Choosing A Digital Photography Book
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There are hundreds if not thousands of digital photography books to choose from.
All of them claim to be good. Naturally. They wouldn’t tell you they were rubbish, would they.
So what’s the best way to decide which digital photography book to buy?
Personally, I don’t buy books on taking digital photos. I prefer to buy an occasional magazine, usually when I’m in the market for a new camera, but otherwise I’ll tend to dive straight in and experiment with my camera.
But that’s me.
If I wanted to choose a new book on taking digital photographs, my first port of call would be Amazon. They seem to sort everything by popularity, so that gives me a good start.
Next up, it’s time to read the reviews posted by other users. These are the “guts” behind the at-a-glance star ratings. I’m personally not bothered by the occasional negative review as I take the view that if you’re a writer, you won’t please everyone all of the time.
If I was just starting on the digital photography hobby, I’d head straight for the “Dummies” book unless it got really bad reviews. I hate the term dummies but their style is crisp and clear.
Then it’s time to experiment with the book in one hand and camera in the other. Not quite literally, but pretty close. There’s no point in reading up just on theory. My brother did that years ago and knew exactly how to set his camera up in theory. But in practice, he was clueless. Now there’s almost no cost involved in taking a photo unless you print it out, what’s the point of just knowing the theory?
Once you get past the beginners books, it’s then a case of looking for a book on the exact subject that interests you. Fortunately, our digital photography hobby is so big that there’s almost certain to be a book that covers your chosen topic in depth. Whether it’s sports photography, taking better landscape photos or whatever.
One other thing, don’t be afraid to use Amazon’s “search inside” option where it’s offered. It’s the next best thing to standing in a bookstore and flicking through a book to see whether or not you’re going to get on with its style
