Product Description

Digital photography has penetrated the household market with the increasing popularity of digital imaging on PCs and the growing affordability to low-to-intermediate-resolution digital cameras. The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Digital Photography, Third Edition is an updated reference for budding amateurs and digital-bound professionals alike. The guide will start off presenting suitable digital cameras for beginners; understanding the correct techniques in taking a well-composed shot; plus explaining how a digital camera-- coupled with a PC--can load, manipulate and print images. Updated camera models and hot, new accessories will also be mentioned. More information will be provided about choosing the right platform for handling your digital images (Mac, Windows, PDA or other) along with detailed coverage of USB connections and FireWire. Most importantly, this third edition will use Photoshop Elements to highlight the fun and creativity behind editing digital images. A new eight-page color insert will be included.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #172695 in Books
• Published on: 2002-12-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 360 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
The subjects of photography and computers have tremendous breadth and depth. Understanding either one can be a challenge, especially if you're a beginner. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Digital Photography does an excellent job of breaking the ice as it introduces you to photography, computers and digital cameras.

The book really does start at the beginning, with a short history of the camera and photography, plus the basics of composition, but it progresses quickly toward an overview of today's digital tools. Rather than bogging you down in myriad details and camera models, computer software and hardware, and other minutiae, you get an overview of the available technologies, describing which system or format is best for different kinds of tasks. This is a good thing--hardware and software evolve rapidly, and some of the details mentioned in the book as "up and coming" are now standard. (See the sections on camera resolution for an example.)

After a look at how the gear works, we dive into a lesson on photography basics: composition, lighting, shutter speeds, lens focal lengths and the details specific to digital photography--image resolution, monitor and printer calibration, and compression. The companion CD-ROM includes a demo version of Adobe PhotoDeluxe, and chapter 13, "Improving Your Images" goes into detail on using this image editing application to improve the pictures you've already shot.

What good would something like instant digital photography be if you can't instantly share your work on the Web? Chapter 22 addresses this specific issue, covering the basics of building a Web site (nothing fancy) and how to compress and upload your favourite pictures for everyone to see.

No particular platform is favoured in this book, and the contents of the CD-ROM are compatible with both Macs and PCs. Overall, this book succeeds at teaching the principles and basics of how digital photography works, and how to set up for it. Practical, useful, and enlightening--this is a good first step on a complex road. --Mike Caputo, Amazon.com

About the Author

Steven Greenberg has been a professional photographer for over 17 years. He is a 1979 graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. In 1991, Steve started using electronic imaging to enhance his design capabilities. Since then, he has recieved additional training at the Kodak Center for Creative Imaging and the New York School of Visual Arts. Steve still produces award-winning photo-illustrations for advertising, design, and editing projects.