Recommended Readings

alamo5000 · 06-13-2012, 06:34 PM

I just came from Barnes and Nobles and I forked out $60 for two books.

I went there after I have read a bunch of other books previously so I had somewhat of a basis of understanding (but no where near expert)...

Anyway I killed half a day reading and the two books I wound up with are "The Photographer's Mind" and "The Photographer's Eye"...both by Michael Freeman.

Of course I haven't read ALL of the books... just a chapter here or there to get a feel if its what I needed...

Its not a book that is just 'basic' as in 'what is ISO' and then you have 15 pages explaining that...

What it IS though is something that tells about techniques and composition and how to think about photography. I found both of the books very compelling.

Even if you have been shooting for a while it may be worth taking a gander at....

Right now I am at a point where (generally) I know what the functions on the camera do (minus a few spare things here or there)... now that I have a decent feel for the ISO/aperture/shutter speed combo I needed something else...

These books both ultimately talk about the characteristics of a 'good photograph'...its almost like reading a book on art work... which for me is a good thing. I am thinking that once I know the ultimate goal so to speak I can go back and experiment with composing things until I get what I am after...

It includes even if you have a photo and you are going to crop it... which way do you crop it to make it asthetically pleasing and so on and so forth...

Very compelling books.... Its not all about turning knobs and pushing buttons. Those photography for dummy's books (or things like them) will explain different kinds of cameras and such and maybe have a few pages on composition and so forth... the books mentioned above are about 200 pages each of 'looking at the end result and how to get there'...but it goes beyond simple ISO settings, aperture and looks at things more like an artist would...

If there are any other books that I might check into please list them down here.

Julie · 06-13-2012, 07:36 PM

I haven't heard of this Michael Freeman guy, but I'll be sure to take a look at these books next time I'm at the store as they sound interesting. Thanks for the suggestion.

I don't have one book in particular that I've really liked and gotten a lot of info from... I've picked up bits and pieces from various sources, but I have found that the best books are the oldest ones, though...

alamo5000 · 06-13-2012, 07:51 PM

In "The Photographer's Mind" pages 8-75 make up "Chapter 1: Intent"

He wrote 67 pages about your 'intent' when taking a picture....and how to keep it all together.

Pretty good stuff.

"...how you build a picture, what a picture consists of, how shapes are related to each other, how spaces are filled, how the whole thing must have a kind of unity."-Paul Strand

Introduction page "The Photographer's Eye"

More good stuff.

**savoche** · 06-14-2012, 04:50 AM

Have only read "The Photographer's Eye", but it's a good read. It's all too easy to get hung up in the technical stuff rather than what's actually in the frame - shapes, space, balance, tension, direction... Recommended reading!

TylerD · 06-15-2012, 03:03 PM

Originally posted by alamo5000

,.. the two books I wound up with are "The Photographer's Mind" and "The Photographer's Eye"...both by Michael Freeman.

.

Hello alamo5000, after I read this I went on to Amazon UK to see what was available for the Kindle.Unfortunately neither of the two you recommended are out on Kindle yet but the print versions are discounted just now at £12.59 each including free delivery if anyone's interested. Another one by Michael Freeman, " Perfect Exposure: The Professional Guide to Capturing Perfect Digital Photographs" was available for the Kindle . The user reviews were very good so I 've gone ahead and bought it. Thanks for the heads up

alamo5000 · 06-15-2012, 03:57 PM

Originally posted by TylerD

Hello alamo5000, after I read this I went on to Amazon UK to see what was available for the Kindle.Unfortunately neither of the two you recommended are out on Kindle yet but the print versions are discounted just now at £12.59 each including free delivery if anyone's interested. Another one by Michael Freeman, " Perfect Exposure: The Professional Guide to Capturing Perfect Digital Photographs" was available for the Kindle . The user reviews were very good so I 've gone ahead and bought it. Thanks for the heads up

You're welcome!

I will read these two that I have first and then possibly look for the other later on. If I am not mistaken I looked through that one as well but opted for the two I have. In order of preference 1) Photographer's mind 2) Photographer's Eye...the one you got might be great but the two I have are really great.

I am having serious information overload to be honest but these books are right down the runway for what I wanted (and needed).

I forked out the dough to buy the camera and I am not one to ever slouch at things that I take up... Now I am taking up photography.

Hence, I will probably spend another $200 on even more books later on up the road. This is the second round of books I bought. 1st round I read up to learn the basic stuff. I read off and on for about a year before I ever bought a camera at all. Now that I have the camera I want all prime auto focus lenses of every stripe known to man.

This of course accompanies my manual focus lenses that I have already

My problem is where I live I have a hard time finding good subject matter to shoot. Here I don't find much that is inspiring but the books are helping even with that now that I am thinking about it. Where I live is honestly relatively boring...that is unless you want to shoot some action shots from BINGO night at the local old folks home...

In the end though NOTHING replaces skill. No skill, no luck. $25,000 worth of gear can't fix somebody with no knowledge.

selar · 06-15-2012, 04:00 PM

Originally posted by TylerD

Another one by Michael Freeman, " Perfect Exposure: The Professional Guide to Capturing Perfect Digital Photographs" was available for the Kindle .

Have been reading this for the past month. Excellent book. Quite a lot to take in, in one reading.

alamo5000 · 06-15-2012, 04:28 PM

Sekar---you should see the other two. LOL!

The thing I like about the books thus far is that the writer is very intelligent and gives exact examples. He can and does convey what he means clearly.

To bad the author isn't here because he would get a big head from all this praise. LOL!!

selar · 06-15-2012, 05:15 PM

The other two are available on Kindle.in Amazon US

slackercruster · 06-15-2012, 05:18 PM

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/photographic-technique/181819-reviews-pho...ooks-dvds.html

...get em from the library!

vonBaloney · 06-15-2012, 05:25 PM

Michael Freeman is excellent. All of his stuff is worth reading.

reeftool · 06-16-2012, 06:07 AM

One of the most enjoyable photography books I have read in recent years was Joe McNally's "The Hot Shoe Diarys". He's a well known pro and has written an excellent book on how he sets up lighting for his magazine shoots. He's a Nikon guy and uses Nikon Speedlights but his techniques will translate to any brand.

vonBaloney · 06-16-2012, 08:05 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by reeftool

One of the most enjoyable photography books I have read in recent years was Joe McNally's "The Hot Shoe Diarys". He's a well known pro and has written an excellent book on how he sets up lighting for his magazine shoots. He's a Nikon guy and uses Nikon Speedlights but his techniques will translate to any brand.

I tried to read that one cause I am interested in getting into off-camera flash set-ups, but I found it all too cute. Seemed like he was trying to make a snarky joke in every paragraph -- wore me out quickly. I'm sure there is good information in there, but I found his prose annoying.

I recommend anybody wanting to read lots of photography material to head to their local library -- photography books are expensive and they aren't all great. I've read the Michael Freeman books, and the Freeman Patterson books, and the David DuChemin books, etc without spending a dime. The really good ones I will buy for myself later if I want to revisit them.

alamo5000 · 06-16-2012, 08:23 AM

I would go to the local library BUT...

1. Our local library sucks. I think they stopped recieving books around 1984.

2. I am gone as in travel for work a lot. As in I spent a full week at home once in 9 months. And before that it was another 9 months. The rest of the time I live in hotels. I do have Saturdays and Sundays off sometimes though.

That would be a MAJOR luxury for me to be able to go a decent library for a while and just read.

(on a side note one of my most memorable jobs ever was working my way through college in the campus library--I went to college in Hawaii so it had a whole different vibe going on. And lots and lots of eye candy. And my boss was SUPER cool. Took me surfing 3rd day on the job. Or rather we took him. And did I say there was a lot of eye candy in the library? They were just research papers waiting to happen, and being a reference librarian I HAD to do my sworn duty and offer my services)

I seriously almost went to get an MLS. (Master's of Library Science).

vonBaloney · 06-16-2012, 08:31 AM

Originally posted by alamo5000

I would go to the local library BUT...

1. Our local library sucks. I think they stopped recieving books around 1984.

2. I am gone as in travel for work a lot. As in I spent a full week at home once in 9 months. And before that it was another 9 months. The rest of the time I live in hotels. I do have Saturdays and Sundays off sometimes though.

That would be a MAJOR luxury for me to be able to go a decent library for a while and just read.

(on a side note one of my most memorable jobs ever was working my way through college in the campus library--I went to college in Hawaii so it had a whole different vibe going on. And lots and lots of eye candy. And my boss was SUPER cool. Took me surfing 3rd day on the job. Or rather we took him. And did I say there was a lot of eye candy in the library? )

I seriously almost went to get an MLS. (Master's of Library Science).

Don't know where you are, but even libraries that suck these days are usually hooked up with other bigger libraries in their state or area, or even with all libraries across the nation. I can request pretty much any book out there and I'll get it eventually, whether my library has it or not. Also, there are e-books, even photography books (probably not many, but I've seen some), so you can load them up on your laptop/tablet or kindle (maybe) and you don't even have to physically go to the library to borrow or return them. If I traveled a lot I'd definitely have a good tablet and probably a separate Kindle (easier on the eyes).

06-13-2012, 06:34 PM	#1
alamo5000 Pentaxian Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 2,962	Recommended Readings I just came from Barnes and Nobles and I forked out $60 for two books. I went there after I have read a bunch of other books previously so I had somewhat of a basis of understanding (but no where near expert)... Anyway I killed half a day reading and the two books I wound up with are "The Photographer's Mind" and "The Photographer's Eye"...both by Michael Freeman. Of course I haven't read ALL of the books... just a chapter here or there to get a feel if its what I needed... Its not a book that is just 'basic' as in 'what is ISO' and then you have 15 pages explaining that... What it IS though is something that tells about techniques and composition and how to think about photography. I found both of the books very compelling. Even if you have been shooting for a while it may be worth taking a gander at.... Right now I am at a point where (generally) I know what the functions on the camera do (minus a few spare things here or there)... now that I have a decent feel for the ISO/aperture/shutter speed combo I needed something else... These books both ultimately talk about the characteristics of a 'good photograph'...its almost like reading a book on art work... which for me is a good thing. I am thinking that once I know the ultimate goal so to speak I can go back and experiment with composing things until I get what I am after... It includes even if you have a photo and you are going to crop it... which way do you crop it to make it asthetically pleasing and so on and so forth... Very compelling books.... Its not all about turning knobs and pushing buttons. Those photography for dummy's books (or things like them) will explain different kinds of cameras and such and maybe have a few pages on composition and so forth... the books mentioned above are about 200 pages each of 'looking at the end result and how to get there'...but it goes beyond simple ISO settings, aperture and looks at things more like an artist would... If there are any other books that I might check into please list them down here.

06-13-2012, 07:51 PM	#3
alamo5000 Pentaxian Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 2,962 Original Poster	In "The Photographer's Mind" pages 8-75 make up "Chapter 1: Intent" He wrote 67 pages about your 'intent' when taking a picture....and how to keep it all together. Pretty good stuff. "...how you build a picture, what a picture consists of, how shapes are related to each other, how spaces are filled, how the whole thing must have a kind of unity."-Paul Strand Introduction page "The Photographer's Eye" More good stuff. Last edited by alamo5000; 06-13-2012 at 07:59 PM.

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06-13-2012, 07:36 PM	#2
Julie Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Illinois Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,069	I haven't heard of this Michael Freeman guy, but I'll be sure to take a look at these books next time I'm at the store as they sound interesting. Thanks for the suggestion. I don't have one book in particular that I've really liked and gotten a lot of info from... I've picked up bits and pieces from various sources, but I have found that the best books are the oldest ones, though...

06-14-2012, 04:50 AM	#4
savoche Master of the obvious Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Lowlands of Norway Posts: 18,311	Have only read "The Photographer's Eye", but it's a good read. It's all too easy to get hung up in the technical stuff rather than what's actually in the frame - shapes, space, balance, tension, direction... Recommended reading!

06-15-2012, 03:03 PM	#5
TylerD Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Scottish West Coast Photos: Gallery Posts: 53	Originally posted by alamo5000 ,.. the two books I wound up with are "The Photographer's Mind" and "The Photographer's Eye"...both by Michael Freeman. . Hello alamo5000, after I read this I went on to Amazon UK to see what was available for the Kindle.Unfortunately neither of the two you recommended are out on Kindle yet but the print versions are discounted just now at £12.59 each including free delivery if anyone's interested. Another one by Michael Freeman, " Perfect Exposure: The Professional Guide to Capturing Perfect Digital Photographs" was available for the Kindle . The user reviews were very good so I 've gone ahead and bought it. Thanks for the heads up

06-15-2012, 03:57 PM	#6
alamo5000 Pentaxian Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 2,962 Original Poster	Originally posted by TylerD Hello alamo5000, after I read this I went on to Amazon UK to see what was available for the Kindle.Unfortunately neither of the two you recommended are out on Kindle yet but the print versions are discounted just now at £12.59 each including free delivery if anyone's interested. Another one by Michael Freeman, " Perfect Exposure: The Professional Guide to Capturing Perfect Digital Photographs" was available for the Kindle . The user reviews were very good so I 've gone ahead and bought it. Thanks for the heads up You're welcome! I will read these two that I have first and then possibly look for the other later on. If I am not mistaken I looked through that one as well but opted for the two I have. In order of preference 1) Photographer's mind 2) Photographer's Eye...the one you got might be great but the two I have are really great. I am having serious information overload to be honest but these books are right down the runway for what I wanted (and needed). I forked out the dough to buy the camera and I am not one to ever slouch at things that I take up... Now I am taking up photography. Hence, I will probably spend another $200 on even more books later on up the road. This is the second round of books I bought. 1st round I read up to learn the basic stuff. I read off and on for about a year before I ever bought a camera at all. Now that I have the camera I want all prime auto focus lenses of every stripe known to man. This of course accompanies my manual focus lenses that I have already My problem is where I live I have a hard time finding good subject matter to shoot. Here I don't find much that is inspiring but the books are helping even with that now that I am thinking about it. Where I live is honestly relatively boring...that is unless you want to shoot some action shots from BINGO night at the local old folks home... In the end though NOTHING replaces skill. No skill, no luck. $25,000 worth of gear can't fix somebody with no knowledge.

06-15-2012, 04:00 PM	#7
selar Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Sydney, Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,042	Originally posted by TylerD Another one by Michael Freeman, " Perfect Exposure: The Professional Guide to Capturing Perfect Digital Photographs" was available for the Kindle . Have been reading this for the past month. Excellent book. Quite a lot to take in, in one reading.

06-15-2012, 04:28 PM	#8
alamo5000 Pentaxian Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 2,962 Original Poster	Sekar---you should see the other two. LOL! The thing I like about the books thus far is that the writer is very intelligent and gives exact examples. He can and does convey what he means clearly. To bad the author isn't here because he would get a big head from all this praise. LOL!!

06-15-2012, 05:15 PM	#9
selar Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Sydney, Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,042	The other two are available on Kindle.in Amazon US

06-15-2012, 05:18 PM	#10
slackercruster Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: NE, USA Posts: 1,302	https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/photographic-technique/181819-reviews-pho...ooks-dvds.html ...get em from the library!

06-15-2012, 05:25 PM	#11
vonBaloney Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 6,029	Michael Freeman is excellent. All of his stuff is worth reading.

06-16-2012, 06:07 AM	#12
reeftool Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Upstate New York Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,553	One of the most enjoyable photography books I have read in recent years was Joe McNally's "The Hot Shoe Diarys". He's a well known pro and has written an excellent book on how he sets up lighting for his magazine shoots. He's a Nikon guy and uses Nikon Speedlights but his techniques will translate to any brand.

06-16-2012, 08:05 AM - 1 Like	#13
vonBaloney Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 6,029	Originally posted by reeftool One of the most enjoyable photography books I have read in recent years was Joe McNally's "The Hot Shoe Diarys". He's a well known pro and has written an excellent book on how he sets up lighting for his magazine shoots. He's a Nikon guy and uses Nikon Speedlights but his techniques will translate to any brand. I tried to read that one cause I am interested in getting into off-camera flash set-ups, but I found it all too cute. Seemed like he was trying to make a snarky joke in every paragraph -- wore me out quickly. I'm sure there is good information in there, but I found his prose annoying. I recommend anybody wanting to read lots of photography material to head to their local library -- photography books are expensive and they aren't all great. I've read the Michael Freeman books, and the Freeman Patterson books, and the David DuChemin books, etc without spending a dime. The really good ones I will buy for myself later if I want to revisit them.

06-16-2012, 08:23 AM	#14
alamo5000 Pentaxian Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 2,962 Original Poster	I would go to the local library BUT... 1. Our local library sucks. I think they stopped recieving books around 1984. 2. I am gone as in travel for work a lot. As in I spent a full week at home once in 9 months. And before that it was another 9 months. The rest of the time I live in hotels. I do have Saturdays and Sundays off sometimes though. That would be a MAJOR luxury for me to be able to go a decent library for a while and just read. (on a side note one of my most memorable jobs ever was working my way through college in the campus library--I went to college in Hawaii so it had a whole different vibe going on. And lots and lots of eye candy. And my boss was SUPER cool. Took me surfing 3rd day on the job. Or rather we took him. And did I say there was a lot of eye candy in the library? They were just research papers waiting to happen, and being a reference librarian I HAD to do my sworn duty and offer my services) I seriously almost went to get an MLS. (Master's of Library Science).

06-16-2012, 08:31 AM	#15
vonBaloney Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 6,029	Originally posted by alamo5000 I would go to the local library BUT... 1. Our local library sucks. I think they stopped recieving books around 1984. 2. I am gone as in travel for work a lot. As in I spent a full week at home once in 9 months. And before that it was another 9 months. The rest of the time I live in hotels. I do have Saturdays and Sundays off sometimes though. That would be a MAJOR luxury for me to be able to go a decent library for a while and just read. (on a side note one of my most memorable jobs ever was working my way through college in the campus library--I went to college in Hawaii so it had a whole different vibe going on. And lots and lots of eye candy. And my boss was SUPER cool. Took me surfing 3rd day on the job. Or rather we took him. And did I say there was a lot of eye candy in the library? ) I seriously almost went to get an MLS. (Master's of Library Science). Don't know where you are, but even libraries that suck these days are usually hooked up with other bigger libraries in their state or area, or even with all libraries across the nation. I can request pretty much any book out there and I'll get it eventually, whether my library has it or not. Also, there are e-books, even photography books (probably not many, but I've seen some), so you can load them up on your laptop/tablet or kindle (maybe) and you don't even have to physically go to the library to borrow or return them. If I traveled a lot I'd definitely have a good tablet and probably a separate Kindle (easier on the eyes).