Read This If You Want to Take Great Photographs

As both a parent and published pro photographer, I secretly harbor a desire that my kids will one day grow to love photography as much as I do (I may be holding my breath for a long time on this one).

Sure, I’ve taken them on photo-specific excursions hoping to light a fire – and have attempted on numerous occasions to pass on my knowledge and insights. But I might as well be speaking to a brick wall. If you have kids, you probably know what I’m talking about. Try and explain the basic foundation of exposure (the triad of shutter, aperture and ISO) to them for example, and they’ll think you’re speaking Mandarin.

All joking aside, kids always think that they’re experts in every subject – and the last people they want advice from are their parents, regardless of our level of expertise. Often, the best learning comes from outside sources – and many kids are turning to friends, social media (like Instagram or YouTube) to gain much-needed knowledge. That’s not to say that today’s kids can’t learn something from a book that doesn’t have to do with school – as many do enjoy reading.

You could try getting them to read a tried and true photography book like Bryan Peterson’s, “Understanding Exposure” – but truth be told, teenagers really don’t have the patience. It’s a great book for people starting out, but it’s way too technical for today’s kids with short attention spans. Today’s youth are more likely to pick up a copy of “Hunger Games” than any book on photography.

So yesterday I was with my 14-year-old daughter in one of those ultra-hip clothing stores, and saw an intriguing book on the shelf. Like any good father who is utterly obsessed about photography, I purchased it.

It took me about an hour or so to read it from front to back, but I was pretty impressed with the content and format. I’m one of those people that believe that learning never stops – and even well-read individuals can be reminded about the fundamentals every now and then.

I loved the fact that the author comes right out and tells you that the book is not about technical – it has no graphs, no techie diagrams and no camera club jargon. Instead, it’s packed with easy-to-comprehend tips and insights – along with some pretty iconic images (from photographers like Bresson and Salgado) to demonstrate the author’s various points. It is also written in a playful manner and laid out in a minimalistic polished fashion, with almost an Apple aesthetic to it.

The book is split into five short sections, covering composition, exposure, light, lenses and seeing. Concepts like leading lines and rule of thirds are covered, as are often misunderstood topics like depth of field or light quality. But they are explained in a surprisingly simple manner that anyone can understand.

Sure, the book only skims the surface – and maybe the author could have elaborated a bit more on why some of the featured iconic images really work. But he gets his point across in a way that any teenager can understand and appreciate (without being boring). It wasn’t meant to be an in-depth exploration of photography, just a primer that will hopefully plant the seed for future learning. And undoubtedly, your kids will become better photographers from having read this book.

Today’s youth may not be equipped with expensive DSLRs or serious mirrorless cameras (as often their weapon of choice is the iPhone, Android or Polaroid /Fuji Instax Mini), but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have some interest in photography (even if they're taking pictures of their last restaurant meal or their new fingernail polish color, lol).

If you’re looking for a good book that will appeal to your kids yet is chock full of sound photographic advice, this is an excellent choice.

Frankly, this is a fantastic choice for anyone getting started in photography regardless of age, as it really covers the basics in an easy to absorb and fun fashion. I'm always amused by people who downgrade photography book reviews simply because the book doesn't cover every conceivable topic known to man, or it doesn't go deep enough. This book was not meant to accomplish those goals. If you want a boring technical manual - look elsewhere.

It will never replace a book like “Understanding Exposure” – but sometimes you’ve got to take baby steps. Highly recommended!

If you're going to get into photography this book isn't bad for a beginning. I was disappointed though that with all the great photographic examples that none of the photographs had any information on how they where shot, what shutter speed, aperture etc. I think that information would have elevated this book to something that the next level photographers would have been able to get something out of it too. I would highly recommend that if you're going to purchase this book then also purchase Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peters, these two together will definitely light a fire for the photography bug in you.

Photographically, I'd describe myself as a barely advanced beginner. I've got a lower end DSLR and I've learned as much as I can about it, but I just haven't had the time to use the camera enough to get over the initial learning curve that comes with experience. I ordered this book in hopes that it would give me a kick start on some of the important topics and cut down the time I'd need to spend on the curve towards taking great photos. For the most part, it's done just that.

Some specific thoughts:

- The jargon/vocab level seems right on point towards the target audience (assuming I'm pretty representative of the target audience). Nothing too technical at all, but at the same time not so simple that it takes too long to go through any one topic.

- The organization is great. You could easily read this all the way through and enjoy, but any of the topics are accessible by themselves.

- Content coverage: the sections on lenses, exposure, and especially composition are exceptional in my opinion. Short enough to get through in a snap, but just enough info to cover what you need to know. The composition section has a ton of great pointers that would take a lot of time and mistakes to learn on your own, but they're presented here clearly and succinctly, with great examples. The section on light was good as well, but only briefly touched on use of the flash, something that I think needed a little more coverage for amateurs like me. The "Seeing" section at the end was a lot more esoteric, and seemed to be mostly take-it-or-leave-it inspirational tips for people looking to take more artistic shots. Which leads to my last point...

- If I have one complaint, it would be that though geared towards the amateur, it still seems to lean slightly towards people trying to take artistic shots. I'm not the type who's going to plan a trip to my local park or abandoned railroad track to take photos as art for a gallery. I just want to take pictures of my life as it comes, during trips, family events, that sort of thing, and I'd wager that most amateurs are more in that camp. At the most basic, the fundamentals are the same, which is why the composition and exposure sections are so incredibly useful. It would have been nice to get just a little more coverage of less artistic and more traditional amateur photography.

This is an incredibly useful book, with a lot of information packed in briefly and clearly. If you're looking to pursue photography as art, this is probably just about as perfect a resource as it can get. If you're looking to take pictures along a more traditional line, there may be some superfluous information, but overall, almost all of the information you could ask for is still in there, and it's very very good.

How can you take a photography book serious when it tells you to never use manual mode....Other than that it does have a few useful diagrams but theres nothing in it you can't look up for free online.

Im just getting started in photography, but right now its just a hobby, nothing too serious but I still love taking pictures. What I really like about this book is that it teaches you how to take certain types of pictures while showing you exactly what those words mean. I started reading today, Im not halfway done but I've already learned some cool stuff, plus the example pictures are really beautiful. For beginners like me this book is as good as it gets in my opinion. Its really simple and easy to understand.

Great starter book for anyone who wants to learn HOW to take greater photos. I am a professional industrial photographer and have also photographed sports for decades. I am always looking to improve my craft and this book gave me some great tips. Most of it, I already knew, but the language and presentations make it a great book to start off with. I love the simple language and easy to view diagrams. If you are just starting out, this is an ideal book for you. Even with years under my belt, there were some new things in this book. Best of all, you can make a few notes and take away the essence of this book.

If you (like me) are trying to get into photography, and are confused by all the photographer mumbo jumbo you find on the internet about manual mode, aperture, etc., get this book. Henry Carrol explains the fundamentals of Photography in a very easy to understand way, gives you great examples, and uses explanatory diagrams to help you through it. A must buy for the amateur photographer.

I can’t say enough good things about this book. I wanted to learn how to take better pictures once my daughter was born, so I spent a lot of time on Pinterest reading blog articles about it. Then I found this book and realized I wasted a lot of time. Everything I needed to know was right inside.

If you have a DSLR, he explains how to use something other than your “auto” mode in simple, easy to understand language. You actually UNDERSTAND how a camera works.

The bulk of the book is about composition, or how tot ale a good picture in general: Lighting, poses, general rules (and how to break them effectively). Each concept is illustrated with pictures. While you might think this part isn’t important, it absolutely is. In fact, it’s the most important thing you’ll learn about photography. Yes, knowing how to use your camera is important, but your pictures will stink if you don’t know how composition works.

This book is a quick and useful guide for anyone picking up photography. It's a paperback, 128 pages, handbook size.

The five chapters inside covers the fundamentals of photography, namely subjects like composition, exposure, light, lenses and where to find ideas. They are written in a concise manner, one main subject with explanation accompanied by one photo as example. Very easy to understand.

There are lots of useful techniques explored. This should make it quite helpful for learners, to get them up to speed fast.

It's a simple book that does its job.

Hands down one of the BEST books a newbie to photography can read. I have looked up, googled, and read a few books on the basics but none of them broke the content down so easily as this book did.
GREAT book.... quick and easy.