(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best digital photography books

Since you don't say whether you want to learn how to operate a camera or the field of photography in general and what interests you in photography in particular this is quite a stab in the dark but here are a few suggestions of books I keep coming back to or hold important.

This assumes that you have a basic understanding on how to operate a camera. If you don't, read your camera manual or something like Adam's The Camera and .


Technical advice

• Light, Science and Magic - the best theoretical book there is about understanding how light behaves and how to work with it. Its exercises are quite focused on artificial light and if you are just getting into photography it won't be easy but at the end of it you will know how to work with light artificial or natural and get to your vision or have a better understanding of other people's work.
  
• Studio Anywhere - this is not the most technical book per se (far from it) and the images are not to my taste but what it lacks in pure knowledge it makes up for with motivating you to take images no matter how little you own. This was a fun (if a bit too quick) read and is a good book to jump into when Light, Science and Magic feels like you are a profoto pack and 3 Chimera modifiers short of what you are trying to do.
  
  Theory/Motivational advice
  
  
• The Ongoing Moment by Geoff Dyer - Great book about the history of American photography, its origin and how it flourished. This book is really easy to read and a very good way to start gaining some theoretical knowledge about the wide field of photography.
  
• Understanding a photograph by John Berger - Great collection of essays from one of the greatest art theorist and a fervent believer in photography as a medium pieced together by Geoff Dyer. Super engaging reads on a variety of topics and styles.
  
• Ways of Seeing by John Berger - An absolute must read in my opinion, not focused solely on photography but in the arts in general. The BBC series is also a great watch and its content is still as relevant today as it was when it came out.
  
• On Photography by Susan Sontag - A very important book, if not the most important when it comes to identifying the role of photography in our world. Personally found it quite hard to read but when it finally hit home it was with great impact.

First off, let me paste this... I keep this in a text file on my desktop for this question, when it pops up:

• Order Scott Kelby's Digital Photography Box Set. His books are incredible resources.
  
  
• If you're going to use Photoshop and/or Lightroom for your post-processing, also pick up Scott Kelby's Adobe Photoshop CS5 Book for Digital Photographers and Scott Kelby's Photoshop Lightroom 3 Book for Digital Photographers.
  
  
• Order Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. This, along with the Scott Kelby boxset, should be required reading for any aspiring photographer.
  
  You're on the right track, starting with the /r/photoclass subreddit. Now for your other questions...
  
  As far as what is and isn't relevant, given most of your work would be shown on the web, don't get all hard over megapixels. Get what you can afford, but don't let yourself be swayed into getting a camera with a huge MP count. The higher numbers of megapixels come into play when you're doing close cropping, or printing large prints.
  
  For example, take a look at this picture. I shot this several weeks ago with my Canon 40D, which has 10 megapixels. Are there cameras with higher megapixel counts? Sure. For the type of photography I do, though, this camera suits me perfectly.
  
  As far as why you should get a DSLR versus a point-and-shoot, the biggest reason is lens interchangeability. A DSLR will let you change your lens based on the kind of shots you're taking, which gives you much MUCH more freedom in the kind of pictures you take. Also, DSLR's generally can offer you more freedom as you grow in your photography due to more advanced features (full manual mode, the ability to shoot Raw, etc), which ultimately give you far greater control over the finished product.
  
  So to blanket answer your question, it's not the camera that produces great photos, but the photographer. Hand Ansel Adams a point-and-shoot camera and I guarantee he'll outshoot me with my 40D. You want to get a camera that you feel comfortable with, you can afford and gives you the greatest freedom to grow as your interest grows.
  
  Does that help? :)
  
  
  
  
  

Ah, OK. If you're in the UK (i.e. UK resident) then yes, fees seem extortionate, but it's still not real debt. It doesn't get counted against credit ratings and you only start to pay it off if you earn over a certain amount (hopefully I don't sound too glib). So don't worry about it too much. That said, the fees are really high if you're a non-UK resident wanting to study here (not sure which is more, US or UK fees).

Languages would be OK, but you would need to have an idea of where you wanted to work, and then what happens if you want to work somewhere else? That's not saying don't do a language degree, but just something to bear in mind. I'm not sure what course I would suggest, just think about something that you would enjoy and would help you with what you want to accomplish. People I know have everything from English degrees to politics and beyond.

As for if it's harder to get jobs. Actual salaried positions are like gold dust here (and in some parts of the world). A lot of jobs tend to be dead man's shoes (they come up when someone retires, quits or moves to another agency). As an example with the guys employed by agencies in the UK (a lot of the guys also do photojournalism as well when they get given assignments or find a project they like), most have usually started off doing casual shifts with an agency or publication (which is a hard enough step to get to already), after a while they end up with a contract for a certain amount of hours per month and after that they apply for jobs when they open up (which is rarely). It's a dog-eat-dog world, so if you should be unavailable for a shift then they'll go to someone else and you end up at the bottom of the pile.

Having a photojournalism degree wouldn't put you above anyone else, plenty of the people working don't have one. I guess the main thing that a degree would teach you (if you were a complete novice) would be things such as working to deadlines, the practical bits and bobs and feedback on the work you're producing as well as networking opportunities (depending on how well connected the university is).

On getting work as a freelance, a lot of the work I do is on spec (I shoot it and send it through), often when I'm away I'll be working with various freelance journalists who have ties to publications, so I'll pop the pictures through to the relevant desk once they've filed their story. Other than that I just put pictures through to desks when I judge that I've shot something newsworthy (this is outside anything I do as a correspondent - hard to describe the agreement I have with the organisation, but it's not the standard stuff).

Hope that helps, to be honest I kind of do my own thing. Everything I do revolves around a long term project I've been working on, so I'm in my own world most of the time and my approach won't work for everyone.

I will say that think one of the main changes in the industry (again, not sure of the situation in the US so I'm talking about the UK again) is that there isn't a normal career path any more. No set steps that people follow to end up in x position; the approach that one person takes doesn't necessarily work for someone else. Others here will also have points of view that, I have no doubt, may fit better than my ramblings.

Maybe a good step would be to find an agency or publication near you and ask if you could do a couple of weeks work experience. Also, you could do worse than pick up a copy of Ken Kobre's Photojournalism: The Professional's Approach (quite a decent book that I recommend to people who want to start out).

This might be tough to hear, but there are a great many things that are wrong with this render and it is not something that can be fixed in photoshop. Pro's mostly use photoshop for sky replacement, color correcting, and things like contrast/sharpness etc. They don't make the render go from bad to good by doing a ton of photoshop. It isn't an effective method as clients often ask for angle changes, different resolutions etc that make heavily photoshopping an image over and over again a huge time constraint.

Things to improve this image:

Composition:

What is the purpose of this image? Is it to show the back of the house across the river? Is it to show the furniture in the foreground? Is it the relationship between the river and the housing development? I am going to assume that it is that one. To highlight this I would lower the camera and use a telephoto like 50mm or longer to push all the elements together. example See how this telephoto image brings the river, the building, and the city together and shows how they are connected? Try something like that. Here is a GREAT book that can help you improve your compositions Learning To See Creatively - Bryan Peterson

Lighting:

By the shadow angle I would say it is an hour or two before or after noon. This is a difficult time of day to make look nice, but if it is required (by the client I guess) It needs to look bright with hard shadows. example Your image is not bright and also lacks contrast. The easiest fix would be to change the time of day. Dusk shots look the best, but are more work because you have to light up and populate interiors as well as "light paint" various elements throughout the image. Near sunset is a good compromise. example If you want to try for a dusk shot, the techniques outlined here can really help out mike kelley dusk photography tips Here is a good place ot get free HRDI's to improve your lighting HDRI Haven

Lack of Effort/Attention to Detail:

Bad mapping on patio edges. Unrealistic patio construction. Should be in the ground or have a border.

The grass is very bad. If you are using v-ray and 3ds max use Autograss or Forest Pack grass.

The bush next to the patio is very bad and is sitting in the grass. Use forest and add some mulch or gravel. Use a better bush model 3dsky bush $7 . Think about where that bush should be it is in a very strange location.

Obvious texture repetition on roof of building in center of shot

Lack of background image. The world just stops or is there a cliff over there? At least ad a tree ring or something needs to be back there.

Building son left and right appear to have no textures

Windows glass is often missing or not reflective enough. You cant see inside a dark building at mid day.

Lack of transition between river and grass. This is possible in some situations but not likely.

​

I hope all this helps. Good luck!

I've recently taken up photography as a hobby. r/photography can be a little pretentious, but the resources linked on the side are generally pretty helpful.

Granted, there is a bit of a startup fee, whether that's buying a point and shoot with manual controls, a bridge camera, or springing for a full-blown DSLR. I started with a Panasonic DMC-LX5 which is a very, very good point and shoot, but I recently have been using my dad's Nikon D40x that he never uses since I felt increasingly silly looking into the screen instead of a viewfinder. Learning about exposure and being able to shoot in full-manual mode is incredibly rewarding.

To improve my photography, I plan to take a picture every day for at least 100 days. Having a guideline really helps motivate me to get out and shoot.

There are a lot of good books out there like the Tom Ang Digital Photography books, which are good technical information about exposure or The Photographer's Eye and its sequels for composition. Recently I've been reading The Passionate Photographer by Steve Simon, which is an incredible photo essay/photojournalism book that is my favorite photography book so far, and has inspired me to start taking more photojournalistic style pictures.

edit: fixed a link

I come from a graphic/web design background as well (and am an okay programmer) and I can say even regular people DO know if something looks good or bad (on a subconscious level) - they simply don't typically understand WHY that is or HOW to express their feelings (this doesn't mean everyone's a design though - just that they can sense good/bad).

For programmers who lack zero creative "oomph," what I'd suggest is copying sites/apps that look good. How do you know if a site looks good? Look at the level of craft needed to make it. Visiting "Nike Better World" will immediately produce a completely different experience from Reebok's Website. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to determine the clever bits of the Nike site come from the way the elements work with each other - a trick that could be perfected whether they are professional, perfectly setup photographs or flat colored shapes (what I'm saying is great visual design most of the time can still be done without relying on great artwork/assets - great photos/artwork just improve upon what's there).

So, programmers who are really concerned with design, here's my advice: Learn Photoshop (Adobe Classroom in a Book or Lynda.com are great ways) and then look for sites that stress "award winning" website/application design and COPY THEM. Even if you copied the entire "feel" and "design" of the Nike website, I would still much rather visit that to learn about shoes than the boring Reebok site. And, at the same time, if I wanted to buy shoes, I'd much rather use Reebok's site than Nike's Better World.

Ah yes, I love the blue backdrops. I use one sometimes. Bright/light and dark/moody each have their own challenges, and I find the blue backdrops are sometimes the easiest to get bold results with. You can find similar ones from Erickson Wood Works. They sell two-sided options, which are a bonus.

Both of those are definitely shot with natural light. Would that ever be a possibility for you? It's cheaper than the rigs and the results are so much better. It's not an online tutorial, but both of the images you linked remind me of Helene Dujardin. Her book Plate To Pixel is out of print, apparently, but you can still get it used. It's an easy read, especially if you're already comfortable with photography, but I learned a ton from it when I was first getting started. She focuses a lot on how to compose food images, mood, styling, etc.

I highly recommend shooting tethered, if possible. That really helps with the styling. Etsy, Crate & Barrel, World Market are all good for props. I've been into using porcelain fake wood tiles as backdrops recently. Much easier to clean than real wood since spills happen. Let me know if you have any questions, I hope that was helpful!

I looked at the handful of images on flickr. The images there are snapshots; possibly interesting to the people in them, but not bearing critical analysis. This is "someone with a camera," not a photographer. If he were 8 years old, it'd be more important to be encouraging. He appears to be in his 20s. He needs to spend 6 months learning about composition, lighting, and exposure, and then hit people up for critique.

If this simply sounds bitchy and negative to you, we're talking about very different things. If this guy wants to be a photographer, he needs to put in some learning time. This isn't arbitrary elitist nonsense, it's the difference between intelligently comparing Italian restaurants versus discussing the pros and cons of the menu at The Olive Garden.

At absolute minimum, beginning digital photographers should read, digest, and internalize a handful of basic books on the subject. Books like:

• Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson
  
  
• The Photographer's Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos by Michael Freeman
  
  
• The Art of Photography: An Approach to Personal Expression by Bruce Barnbaum
  
  
• The many Joe McNally books.
  
  And if he wants to get more serious, he should study books like:
  
  
• Chasing the Light
  
  
• Ansel Adams' three books, The Camera, The Negative, and The Print.
  
  
• The Magnum Contact Sheets
  
  
• Time-Life & Nat'l Geo photo series.
  
  
• and more
  
  He should go and see museum and gallery showings of great photographic work, and should study the work of at least 20 or so master photographers to the point of familiarity. (Seeing Robert Polidori's actual prints are completely different than looking at his shots on the web/in a book!) He should get his hands on magazines like B&W, Aperture, The British Journal of Photography, Focus, Blind Spot, 8, .. He needs to travel. He needs to shoot every day. He needs some understanding of darkroom work or digital postprocessing.
  
  Very infrequently does one become a really good photographer without studying fundamental design principles. Most great photographers are artists in several mediums. I've been shooting and developing/postprocessing since Gerald Ford was in office, and I consider myself a middling, journeyman photographer. Maybe in another five years I'll be A Good Photographer. The OP is at square one, which is fine. That's where everyone starts.

Yeah it does stand out from the rest, not only because of the subject and the pose, but because there aren't any environmental cues like the rest (black background). Glad I could be constructive with my comments.

A good starting point is a softbox/umbrella 45 degrees over, 45 degrees up, torso pointed towards the light source, face turned about 45 degrees away from the torso/light source (towards the camera). Keep a ratio of about 2:1 key to fill light (or use a reflector), and if you want to use a rim light or kicker behind the hair for it. Or google Rembrandt lighting, which is similar.

The Syl Arena book is pretty much the gold standard of flash photography:
http://www.amazon.com/Speedliters-Handbook-Learning-Craft-Speedlites/dp/032171105X

Neil V's Tangents blog is a great online resource:
http://neilvn.com/tangents/flash-photography-techniques/

And of course there is strobist.com

Some of the BH photos are amazing resources. Here are a few (with differing levels of relevance):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5byuHJ9uBns
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWhi4I20s10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eoi5uxZq7z8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtcD84l9eUw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9RQ6YPVWhA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJHfT7lYqCo&list=FLqfXHErKeDtB3zYN9zaNfmg&index=3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxPkxS_ezVg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcpRdrVrtz0

Cheers!

1. This book would hands down be the most useful thing on my list right now!
   
   
2. I am a rookie photographer, and though I know a lot of the stuff in theory, it's SO different when the camera is in my hands. Sometimes, I just don't understand how to get the shot I'm looking for. Whether it's lighting or just me not knowing how to get the right ISO or something...I just...this book would be very useful to me, hahaha. X)
   
   
3. My favorite color is yellow! It's just so happy and cheerful. I love it. =)
   
   Thanks for hosting this contest!! It's a great idea for a first gifting! =D
   
   EDIT: Forgot to add the link to the item I mentioned.
   

It's not a simple answer.

A master photographer could get fantastic results with just about any lights.....and a clueless amateur would struggle with the best of the best gear.

So the best thing to do, IMO, is to learn something about lighting. That will go a long way to helping you figure out what you will work best and hopefully fit your budget.

I suggest this book. Light: Science & Magic.

In a nutshell, the type or even power of the lights you use, shouldn't matter too much. If you use a tripod and know how to properly set the white balance on the camera (or on the computer afterward), then you can use just about any type or strength of light. Cheap 'clamp' lights from the hardware store with whatever basic bulbs.

One key thing to think about, is that you don't want to mix types (colors) of lights. So all bulbs should be the same and you should have control over the ambient light in the space you are working in.

Also consider heat. Some bulbs get very hot, and that may affect certain items and/or could be a fire hazard.

After lighting types, there are modifiers. A light tent is something that helps to diffuse & soften the light, but mainly it helps to 'fill the family of angles'....which is helpful for some items, and not for others. You may want things to help with softening, diffusing, flagging etc. You may want something to help position and hold the lights in precise locations.

All of this can be done with cheap 'stuff' from the hardware or craft store. Or with expensive specific gear. It's just a matter of how handy you are, what your budget is and how much patience you have for screwing around trying to get it right.

If you NEED to get high quality results, consider hiring a professional photographer. Or be prepared to put in hundreds or thousands of hours learning and perfecting your photography skills.

I got the dummy book for my camera, and love it. So definitely give this a shot to get out of trial and error shooting.

This looks promising as well.

This may be another one to help get past the trial and error and help you understand more what you are doing.

This is one on my list because exposure can make or break a good photo.

This may help with your environmental/landscape photography.

And finally, this may help you challenge yourself to shoot things you wouldn't think of shooting normally, which will help you get better.

So hopefully some of those help you find what you are looking to do! :)

For Recipient A

I don't know much about her interests, but this Princess Mononoke Music Sountrack is within your budget.

For Recipient B

You don't mention how much photography he does, if it is just a mild interest or something he knows a lot about. If he is just mildly interested, here is a Beginners Guide to Taking Photos Like a Pro. Or perhaps he is interested in other photographer's work? Then maybe he'd like The 50 Most Influencial Photographers of All Time.

For Recipient C

A fountain pen is beautiful, durable, and timeless.. This one looks like it comes with a refill, but you may want to include a bottle of ink.

Wow, this response saddens me. I’m sorry you took my critique so personally but I suggest you grow some thicker skin if you wish to continue this endeavor. Don’t ask for a critique if you aren’t prepared to receive one. Don’t be so defensive and read what I have to say with an open mind.

Photography is art and art is subjective. My opinion is just that. It confuses me that you ask for an opinion, receive it, then demean the person for doing what you requested.

Asking for feedback is never a waste of time. Especially if you don’t like what you hear. I recommend you put yourself out there more not hole up in solitude. Maybe try some local photography clubs. You can bring and discuss your photos as well as others. It is a fantastic way to learn! It is humbling! And maybe since you will be getting feedback in person you won’t be so butt hurt about it.

Edit: Also, I recommend The Art of Photography. It might change your mind on the bit about art not being about portraying a message but simply being aesthetically pleasing. PM me and I’ll buy you a copy.

There are a lot of good books out there. One of my favorites is The Art of Photography by Bruce Barnbaum. You can get used copies pretty cheap and it contains a wealth of knowledge.

Here are some of the things I've learned about photography that helped me, in no particular order.

• Pay attention to the background and how it will appear relative to the subject. Is a tree sticking out of someone's head, for example? Moving yourself even a little bit can really change the background. This applies to any type of photography, but probably the most to portraits.
  
• Landscape photography, or any wide-angle photography, is all about layers. Try to compose the image to have interesting content in the foreground, midground, and background. Try to also have layers of meaning by juxtaposing different themes/concepts/content etc.
  
• Get closer, especially if you find yourself cropping your images a lot. Use a telephoto lens, or just walk closer to your subject, fill the frame.
  
• Try different angles, high and low, climb up on stuff, move around the scene, try to find the best way to see the subject. Don't just snap a photo and move on, take your time. If you shoot a bunch of photos of a subject, often the last one is the best because you've taken the time to explore the subject.
  
• Regarding portraits, if you don't have the eyes you don't have anything. Not universally true, but try to get the eyes in the frame and in the depth of field. That's where people will look first.
  
• When composing an image, think about how the viewer's gaze is going to move around the image from point to point. How does your gaze move now? Does it stay within the frame? Are there places for the gaze to pause? Where does it start? Where does it rest? The viewer's gaze is typically drawn to high contrast areas, brightly lit areas, bright colors, and human/animal faces/eyes first. So if you've got a portrait of a person in shadow, not showing their eyes, surrounded by a bright colorful high-contrast background, people are just going to look at the background.
  
• Really understand how to use your camera, how to get good focus, and the tradeoffs between shutter/aperture/ISO. With manual cameras and film, I tend to err on the side of higher ISO (underexposing and sometimes pushing film) so I can get more depth of field (to accommodate focusing errors) and faster shutter speeds (to limit motion blur). Everyone is different in terms of their preferences, but without mastery of shutter/aperture/ISO and focusing, you will miss a lot of opportunities and have fewer keepers in the roll. All it takes is practice on digital, but for film there's no EXIF data so you may want to keep a notebook and write down your settings for each frame so you can review them later (was the shutter too slow, the aperture too wide, the focus off, etc.)
  
• Take a camera with you everywhere; you never know when you'll have an amazing opportunity or a few minutes to kill to take some photos. If you take a camera with interchangeable lenses, bring then lenses (otherwise, why bother, just bring a smaller point and shoot). If you shoot with interchangeable lens cameras, own at a minimum a wide angle and a telephoto -- these will open up a lot of possibilities for your photography that point and shoot cameras lack.
  
• Work on social skills and talking to people. You can learn a lot about new places to take photographs, capture portraits, whatever. There are so many antisocial photographers out there and they just want to take pictures of trees. Fine, but it's self-limiting.

Start with the NPPA's Code of Ethics. To be a good photojournalist, you need to be an ethical photojournalist. Do not be Souvid Datta. You will be caught, and you will never find work as a photojournalist again.

Then start looking through the winners of Pictures of the Year International, and World Press Photo (keep to recent years on WPP because they had some issues with ethical lapses in the past). Look at the Pulitzer Prize winners too.

Then start reading. Ken Kobre's book is used often in photojournalism college curriculums and just released a new edition. Read the news, and stay current on world events. Stay current on local news and events, and then look at your local publication's coverage of those events. Which ones do they cover with photos? Which ones don't have photos? How do they cover those? How do they write the story? Who do they talk to? Who are the stakeholders? Who does this effect? What is the angle?

To improve your writing, you must read a lot of good stories of all kinds: breaking news, features, investigative stories. Find writers that you admire, and read everything they write. Find photojournalists whose work you like -- either style-wise or subject matter -- and look at everything they've published.

Then start shooting. Photograph events, portraits, animals, sporting events, breaking news, etc. You have to know how to shoot absolutely everything. Learn how to light a portrait, and how to cover a structure fire (see Kobre's book).
Take your camera everywhere because you never know what you might come across. Make sure you get names and other information for captions (in AP style), even if the photos never get to a publication. You'll need them in a portfolio to show that captions are something you know how to write and gather info for.

Consider picking up a copy of Plate to Pixel or Focus on Food. Both are great go-to resources for anyone starting out in food photography/styling.

Also, I highly recommend using something like Pinterest as a source for visual inspiration (especially when you have a specific subject in mind). I have a food blog and also do professional food styling/propping, and I will obsessively browse Pinterest before each shoot and create boards of images I like that fit the mood/subject matter. I'm a very visual person (as I imagine you are too if you're interested in photography), so having a curated board of pretty photos does wonders for inspiration and direction.

A lens isn't going to make you any happier with the pictures you're taking. Do you have any prime lenses around at all? My challenge to you would be to a grab a 35mm or a 50mm at best, and take pictures that aren't average. Are you afraid of getting close to people? Try taking pictures of abandoned buildings, railroad tracks, gutters, water reflections, pets, beaches, lakes...the list goes on.

Do that until you are happy with the pictures you're taking and don't stop until you've reached that point. Then, and ONLY then, can you start even thinking about a new lens, especially a macro which takes forever to focus and is only really good for portraits and..well, macro-shots.

Do another thing. Share your pictures, either in itap or photocritiques. Tell us what you like and what you don't like about them. This is important because it gets you to articulate what specifically you're unhappy with in your pictures. Then what you do is go out and and take more pictures, remembering all the little details that pissed you off, so you can do better. Was the horizon lopsided? Spend a few seconds framing it better. Was the composition off? Move your shot to the left. Was the subject boring? Move five feet closer to it.

Oh, and buy a few photo books. I have this and it's great for inspiration: http://www.amazon.com/PHOTO-BOX-Roberto-Koch/dp/0810984350

This is also good: http://www.amazon.com/Bryan-Petersons-Understanding-Photography-Field/dp/0817432256/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343178697&sr=1-1&keywords=photography+field+guide

The second in particular gives you little excercies that seem dumb but are actually fundamental. Something like go out and take pictures of one number or one letter. Anywhere you see it, find ways of making that into an interesting photo.

Check them out..and hope that helps. Once you've got all that down, buy a macro lens. Hell, buy mine. It was fun to take pictures of little things with but I never use it. My two primes? Always nearby.

I second the above comments, and throw out there that a superzoom all in one kinda thing is a good option if you not sure. Something like a canon powershot SX60 HS, or equivalent Nikon/Sony/Panasonic.
I will say i didn't feel connected to the process of taking a photo, or at least like i had any control outside of "Composing" the photo, until I got a "system camera" (one with swappable lenses and things), like a DLSR or Mirrorless Camera. Maybe trying to grab a used Canon or Nikon DSLR on ebay with a lens or two would be a good start? I've seen some great deals on ebay and craigslist on entry level dslr's with a kit (normal included) lens and a telephoto lens for <$500.
For learning about the basics of photo outside point and shoot, like exposure and what all the buttons do i recommend read into something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Photography-Complete-Course-Everything/dp/1465436073/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=photographs+in+weeks&qid=1555424583&s=gateway&sr=8-1
I really liked this book and found it very helpful.

A couple of things in response to you and others.

First of all OpenGL has excellent documentation. The specification is detailed and complete for one though I admit, probably no one should start with that.

I own the following 2 books which are excellent and the first has been out for over a year and you can download the code for both.

http://www.amazon.com/OpenGL-SuperBible-Comprehensive-Tutorial-Reference/dp/0321712617/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1319148333&sr=8-2

http://www.amazon.com/OpenGL-4-0-Shading-Language-Cookbook/dp/1849514763/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319148364&sr=1-1


I started from no knowledge of OpenGL and using that first book I've learned the majority of the API. I bought it and used it for my upper division graphics class while everyone else was using OpenGL 1.1 and the professor didn't mind as long as I did the assignments. I've rewritten math and some of the helper code that comes with it and I use my own classes to wrap the VABO's (ie one glGenVertexArrays per mesh). It's not hard. I've also taken and modified some of the code from the second book which I just recently purchased.

Finally the new orange book will be coming out soon if the blue book isn't enough for you:
http://www.amazon.com/OpenGL-Programming-Guide-Official-Learning/dp/0321773039/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319148522&sr=1-3


Also I think people should start with the Blue book instead of 4.0/4.1/4.2 stuff so they'll be able to use the new Core API (no deprecated cruft) while still supporting 3+ year old graphics cards. ie don't use subroutines or the 2 new tessellation shader stages but you can still use the geometry shader etc. Learn that after so if you choose to you can knowingly limit your audience.

Finally I have a question for you. Why do you disable the attribute after drawing? I enable the appropriate attributes for every VBO I create (wrapped in a class function) and I never disable any. I draw things with multiple shaders, some with position, normal, texture coordinates and some with only position etc. and it's never caused a problem. I've never seen sample code that disables an attribute. The documentation (3.3) for glEnableVertexAttribArray() doesn't say that it only applies to the currently bound VABO.

Wait a second, I didn't realize that you're just using the "global" scope buffer objects and not even using VABO's. They make it much easier.

Also the new API makes it easier to understand what's going on under the hood. I started a software renderer and the farther I got the more I appreciated why they did/do things the way they do in 3.3/4.x . I think I'll end up just implementing a proper subset of the API as a software renderer (with function shaders instead of compiled GLSL of course).

Here are some excellent reads;

1. The Digital Photography Books, by Scott Kelby
   
2. Complete Digital Photography, by Ben Long
   
3. The Art of Photography – An approach to Personal Expression, by Bruce Barnbaum
   
4. The Photographer’s Vision, by Michael Freeman
   
5. Chasing the Light, by Ibarionex Perello
   
   In addition, this very nice article by PetaPixel has a nice breakdown of the best free online Photography Courses and Tutorials.

Self taught. When I was a teenager I worked in TV production, and had to learn Photoshop (I had no-one to teach me). I read some book, and learned all kinds of features that many professionals don't even know about (like quickmask).

When I got into photography I looked at some books and blogs, but mostly practiced. The manual to my EOS 300 taught me a lot, and if you haven't read the manual with your camera, you should go and do so now.

I thought I was good at Photoshop, I mean beyond color corrections and using built-in filters, until I read this book. It looks a bit flashy and cheap, but believe me - it is one of the best book to teach you basic, non-destructive editing in PS. It teaches by example, but in a way that makes you really understand some basic building blocks (like advanced blending modes for example) that you can then apply on your own.

I learned off-camera lighting from the Strobist and when I bought a studio kit I bought also Light, Science and Magic which is great.

> In other words, if you picked a random value between 0 and 1,

Part of the problem is that some (many?) random() will only return the half-open interval [0,1) not the full [0,1] range which then facilitates the need for 256.

i.e.

|Float| 255| 256|
|:--|:--|:--|
|0.999...| 254.999| 255.999...|

This is why it is always important to document the ranges used. Are they half-open or closed?

One argument I'e seen for 256 is to treat it as Q1.8 fixed point representing 1.0. Photoshop uses this argument for its 16-bit fixed point mode as pointed out by Jeff Schewe in his book Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS4 on Page 21

> If an 8-bit channel consists of 256 levels, a 10-bit channel consists of 1,024 levels, and a 12-bit channel consists of 4,096 levels, doesn’t it follow that a 16-bit channel should consist of 65,536 levels?

> Well, that’s certainly one way that a 16-bit channel could be constructed, but it’s not the way Photoshop does it. Photoshop’s implementation of 16 bits per channel uses 32,769 levels, from 0 (black) to 32,768 (white). One advantage of this approach is that it provides an unambiguous midpoint between white and black (useful in imaging operations such as blending modes) that a channel comprising 65,536 levels lacks.

> To those who would claim that Photoshop’s 16-bit color is really more like 15-bit color, we simply point out that it takes 16 bits to represent, and by the time capture devices that can actually capture more than 32,769 levels are at all common, we’ll all have moved on to 32-bit floating point channels rather than 16-bit integer ones.

I'm still not convinced this is the right way to go. People keep trying to treat 128/256 as 0.5 but they are forgetting about the non-linear gamma which buggers that up anyways.

The upshot is, you'll need more then 8-bits precision/channel for any kind of accuracy. I don't think anyone is going to care if white ends up 0x<FE,FE,FE> instead of the correct 0x<FF,FF,FF> unless you're doing HDR / tone-mapping.

Well, the idea is good, if maybe a little corny, as other posters mentioned.

The execution is not bad per se. You haven't done anything wrong here, but something like this is really hard to get right. I guess balloons just don't make for good subjects in a studio?

Have you read a book called Light: Science and Magic? It's a really really good book about lighting, and lighting different subjects with different light and angles and all sorts of details. It might be able to help you here :)

Book called Studio Aywhere

If he doesn't already have it, the photographers "pack" of Adobe CC is only 10 a month and its great!

If he does not have off camera flash a company called Yongnuo makes some decent cheaply priced flashes.

All things I would love!!

Even just a polaroid and some film would be a fun gift!

I switched a three-light Yongnuo YN-568EX system for under $500, or less than the price of one SB910:

Qty 3 - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009CQKGSO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Qty 1 - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NKXPGDA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Qty 1 - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CXM03D2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s04?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Bonus: The only book you'll ever need on lighting anywhere

My first gig with them was an indoor wedding at night. I can post example pics later if you want. I love the system. I had an SB910 and sold it after. Even the used price I received covered most of my costs of changing to this new system.

-------

To add to this, you can use the above setup to slave or to TTL. There are four channels (A, B, C, D); you can set each flash independently (with the remote triggers) to a specific channel, the same channel, mix/match, etc. You then use the receiver that sits in the shoe to control which channel you want to control/adjust. The user manual is not clear, but there are good YouTube video guides on how to set it up/use this system. I mostly used the TTL and split everything on two channels or one (it seemed unnecessarily complex to use three-four channels at an active event like a wedding).

For books, I'm a fan of the series "From Snapshots to Great Shots." They give you model-specific instructions on using your camera, and also gives you basic tips on exposure/shutter/aperture, composition, and lighting.

Even though I'm beyond needing the basic photography lessons, every time I get a new Canon body I buy the corresponding book. Tips on best settings right out of the box (e.g., turn off the ability to take a picture without a memory card - otherwise you can shoot all day and all the pictures aren't saved), and how to best set the autofocus features.

Adobe has some pretty good tutorials, if you're looking to learn a specific thing. Otherwise, basically just messing around with Photoshop helps a lot. Observing the changes that each tool makes sticks in your mind a lot better than being told exactly how to do something. Also, Nik Software has some good filters you can demo and/or buy. I use Color Efex Pro 4, and the skin softener might help you out a lot with your model shots. This book is pretty useful, if you have the time to work through it. I'm taking a class right now, but I honestly have learned more through messing around myself than what the teacher has specifically taught us.

Unanswered question from the previous megathread

Author /u/stratomaster - (Permalink)

What's the best resource on creating a photo series?

I just read my notes from The Passionate Photographer and there is a lot of great insight in that book! There has to be some similar content out there. Any tips?

What's the best resource on creating a photo series?

I just read my notes from The Passionate Photographer and there is a lot of great insight in that book! There has to be some similar content out there. Any tips?

I got Gary Friedman's Guide to the Sony A6500 at the same time as the camera and it was the best thing to get started. With about 40 pages of menu settings, there's a lot to go over and his guide has his recommended settings plus his comments on why he prefers them.

You can get the same for the A6300: http://friedmanarchives.com/a6300/index.htm

I like these lens reviews because they measure sharpness quantitatively, in LW/PH, and give you an idea of the strength/weakness:
https://www.ephotozine.com/article/sony-e-16-50mm-f-3-5-5-6-oss-lens-review-20667

For general tips on exposure and composition, I thought Bryan Peterson's Understanding Photography Field Guide was great, good tips on when to lock exposure for example:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0817432256/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I think a book is a good way to go, if he is just getting started with the hobby and doesn't have an introductory text yet. There is a lot of info online, but it's not always easy to find, and it's not always trustworthy. A book is more practical in a lot of ways.

I can recommend the book Astrophotography by Thierry Legault. It covers all types of astrophotography in an accessible but detailed manner, and it's also a nice-looking book IMO.

I'm sure there are other good intro books out there, that just happens to be the one I bought when I got into this hobby, and I enjoyed it a lot.

I took it with a Canon 6D and Sky-Watcher Skymax 102 telescope on an NEQ-5 mount with tracking motors. The photo is a stack of 20 20s exposures with black, bias and flat frames subtracted from it. I stacked the photo in DeepSkyStacker. Astrophotography is quite expensive but very rewarding. I'd highly recommend this book if you are interested.

For an absolute beginner shooting digital, Ken Kobre's Photojournalism and Bruce Barnbaum's The Art of Photography would be my pick, if only because those were the books I learned from in j-school.

For an intermediate film photographer who needs inspiration or thoughtful meditations on the medium more than they need inspiration, I am always going back to Vivian Maier: Street Photographer, Annie Leibovitz's A Photographer's Life: 1990-2005, and the exhibition book from Francesca Woodman's exhibit at SFMOMA/the Guggenheim. But I have an abiding interest in female photographers, self-portraiture, and the female gaze, so YMMV there.

Nick Fancher's excellent Studio Anywhere and Studio Anywhere 2 books are great, especially if you're into the Strobist scene.

What Nick can do with a couple of speedlights is pretty incredible.

I posted this yesterday just as the thread was expiring:

1 - Help a beginner photographer: What's your best advice for someone just starting out? Do you have any tips for a beginner on getting their feet on the ground? Strategies for getting started? Beginner camera? Rant on, please. :-) Also, I recently purchased this book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081740502X/ref=oh_o00_s00_i00_details Ignoring parts 1 & 2 (I wouldn't call myself that much of a noob), the rest looks fairly legit. Do any of you have other resources that you recommend for beginners, specifically about technique and camera functions?

2 - Another question from a newbie: Are cameras like computers and phones in regards to corporate planned obsolescence? Do companies purposely come out with new editions once a year to intentionally out-date and discontinue your current equipment (coughAPPLEcough)? How long are models around and considered current?

Go and have a listen to these podcasts/ YouTubes:

• The Candid Frame - Ibarionex Perello
  
• The Art of Photography - Ted Forbes
  
• Lenswork (mag and podcast)
  
  Two awesome books:
  
• Chasing the Light: Improving Your Photography with Available Light
  
• Making Photographs: Developing a Personal Visual Workflow
  
  (Yes I'm a big fan of Mr Perello :) )

I haven't really made anything that's screenshot worthy yet. I'm almost done with the world editor so when I get that done I'll finally be able to show off some stuff.

As far as tutorials your probably not going to find anything that's specific to 2d. I mostly do 3d graphics programming so most of my shader knowledge comes from doing that, almost anything you do in 3d translates pretty easily to 2d.

Here are some good books I've read on shaders:

• Real-Time Rendering
  
• Graphics Shaders: Theory and Practice
  
• OpenGL 4.0 Shading Language Cookbook

Canon EOS Rebel T3i / 600D: From Snapshots to Great Shots
http://amzn.com/032177664X

Most important because I want to take better photos!

Either that or a telephoto lens ;-)

Ruger

I don't think I've ever been gifted by you. I haven't gotten many gifts.

I'm 6'1" hope that meets your insane height requirement!

I just finished reading Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS5 and found it informative. I've been using PS for years, and even after upgrading to CS5 from CS3 I never bothered to really examine all the new functionality. This booked shed light on a number of ways I can improve my processing workflow. I already am an avid ACR, Bridge and then either batch process, or refined editing, in Adobe. It was like this book was written just for me. I highly recommend it.

I don't feel 100% confident with my flash, but I know the basics of how to use it and it's functionality. I own and have read (some of) Speedliter's Handbook - I should probably spend the next hour in a flash crash-course.


EDIT: PM me if you have video questions. I'd love to help.

Composition is a very broad and extensive topic, and throwing a few sentences in your direction won't help you much. So, instead a link to some basic info and the advice to look for good books. And while you are at it, look for books about the usage of light in photography.

After having said that I can't help but give you indeed some personal advice.
Think about your pictures before taking them: what is the main subject of your picture. What objects do you want to have in your picture. Why do you want them in your picture. Do they actually make your picture better, or are they distracting from the main subject. Is the place I stand at really the best place for this picture or should I move a bit.
Basically, think about every element you see in your viewfinder (or LCD screen).

I have a single 430EX II and a softbox from CowboyStudio. When deciding on the softbox I read many reviews deriding CowboyStudio's continuous lighting equipment. I cannot attest to the quality of the continuous equipment but I can say that the softbox is a good value. If your camera does not have a built-in wireless trigger, I recommend FlashZebra for TTL cords.

Also, check out Speedlighter's Handbook by Syl Arena for more tips to master flash photograhy.

Buy any cheap entry level DSLR. Nikon, Canon, Pentax — doesn't matter, it all comes down to personal opinion. Try out the cameras in the store and see how they feel in the hand.

Learning the technicalities of exposure is extremely easy. Learning light and composition takes a lifetime. This book is a good first read: http://www.amazon.com/Bryan-Petersons-Understanding-Photography-Field/dp/0817432256

I love this book. It's lightroom specific, but anything by Scott Kelby is going to be good. He has photoshop books if you use that as well.

Adding links...

• Michael Freeman - The Photographer's Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos
  
  
• Michael Freeman - The Photographer's Mind: Creative Thinking for Better Digital Photos

> As you might be finding out, you don't light a mirrored surface, you light the things it 'sees'.

That's a good way of explaining it. Think of reflective objects as if they're constructed out of mirrors, and make sure that from the camera's position all you can see in the mirrors are even surfaces lit to the density you want.

The book Light: Science and Magic offers a good textbook explanation for lighting all kinds of challenging shapes and surfaces.

To produce artistic photos, you need to learn how to see the world through the eyes of a camera; that aspect of photography has little to do with gear. I like Bryan Peterson myself. cucurigu suggested "Understanding Exposure", and I agree with his suggestion. I also enjoyed his book Learning to See Creatively

But nothing beats getting out there and shooting, shooting, shooting!

depends what type of photography you want to get into. Light, Science and Magic is my personal favorite. It is a phenomenal look at lighting, especially studio and strobe. Probably the best foundation in how light actual works and how that affects your photos. "But you don't have to my word for it" - L.Burton, just read the reviews.

Quasi-newbie myself with a similar rig (d5100):

• One of the problems you will have the stock (kit) lens is the amount of light that you are going to be able to get indoors. I think the 35 mm 1.8 is a very fun lens for some inside experimentation.
  
  
• My favorite books are Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure; Michael Freeman's The Photographer's Eye; and his The Photographer's Mind. I think the latter two are great introductions to the ideas around composition.

Hi,

As far as books go I would recommend:

Food Photography & Lighting:

Plate to Pixel: Digital Food Photography & Styling

Food Styling: The Art of Preparing Food for the Camera

The first book really gives you a look inside the world of commercial photography. He shows all his lighting setups and ratios. The second book has a more food blogger/natural light feel to it. The third book is THE book for food styling. It has cooking and styling tips for just about every food. Some of the tips aren't great if you like to eat your food after you shoot it. But you can pick and choose what to use.

All the food photography tutorials on creativelive and rggedu are really great. I've watched them all and they are all quality. I can go more into detail on those. But you really can't go wrong.

• Read the manual. Figure out how to change the settings and what the settings do. The manual won't tell you much about what to use in what situation though.
  
  
• Read a book or two to understand the basics of photography. Bryan Peterson's Understanding Photography Field Guide was my favorite out of all the books I've read. Alternatively, you can check out the photoclass subreddit to learn. I do find the photo examples in the book extremely helpful (in addition to being beautiful/inspirational) so you might also check to see if your library has the book if you don't want to pay for it.
  
  Beyond those 2 things, you already have everything you need to have photography as a hobby. Photography is about taking pictures that appeal to you. Just go out and shoot. Only you can figure out what kind of photography you like. Experiment. Get a large memory card and don't be afraid of wasting shots -- that's the beauty of the digital age.

This one sounds quite good too actually.
"In this volume, Freeman contemplates what makes a photo gripping, appealing, or beautiful, breaking subject matter, lighting, and composition into component parts and defining and discussing each. Filled with examples at each step, the elements of a photo are organized into three sections - intent, style, and process -

Books on composition. Start with this, move on to this and this, and when you feel you're ready for more advanced stuff get this.

The world is full of people who spend thousands of dollars and years of their lives taking technically perfect photos of their cat. Don't end up like them.

Hell yah! You won't be disappointed--we used it in both of my photo history courses. It's got a lot of technical information on cameras, as well as cool history. This is also one of my favorite books, it gives amazing advice and has really thought-provoking images, whereas the World History book is more about fine art.

You should check out Light: Science and Magic and its discussion of the family of angles, if you haven't already. If the subject is reflective, you can utilize the difference between intensity of light falling on a subject and reflecting from a subject. Light that falls on a subject adheres to the inverse square law and quickly loses intensity the further the subject is from the light. However a surface that reflects light sill display the incident light at essentially the same intensity of its source (depending on just how reflective it is).

So here is a more concrete example. You want to photograph a mirror on a wall but you want the wall to be as black as possible. First put the light far enough away from the wall to get the exposure you want. Then angle the camera so you can see the light in the mirror's reflection (note, you'll need the light source to be big enough to fill the mirror's entire field of view). The light source viewed in the mirror will appear as bright as the light source itself while the light that falls on the wall will still be minimal because it isn't reflective.

Anyhow, it's kind of a hard thing to describe without visual help so sorry if that didn't make any sense. But check out the book. It's actually a pretty interesting trick.

Learning to See Creatively by Bryan Peterson. And for the record, I love all of his books

I recently invested in a T2i and in kind of the same boat as you I bought a book that's essentially a "how-to" for that camera. It's great because it gives photo examples, tells you the settings used, explains those settings and options, then hits you with an "assignment" to go and play with. Doesn't go into a lot of detail about composition, it's really just kind of a mechanical guide.

I looked and the author has written the same guide for the T3i.

Glad to be helpful! If you want to learn more about, the first few chapters of the book “Light: Science and Magic” are immensely instructive

I found this shader repository quite interesting, start by looking at the simple ones to see if you can understand.
http://glsl.heroku.com/

Prior to that I read a book, the opengl shading language cookbook which is quite good.

On the other hand, millions of unenhanced humans somehow managed to learn how to use film cameras with, at most, a light meter. I suspect you'll do fine. A good photography book wouldn't hurt.

This was a required book with my classes. It's pretty in-depth and gives a good overall starting point.

For absolutely everything that you need to know for AP, I would suggest this: http://www.amazon.com/Astrophotography-Thierry-Legault/dp/1937538435/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448998390&sr=8-1&keywords=Astrophotography It is pretty up to date as well, being published in 2014.

Light: Science and Magic

Fundamentals of lighting different shapes and materials. It's good for everyone learning lighting, but especially good for people learning to shoot trickier stuff like metal and glass.

Also check out strobist for cheap lighting logistics and general lighting info.

The book Light: Science and Magic has all sorts of great stuff about this, flagging the lights for less bleed, preventing reflections, etc.

http://www.ppsop.com/courses.aspx

I haven't taken any of the classes but I read this book by him which is really good. He talks about his classes in the book occasionally and mentions that he looks at every student photos.

http://www.amazon.com/Bryan-Petersons-Understanding-Photography-Field/dp/0817432256

Best advice is to read Light: Science and Magic. Literally "the book" on doing lighting.

http://www.amazon.com/Light-Science-Introduction-Photographic-Lighting/dp/0240808193

I found this book at my local library when I was starting out that I thought was helpful in that it framed lessons around actual photo assignments. You could string each assignment along into one big project while practicing specific skills along the way.

Digital Photography Complete Course https://www.amazon.com/dp/1465436073/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_87tTBb18J7AA5

Edit: The Google play store has a sample for you to actually look at the layout of the book.
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=rWHZCQAAQBAJ&hl=en_GB&pg=GBS.PA39

Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!

Here are your smile-ified links:

Plate To Pixel

---

^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-EOS-Rebel-T3i-600D/dp/032177664X/ref=pd_sim_b_1

Find your camera in this book series, they are great and not expensive. They go over basics, and in depth with each mode and a lot more

As a portrait photographer I would go back in time and give these to past-me sooner than I actually found them:

• Studio Anywhere
  
  
• Picture Perfect Posing
  
  
• Mastering the Model Shoot

You'll never compete with Unreal or Crytek in terms of features. You can still create something for a specific use case.

I highly recommend this book. OpenGL 4.0 Shading Language Cookbook https://www.amazon.com/dp/1849514763/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_p-JQCb4WDAM6G

Read as much of Light, Science, and Magic as you can: http://www.amazon.com/Light-Science-Introduction-Photographic-Lighting/dp/0240802756

I was cocky the first time I went into the studio, thinking I had a natural talent for lighting (lol). Couldn't even figure out how to make the strobe work, had a very basic idea how to light because I was a film major. It was for a clothing line low paid, but still very embarassing.

Edit: I'm sure as a redditor you can find that book through other... sources.

This book is excellent on all aspects of lighting: Speedliter's Handbook: Learning to Craft Light with Canon Speedlites - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/032171105X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=032171105X&linkCode=as2&tag=digitalphot09-21

Your equipment is fine this side of support (a tripod really opens up a lot of flexibility), maybe read a book on lighting like Light Science and Magic. An older edition is dirt cheap.

Light: Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting https://www.amazon.com/dp/0240808193/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_6Xv4xb3DHHAPS

I recently picked up "Learning to See Creatively" and I've really enjoyed it so far.

The Passionate Photographer by Steve Simon.

adobe makes good books for their programs, Illustrator and Photoshop

This stackoverflow question
Have some good answers.

Web resources (good)

OpenGLBook OpenGL 4.0

Arcsynthesis OpenGL 3.3


Books (unknown quality, look for reviews)

OpenGL SuperBible 5th Edition OpenGL 3.2 Core

OpenGL 4.0 shading language cookbook OpenGL 4.0 Core

also speedliter's handbook has been highly recommended if you ever get a speedlite as it is written exclusively for canon and its flash system.

check out the strobist blog as well for more flash related things

*edit:grammar

I just started taking photos a little while ago when I was gifted a professional camera. I found this book extremely helpful: BetterPhoto Basics

Does anybody have any recommendations for a photography book that teaches everything you need to know, that also has some projects to do, that would reinforce the concepts in the book, that would not only cover the basics, but would also have some intermediate / pro level topics to work on as well?

I was looking at THIS BOOK. Had anyone read this?

Of what I've read, The Art of Photography by Barnbaum is my favorite.

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Photography-Personal-Approach-Expression/dp/1681982102/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=The+Art+of+Photography+by+Barnbaum&qid=1567488100&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Maybe by tuning yourself into basic form (line, shape, texture, etc)? I like this book by Bryan Peterson. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0817441816/ref=mp_s_a_3?qid=1301167017&sr=8-3

They were all identical. I would read a book at first then determine which aspect of astrophotography you would like to pursue the most. There is lunar, planetary, deep sky imaging, and wide field astrophotography (milkyway and so forth). I recommend this book

Bruce Fraser remains credited in books that were published years after his death. That would indicate that he isn't bound to particular domain as a regular living thing is.

You absolutely need to get yourself a copy of this book (Speedliter's Handbook, by Syl Arena). In addition to the already mentioned strobist website, you should be ready to tackle most anything coming your way.

I'd say start here: http://www.reddit.com/r/photoclass2012a

And, get an intro to T3i book (not T3 books, Amazon gets confused easily), here are a few for you to look at:

http://www.amazon.com/Buschs-Digital-Photography-Camera-Guides/dp/1435460286

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-EOS-Rebel-T3i-600D/dp/032177664X


http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Rebel-600D-Dummies-Computers/dp/1118094980

PS: and start shooting ... :-)
PPS: fixed the link to the reedit photo class

Off-camera flash. http://imgur.com/IZ9cYnX

Picture is from this book http://www.amazon.com/Speedliters-Handbook-Learning-Craft-Speedlites/dp/032171105X

Teach them how to actually do Food Porn

Buy this book - http://www.amazon.com/Photoshop-Lightroom-Digital-Photographers-Voices/dp/0321700910

This Kelby book? I'll never understand why so many how-to books for the art field get away with such poorly designed covers.

Light: Science & magic
http://www.amazon.com/Light-Science-Introduction-Photographic-Lighting/dp/0240808193

The only book on lighting I've read that treats lighting as a theory, rather than a recipe. More of the why, less of the how.

E-TTL doesn't know the visual intent of the photographer. Depending on what camera mode and metering zone you have selected, E-TTL could be way off-base. FEC is necessary most of the time. Don't believe me? Why don't you ask the guy who wrote the book on the subject: http://www.amazon.com/Speedliters-Handbook-Learning-Craft-Speedlites/dp/032171105X

When I was in J-School this was a required text:
https://www.amazon.com/Photojournalism-Professionals-Approach-Kenneth-Kobre/dp/075068593X
Along with: https://www.amazon.com/Associated-Press-Guide-Photojournalism-Handbooks/dp/0071363874/ref=pd_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=6NZV54XKAY02PNWDG14H

http://www.amazon.com/Light-Science-Introduction-Photographic-Lighting/dp/0240808193/

Understanding Exposure is EXTREMELY basic, beware.

If you flip the image horizontally, does it still feel a bit off?

I was reading a composition book yesterday that brought up why I think your image might feel a bit off...

If you can view page 101 in the 'book preview' (click on 'Search inside this book' then get to page 101..):

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0817441816/

while I think LadyPenyee is right that a cloud will add balance and make it feel less off, I'm wondering if the image might feel more flat as a result (?)

http://www.amazon.com/Bryan-Petersons-Understanding-Photography-Field/dp/0817432256

I found this quite useful

Check out Ken Kobre's book: Photojournalism: The Professionals' Approach

It's used as a textbook for many photojournalism classes in college.

http://www.amazon.com/Photojournalism-Professionals-Approach-Kenneth-Kobre/dp/075068593X

Are you shooting Canon or Nikon? For Canon get a copy of the Speedliters Handbook. For Nikon get a copy of Hot Shoe Diaries.

You might also check out another of Bryan Peterson's books Learning to See Creatively that deals more specifically with the artistic over the technical side of things.

I'm not sure if the OP is asking for ideas or learning material, but shooting glassware after reading how in [Light: Science and Magic](http://www.amazon.com/Light-Science-Introduction-Photographic-Lighting/dp/0240808193"Light: Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting") should cover both.

Light: Science and Magic

A bit dry, but it is THE definitive guide to lighting. What's not in there about lighting theory isn't worth knowing.

1. I don't think anyone truly "masters" an art; they simply keep growing, or trying to grow, until they die.
   
   
2. That being said, you're asking the right questions; many people would do better to spend more on books and less on gear.
   
   
3. Take a look at Passionate Photographer: Ten Steps Toward Becoming Great.
   
   
4. I'm only an egg too.

Y U NO LINK KEN KOBRE'S PHOTOJOURNALISM?

stupid meme aside, haven't come across the AP book before. Any good?