The Master Guide To Photography

Outlining a theory that combines the refinement of traditional posing techniques with the more organic, spontaneous techniques of photojournalism, this creative and informative resource offers poses that rely on personality and interaction. These instructions from a veteran wedding photographer provide the skills needed to recognize what makes a great pose and how to subtly direct your clients to achieve the needed balance between looking great and looking comfortable. Ultimately, this grouping of modern and traditional shots offers answers to the complications faced when attempting to pose wedding parties quickly while keeping the natural look that all wedding couples desire.

From shooting basics to image editing, this textbook is an all encompassing reference that can be used by students in any level of photography class as well as those studying to complete the Certified Professional Photographer program. Beginning with an overview of camera choices and basic camera functions, this guide outlines the fundamentals of lighting equipment, light theory, composition, and digital imaging while providing a comprehensive roadmap for efficiently taking images from conception to client presentation. Tips for overcoming obstacles are offered from the hard-won advice of photographers who have successfully passed the Professional Photographer Certification Program tests.

Suddenly, anyone with a cell phone is a photographer. This book takes the basics of digital photography and makes them the tools for creative, interesting, and artistic picture-taking. Illuminating the most popular of 4-H projects, Daniel Johnson instructs beginners in the basics of composition, lighting, and the use of flashes--among other fundamentals of capturing a picture that’s more than just “flash.” With step-by-step, illustrated directions, along with spectacular examples, this book is the perfect starting point for 4-H’rs taking up digital photography--and for anyone who wants to learn how to take superior digital pictures.

Photographers are guided through every aspect of posing—beginning with the consultation and continuing with specific tips for posing children, high school seniors, wedding parties, families, events, teams, groups, and pets—in this comprehensive manual. Maintaining that good posing is 80 percent mental and only 20 percent technical, this guide stresses the importance of communication between photographer and subject to creating a portrait that not only captures the subject’s personality but also makes the subject comfortable, fostering repeat business.

Everything you need to know in one take-anywhere field guide! This all-in-one guide from renowned photographer, instructor, and author Bryan Peterson will help you take better photos anytime, anywhere–with any camera. Want to finally understand exposure? Interested in learning to "see" and composing your images more creatively? Ready to master the magic of light? It’s all here, the techniques every amateur photographer needs to take better nature, landscape, people, and close-up photos. You’ll even get creative techniques, like making "rain" and capturing "ghosts," and practical advice on gear, equipment, and postprocessing software. Filled with Bryan’s inspirational photographs, this is the one essential guide for every camera bag.

Master composition and design to take your photos from okay to wow You already own the most important photography tool—your creative eye. With this book, you’ll learn how classic design and composition principles can be applied to a wide range of photographic situations to create images with impact. Jim Miotke and Kerry Drager, both veteran photographers and experienced instructors, share time-tested design guidelines, composition techniques, even tips on when to break the rules, that will transform the way you make photographs.

Langford's Advanced Photography is the only advanced photography guide a serious student or aspiring professional will ever need. In this eighth edition, Efthimia Bilissi continues in the footsteps of Michael Langford by combining an unrivalled level of technical detail with a straightforward writing style while simultaneously bringing the text firmly in to the digital era. This book covers the entire photographic process from a technical standpoint - not only detailing the 'how' but also explaining the 'why' that is so often missing from photography texts. From the workings of cameras, lenses, digital imaging sensors and software to new hot topics such as HDR imaging, digital asset management, and even running your own photography business, everything a serious photographer could need to extend their art into professional realms is covered. The book also benefits from a full glossary, charts and inspirational full color images throughout, with summaries and projects at the end of each chapter to reinforce the theory.

Photography has been the business and the passion of LIFE since the original weekly magazine's inception in 1936, and it continues to be the business and passion of LIFE Books and LIFE.com in the new millennium. But photography has surely changed during these many decades. The rigs and gear of old have given way-first slowly, then all at once-to sleek miracle machines that process pixels and have made the darkroom obsolete. The casual photog puts eye to lens, sets everything on auto and captures a photograph that is . . . perfectly fine. One of LIFE's master shooters-in fact, the final in the long line of distinguished LIFE staff photographers-was Joe McNally, and he has always believed that with a little preparation and care, with a dash of enthusiasm and daring added to the equation, anyone can make a better photo-anyone can turn a "keeper" into a treasure. This was true in days of yore, and it's true in the digital age. Your marvelous new camera, fresh from its box, can indeed perform splendid feats. Joe explains in this book how to take best advantage of what it was designed to do, and also when it is wise to outthink your camera or push your camera-to go for the gold, to create that indelible family memory that you will have blown up as large as the technology will allow, and that will hang on the wall forevermore. As the storied LIFE photographer and photo editor John Loengard points out in his eloquent foreword to this volume, there are cameras and there are cameras, and they've always been able to do tricks. And then there is photography. Other guides may give you the one, two, three of producing a reasonably well exposed shot, but Joe McNally and the editors of LIFE can give you that, and then can show you how to make a picture. In a detailed, friendly, conversational, anecdotal, sometimes rollicking way, that's what they do in these pages. Prepare to click.

Creating mouth-watering food images requires more than just a love of food and access to a kitchen. With the popularity of food blogs and photography how-tos, it’s tempting to think that anyone can photograph food, but it’s another thing entirely to shoot for a tight ad layout with the pressure of your client watching over your shoulder. Commercial food photographer Teri Campbell has been called a “lighting master,” and in this beautifully illustrated book, he not only shares his detailed lighting set-ups and shooting techniques for a wide range of food and drink shots, but also offers candid advice on how to set up a studio, use the right equipment, market your work, find clients, bid on assignments, hire food and prop stylists, and communicate effectively with everyone on the set. Campbell shares his expertise on dozens of commercial assignments–from shooting beignets on location in New Orleans, to creating perfect ice tea pours, to photographing beans on real flames in his studio. Learn how he creates dynamic compositions, uses studio strobes, and arranges light diffusers, reflectors, fill cards, and mirrors, to create the perfect capture. Campbell also discusses his post-processing techniques in Adobe Camera Raw and Adobe Photoshop to create images that are irresistible. This guide for intermediate and advanced users provides the insider details to help you expand your photography skills or turn your passion for food and images into a professional career.