Creative Nature & Outdoor Photography 

Creative Nature & Outdoor Photography has always been my favorite single book for most people who want to learn how to take better pictures. It is profusely illustrated and is a much more casual read than The Art of Photography. If you're willing to spend hundreds of dollars on a new camera or lens, you owe it to yourself to get a copy of each of these books.


What makes both editions of this Brenda Tharpe book stand out so far from every other book about how to take pictures is that they are the only books I've read that cover everything you need to know, like seeing light, shadow, balance, composition, color, interpretation, texture, and everything that matters in just one book, and wastes no space on the things that only get in the way.

The first edition covered the same things, but covered them from a film perspective. I suggest the first edition for those of you upgrading to film since it explains subtleties like when to use an 81C versus 81B filter and film types. The new edition is all you need for shooting digital.

Art of Photography

Bruce Barnbaum goes further and deeper into explaining the intangibles that make a great photograph than anyone else ever has.

If you want to learn how to create powerful photographs instead of just snapping away and hoping something turns out later in your computer, this is the one book that you must read.

I try to explain what makes a great photograph on this website, while Bruce Barnbaum goes far deeper and into far more levels on the critical topics that define a magnificent photograph.

The Art of Photography does more to explain composition and seeing than all of the other books I've tried to suggest below, combined.

This book is for people with visual imagination. If you're a scientist or engineer looking for some fast 1-dimensional formulae that will let you pop out great photos without having to stop and think long and hard about your subject and your message, you won't understand this book. This isn't a book about rules and exposure. It's a brilliant book that finally explains everything that goes into making a serious photograph — and why rules are "...mindless things that raise you quickly to a level of acceptable mediocrity, then prevent you from progressing further."

If you are willing to expend the mental effort required to create great photographs, this is the book that explains what matters and about what you need to be thinking to create extraordinary images.

I've been shooting and learning for many decades. This is the first book which lays it all out clearly and completely. If at first you don't understand this book, keep reading it until you do, because The Art of Photography is the book that says what needs to be understood in order to create meaningful, deliberate, interesting photographs.

I'm astounded at how Bruce Barnbaum is able to write about all photographic and artistic styles in this book, not just his own. I find this book helpful to everyone, not just people interested in Bruce Barnbaum's particular style, which is fine photography. He later gets into even more technical detail about his own techniques, however it's his first hundred pages about enthusiasm, communication, composition, visualization, light and color that alone make this large duotone masterpiece a bargain, even at three times the price.

The Art of Photography is a very serious book for people deeply interested in creating exciting photographs. It's not the best book for your coffee table or for people only casually interested in pretty pictures. It is the best book for people willing to invest the time and effort demanded to create brilliant photographs.

American Photography: A Century of Images

On V.J. Day in Times Square,a sailor kissing a pretty girl he's never met before is caught in the act. Newly arrived European immigrants at Ellis Island gaze at the camera with a mix of apprehension and hope. A groundbreaking still life artfully eroticizes the curves and shadows of a twisted bell pepper. These are a few of the more than 150 photographs collected in American Photography that document a century of our national experience. Whether viewed as a purely artistic medium, a tool for influencing public opinion, or a recorder of events both public and personal, photography has been a powerful and intimate vehicle for communicating our values and our dreams. Focusing on one or more images for each year, this companion book to the PBS series considers some of the century's best-known photographs as well as everyday snapshots, examining the diverse roles photography has played in shaping our lives. From the one-dollar Brownie snapshot of a baby in 1900 to the awesome potential of computer-enhanced images at the brink of the millennium, American Photography covers a range of styles, formats, and subjects as diverse as the nation they sprang from. Richly detailed, authoritative, and abundantly illustrated, American Photog...

Susan Sontag

Susan Sontag's On Photography has been considered a classic for over twenty-five years. Inspiring and thought-provoking, this set of six essays, the most famous being "In Plato's Cave," make up a deep exploration of how the image has affected society. Enjoyed by word- as well as photo-enthusiasts, On Photography is a great book

Photography

A picture tells a thousand stories, but the one it doesn't tell is how the shot was made. Barbara London and John Upton's Photography is an all-inclusive look at the craft of photography. This book will help any amateur move up a few notches, and it serves as a refresher course for professionals as well. The sixth edition of this classic work (the first was published in 1976) includes a companion Web site with interactive activities, Web resources, and a learning archive. Amply illustrated with at least one photograph or diagram on almost every page, Photography is the one reference work every student of photography must have--even those who will never set foot in a classroom. --Brenda Pittsley

Book Description
This best-selling, comprehensive guide to photography—featuring superb instructional illustrations—is the most cutting-edge photography book on the market. It offers extensive coverage of digital imaging—with the latest technological developments, such as Web page design and formatting photos on CD-ROMs. Chapter topics explore the process of getting started, camera, lens, film and light, exposure, processing the negative, mounting and finishing, color, digital camera, digital darkroom, lighting, special techniques, view camera, zone system, seeing photographs, and the history of photography. Step-by-step instructions include a “Lights Out” feature to help learners better identify darkroom techniques. For anyone with a personal or professional interest in photography. --This text refers to the Paperback edition. 

Basic book of photography

Looking for a great introductory book on photography? Look no further. Although the books lacks the gloss and color photographs found in some other books, this book is probably much more useful for the cost. Comprehensive and detailed, the book covers every major topic in photography from choosing equipment to techniques in creative photography.
Both an ideal beginners and a reference for serious amateurs, this book is designed to be read before and after a photography session rather than something to be carried in the camera bag.

It should be noted that this book makes an excellent companion to The New 35mm Photographer's Handbook by Julian Calder and John Garrett (ISBN 0609804227). After reading the Grimm's book, the Handbook makes a great carry-along reference for in the field. 

Taking Memorable Photos of Children

By Nancy Hill

Children are a favorite subject for many photographers. Advertisers know a photo of an adorable child will grab people’s attention. Fundraisers know an image of a sick, wounded, or sad child will bring in donations. And parents cannot imagine a better subject than their child. Parents take cameras to sporting events, school functions, and parties. It seems like every moment of a child’s life is documented either in a still photograph or in a video. But how many photos of children are truly memorable?

Here are some tips on getting shots that draw total strangers into your photographs of children.

Take Time to Get to Know the Child
Most children let you into their world quickly. Before you start taking a picture, spend at least 10 minutes talking to the child. Ask questions about things that interest the child. Good openers include:

“Do you like bugs?”
“Would you rather be a giraffe or a butterfly?”
“What’s your favorite game?

Pay attention to how the child responds. Does he/she make eye contact? Capture that confidence when you take his/her picture. Does the child laugh at the questions or seriously contemplate them? Look for that sense of whimsy or pensive side when you take the picture. Does the child doodle when he/she responds? Then look for ways to show the child is creative. Does the child twist her hair while she’s thinking? Great. Include that in a photo.

If you’re taking photos of your own child, you already know your child’s personality traits, his/her habits, his/her facial expressions. Capture those instead of (or in addition to) a posed in-front-of-the-camera smile.

Observe, Observe, Observe
After you talk to the child, explain you’re going to get your camera ready and back away. The child will soon lose interest in you, giving you a chance to observe the child relating to the world. Inquisitive? Intent? Distracted? Capture that in your images.

If you’re taking photos of your own child, try observing your child as if you don’t know him/her at all. You’ll probably see some things you haven’t noticed before.

Be Unobtrusive 
Use a telephoto lens. The best photographs of children are those when a kid is acting like a kid. To capture that and all the emotions that go with it, you need to be an unobtrusive as possible. Use a telephoto lens so you can have some real distance between you and the child. This will help the child tune you out and do whatever he or she does best, whether it’s play, dream, run around, make up stories. Capture that.

Alternately, move in close to the child to capture a curve of the cheek, curls tumbling down a forehead, eyes deep in thought.

Show the Child’s Environment
Try to take your photographs in a place that means something to the child. A bedroom, playroom, playground, field – all of these say something about how the child relates to the world. Does the child run freely across the open field or sit quietly reading a book? Does the child see how high he or she can climb a tree or does he/she prefer to lean against it and pet his/her dog? Is the child’s room spotless, showing the child’s organizational bent, or is it a wild jumble of clothes and toys?

Look for the Extraordinary in the Ordinary
Take photos of the child doing everyday things like eating breakfast, elbows on the table, hair not yet combed; sleeping, curled up with a favorite animals or spread eagle, blankets off, bold even in sleep; doing homework, scowling over a difficult problem or with one eye on the TV. These say a whole lot about who the child is, which is way more moving than a posed photo with perfectly combed hair and a brand new outfit.

Try Shooting in Black and White
This really adds drama. Check it out. You can have black and white prints made from color negatives. You can also turn digital prints into black and white either in your camera (depending on which camera you use) or in a photo software program.

Above all, respect the child’s world. It is complex, compelling, and very, very deep.