often coded.
Included here are ambrotypes, daguerreotypes, glass negatives, tin types, cabinet cards, photo postcards, photo strips, photomatics, and snapshots - over 100 years of social history and the development of photography.
Loving will be produced to the highest standards in illustrated book publishing, The photographs - many fragile from age or handling - have been digitized using a technology derived from that used on surveillance satellites and available in only five places around the world. Paper and other materials are among the best available. And Loving will be manufactured at one of the world's elite printers. Loving, the book, will be up to the measure of its message in every way.
In these delight-filled pages, couples in love tell their own story for the first time at a time when joy and hope - indeed human connectivity - are crucial lifelines to our better selves. Universal in reach and overwhelming in impact, Loving speaks to our spirit and resilience, our capacity for bliss, and our longing for the shared truths of love.
Of all the firearms in the world owned by private citizens for non-military purposes, half are in the United States. Numerically they exceed the country’s population: 393 million for 372 million people. This is no coincidence, nor a matter of market alone: but of tradition and Constitutional guarantee. It is the history of the Second Amendment, ratified in 1791 to reassure the inhabitants of the newly independent territories. Two hundred and fifty years later, it is still entrenched in all aspects of American life. This book frames its current status through what are seen as four fundamental American values: Family, Freedom, Passion, Style.
Gabriele Galimberti has travelled throughout the USA, from New York City to Honolulu, to meet proud gun-owners and see their firearms collections. He has photographed people and guns in their homes and neighbourhoods, including locations where no one would expect to find such collections. These often unsettling portraits, along with the accompanying stories, provide an uncommon and unexpected insight into what today is really represented by the institution of the Second Amendment.
For the past 3 years, photographer Tim Franco based in Seoul, South Korea has been documenting the incredible tales of women and men fleeing the North Korean dictatorship in search of another life. This exclusive project composed of portraits and testimonies of the defectors, as well as landscapes retracing the roads of their exile will be published as a photo book by the Magenta Foundation.
I'm a portrait, travel and documentary photographer based in Denver, Colorado. I travel overseas extensively in pursuit of images that reflect local cultures and people. My most recent project, We Are Santa, was produced a bit closer to home, specifically in photo shoots in eight cities across the United States.
For thirty years, photographer Carole Glauber pointed her Brownie Hawkeye camera at her children as they did what children do -- played outside with the hose, dug in the sand, twirled a hula hoop and as time goes by have a bar mitzvah, graduate from high school, marry. Presented chronologically in the book, the photographs capture the two boys growing up before the viewer's eyes. But the utilization of the Brownie year after year producing images with the camera's signature, ephemeral look, provides a consistent emotional content overlay, even as the sons change and mature.
Charcoal Press is pleased to announce The Locusts, the first major monograph by photographer and publisher Jesse Lenz. After a few years of living and traveling North American in an airstream with his family, Lenz settled down in a farm in rural Ohio. He began photographing his children as they ran wild in fields, built forts in the attic, and fell asleep surrounded by lightsabers and superheroes.
Inspired by the Polaroid SX-70 instant photographs taken by the great Greek American artist, Lucas Samaras, the well-known photographer Harvey Stein, in the mid 1970's bought an SX-70 camera and for the rest of that decade used it to shoot in his signature style, intimate portraits of strangers in the street. This in addition to his major work of street photography in which he simultaneously confronts and collaborates with strangers using his two Leica M-4 film cameras.
India is a strange country. You come back without being fully aware of what you really saw. Everything that seems real is not. And everything that appears as imbued with supernatural well and truly exists. This doubtful situation is in fact the uncertainty of street photography: everything goes too fast, constantly appears and disappears in the viewfinder as visions we try to capture, following the impulses of our unconscious. Nothing is more beautiful than the apparent banality, behind which we sometimes discover another world, invisible if we don't take the time to look at it, to open our eyes to detect its mysteries and symbols that move out of the shadows into the limelight for a moment, before vanishing.
No superhero is a series of work by the acclaimed Scandinavian artist, Ole Marius Joergensen. The work features meticulously staged, cinematic photographs that depict seemingly ordinary situations which are then infused with a juxtaposed narrative. This unlocks an unexpected and unique world that feels both old and new.
Of all the firearms in the world owned by private citizens for non-military purposes, half are in the United States. Numerically they exceed the country’s population: 393 million for 372 million people. This is no coincidence, nor a matter of market alone: but of tradition and Constitutional guarantee. It is the history of the Second Amendment, ratified in 1791 to reassure the inhabitants of the newly independent territories. Two hundred and fifty years later, it is still entrenched in all aspects of American life. This book frames its current status through what are seen as four fundamental American values: Family, Freedom, Passion, Style.
LOVING. A Photographic History of Men in Love portrays romantic love between men in hundreds of moving and tender vernacular photographs taken during the 100-year period between the 1850s and 1950s. This visual narrative of astonishing sensitivity brings to light an until-now-unpublished collection of hundreds of snapshots, portraits, and group photos made in the most varied of contexts, both private and public. Some are formal studio portraits, others were shot at the beach, in suburban settings, in the countryside, and at home. The range of individuals shown is extensive, covering nineteenth-century working class men, fashionably dressed businessmen, university students, and soldiers and sailors of all ages-spanning the time between the Civil War and World War War II, and into the 1950s.
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