(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best photography & video 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? :)
  
  
  
  
  

>I would say a professional is someone who lives off their photography and says nothing about their abilities.

The problem with your reply, well intended as it may be, is that it veers into whataboutism territory. The OP is framing their request as seeking resources for a path to excellence, and your reply asserts that some people are professional despite a lack of excellence. While true, it sidesteps the issue and doesn't contribute anything meaningful - as opposed to the post you're replying to, which is not only accurate, but also helpful.

I'm a pro. I can tell you while it's 100% correct that I see two of my defining qualities as exactly what /u/ShitWookie describes, I would add to it a third pillar which is understanding, being receptive to and directing the human component of a shoot. Working to deliver consistency under compromised circumstances, and having a vision are both fantastic… but being able to navigate the egos, the emotions that percolate on set, to quickly gain the trust of your subject and have them engage in a willingness to experiment and go out of their comfort zone, all of that is exceptional. And to repeat for emphasis, the major unifying factor at play with all three is just going out and doing the work a lot. Set goals, fail to hit them, refine and repeat. It's extremely helpful to define objectives clearly and put your work in a guided context.

To the OP's question about resources, I suggest:

For a set of actionable exercises and several new ways to think about your work, try The Photographer's Playbook:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/159711247X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511023706

To expand your ability to read a photo and get meaning from it, and in turn, have a more rich vocabulary to impart to your own work, try The Ongoing Moment: https://www.amazon.com/Ongoing-Moment-Geoff-Dyer/dp/1400031680

To see what a 4 time Guggenheim fellow says about his method and the psychology behind how a photo works, check out Winogrand's full speech/workshop/Q&A at Rice University:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wP6lP3UaP24

To take the mystery out of the working style of a legend in fashion, watch June Newton's doc on her husband Helmut, titled "Helmut By June" - Google it. Often online in 8-10 parts. The whole thing is about an hour and amazing.

If you can't get on set and assist an established pro covering a subject that excites you in a style you admire (this is the single greatest accelerant for learning), the next best thing is creating a list of current working photographers you admire and Googling "their name" plus "bts video". Take notes on their lights, light placement, distances and try to recreate their setups and see what you discover in the process.

Check out The Red List: https://theredlist.com

Portrait photography is about photographing people.

Ok. Let's start from here.

What is often overlook by all the gear heads on the internet is the people part. A great resource on this is Roberto Valenzuela's book Picture Perfect Practice. It's a long book but it provides simple rules of thumb in order to get better at directing people.

Now let's talk about light.

Here is a little secret. You don't need external light to make good portraits. Let me repeat, I'm making a point here. You. Don't. Need. EXTERNAL LIGHTS. To make. GOOD. Portraits.

What you need is a good eye for reading the light in given situations. I assume you are already good at nature photography. Normally you are looking at the same thing in portraits: great tonal range, even light, nice fall-off...
This is something you can achieve in basically any room with a big window on a cloudy day.

A great inspiration regarding that matter are paintings. At least to me. Delacroix, Gericault, Rembrandt... Look at the light. LOOK AT THE LIGHT. I strongly believe that contemporary portrait photography is very strongly influence by some of the painting Masters.

Finally, let's talk about external light. If you are able to make GOOD portraits in natural light. With a fair amount of practice you'll be able to take GREAT portraits using industrial light. But you need to have strong basics. Because a badly lit portraits suck badly while not-so-good portraits in natural light are just bad luck.

External lights helps having consistency and provides control that mother nature doesn't give.

100 percent this. The best investment you can make is $10 on a good photography book. For a no-nonsense and easy to use book, I recommend How to Create Stunning Digital Photography https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006KY2VZ2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_1znKzbFKX4TZJ

It's not perfect, but if you spend 1 hour reading and watching his videos, you can easily make your images 10x better than they are today with your existing equipment.

The keys for photographing kids are simple - great light (easily accessible outdoors in the shade), focused composition (a significant fraction of the photo should be occupied by the kid, hopefully with nice light in his or her eyes), and a good situation (kid joy at going down the slide, wonder at the big t Rex sculpture in the park, happiness at sitting on Grandpa's shoulders).

After that, shoot a lot of pictures and try out different techniques! Eventually you'll want to do some post processing, too - I recommend the free Snapseed app - but that's for after you're comfortable with the basics!

Edit: join us over at /r/photography if you like beautiful photos and/or photography gear addiction

There are a ton of resources out there, but here are what I consider to be the most important things to remember:

1. Shift the weight to the back leg. This is probably the single most important thing to remember, and any picture of a woman should have this, even if the lower body is cropped out. This instantly makes an s-curve through the body for women, and for men makes them look more relaxed (although guys can sometimes break this rule if you want them to look confrontational).
   
2. Have women lean forward with their chest. This accentuates the bust, slims the waist, and generally stretches the neck which can help with a double chin (although sometimes you'll need other techniques to get rid of it completely).
   
3. Have guys hang the body forward. This makes the chest and shoulders look bigger while slimming the hips, and also makes the subjects look more engaged and adds a hint of motion (kind of like they are about to start walking).
   
4. If it bends, bend it. Once the first 3 are taken care of, the main reason poses can look stiff is that joints are too straight. Elbows, wrists, knees, neck, and everything else should all be at least somewhat bent.
   
5. Head Tilt. Tilting the head towards the higher shoulder looks feminine and tilting towards the lower shoulder looks masculine. Women should usually tilt towards the higher shoulder, but they can get away with the lower one to emphasize strength. Men should never tilt toward the high shoulder (unless you're trying to make them look girly).
   
   Although it takes longer to master, Sue Bryce has an amazing set of rules she uses for photographing women: Chin, Shoulder, Hands, Hourglass, Body Language, Asymmetry, Connection.
   
   Roberto Valenzuela's book (mostly Chapters 16-17) is the best resource I've found for breaking down elusive subtleties of posing down to the elements, especially for couples. He even breaks down things like posing eyes and using awkwardness as a fool-proof way of injecting expression into a photo. Once you know the basics, it's easy to come up with new poses on the fly that will look natural and flattering.
   
   I'm a wedding photographer, and years ago I absolutely hated posing people. I tried to memorize pose after pose, but rigidly trying to get people into a "pose" was a struggle and didn't do anything to bring out the personalities of my couples. But once I figured out how posing works, it became much easier to come up with different poses that looked natural, flattering, and that my couples felt natural doing.
   
   EDIT - sigint_bn makes a very important point, and that is usually the best way to start out a pose. I typically start by having couples just "come together" and then I make minor adjustments following the rules from there (e.g. shift your weight, bend your elbow, tilt your head).

/u/SquidLoaf - welcome to the world of filmmaking!

You might want to read a book or two before you start.

The book I recommend to everyone just starting out is "[How to Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck: Advice to Make any Amateur Look Like a Pro] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0051NHJFU/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0051NHJFU&linkCode=as2&tag=battleforthew-20)" [Referral Link] ($8.99 for Kindle).

This book was written by Hollywood writer/director [Steve Stockman] (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1870021/), who directed Sally Field in [Two Weeks] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000TV1ST2/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000TV1ST2&linkCode=as2&tag=battleforthew-20) [Referral Link]. It is a great introduction to visual storytelling for beginners.

Here is the book trailer: http://vimeo.com/24147165

Reading Steve's book will save you a lot of time and money - and make your videos better right out of the gate.

It won't really help with equipment selection, but it may help with something even more important - storytelling.

Once you've read the book, you can get started by shooting your first videos with your smartphone. If you have an iPhone, you can download FiLMiC Pro ([$9.99 from iTunes] (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/filmic-pro/id436577167?mt=8&at=1000l8mT)) [Referral Link].

For Android, you can download [FiLMiC Pro] (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.filmic.filmicpro&hl=en) or [Cinema FV-5 for $2.49] (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.flavionet.android.cinema.pro&hl=en) on Google Play.

These apps will allow you to control aspect ratio, white balance, exposure, resolution and frame rates - turning your phone into a pretty good approximation of a camcorder.

For about $20, the price of a book and an app, you can get started on the road towards becoming a filmmaker.

Hope this is helpful, good luck and best of the holidays to you and yours!

I don't think there's a single answer to the question of "how much post-processing is the right amount?". I think it really depends on the type of photography and the photographer's vision. For example, for photojournalism, there are fairly strict rules about post-processing, in order to maintain the truth about the story, but for high art photography, the sky is the limit when it comes to post-processing.

Personally, I think as long as the photographer is honest about the amount of post-processing done, there are no limits, and the "right" amount of post-processing is whatever it takes to make the best picture possible. For example, I'm perfectly fine with with green screen photography. That type of photography necessarily requires a fair amount of post-processing, and not only is it a lot of fun, you can achieve shots that would be otherwise impossible.

I also want to respond to one comment made by the OP, where he answered "Yes" to the question: "Do you think Ansel Adams made great images by just using "in camera" negatives."

I think the OP needs to study Ansel Adams a bit, because that's not correct. Adams spent A LOT of time in the dark room, at least as much time as he did taking pictures in the first place. In fact, he wrote an entire book (The Print - https://www.amazon.com/Print-Ansel-Adams-Photography-Book/dp/0821221876) on the darkroom work required by his Zone System. There's even a quote of him saying darkroom work is 50% of the photographic process (http://expertphotography.com/10-photography-lessons-from-ansel-adams/).

To be fair, it's not to say proper camera technique isn't important. It absolutely is, and there's nothing wrong with challenging yourself to taking outstanding shots without post-processing. But similarly, there's absolutely nothing wrong with doing heavy post-processing to make fine art photos.

Maybe a book? I think the Humans of New York book could pretty much be given to everyone, it's all happy and uplifting and cool.

You said she's on her feet all day so maybe something to help relax a little like a foot spa? Otherwise they make these little balls that you roll under your foot (my grandma used to do this with just a tennis ball) and it's supposed to good for your muscles and kind of like a mini massage.

Does she use anything to help treat her bunions? They make some cool products like this and this that might be helpful! They have some really good reviews, she may already have something like this though?

Not the best ideas haha but maybe it will help! Good luck with shopping! :)

>And I saw the A7III with it’s kit lens 28-70 and I loved the picture quality you can get with it.

Just me, but before buying one, maybe rent one and see the pictures you can get with it. The fact that the pictures you see as examples of what an A7iii can do may have been taken by a very talented, experienced photographer who was willing to drop all that cash on the body+glass and may also be extreme skilled at post-processing sometimes doesn't occur to a newb. :D Composition, timing, subject matter, processing: those are still up to you.

Higher resolution, better tonal smoothness, wider dynamic range, better high ISO performance those are all very nice, but they don't always equate to "more beautiful," especially in unskilled hands. A full-frame camera doesn't turn you into a great photographer any more than buying a guitar turns you into a great musician.

>Should I leave the RX100 M7 and get that A7III and learn or what?

I'd vote for learn with the RX100.

Are you sure you've exhausted what your RX100 can do? Do you shoot with it in M mode? Do you post-process its RAW files? Have you used it on a tripod? Have you tried off-camera flash? (Dumb optical slaving can still work with its built-in flash). Have you taken a class or read a book on basic composition or exposure control? I'd say try those things (and price out the cost of those Sony FE lenses for an A7iii) first before sinking into the money pit that is interchangeable lens camera systems. It may turn out that an α6000 (or a Fuji X or Panasonic/Olympus micro four-thirds body) is a better starting point for getting into interchangeable lens cameras.

That is amazing! So weird, but amazing!

I would love to be able to shape shift. It's the perfect power. Need to be invisible? Cool, become a tiny insect or something instead. Need to fly? No worries! Bird! Need to walk through walls? Easy, become a ghost! (I'm sure that counts as shape shifting, right? Right. ¬_¬)

Failing that, I would love to have the power, that when I go to buy anything, I have the exact amount of change in my pocket (or if it's bigger, the exact amount needed in my bank account). Think about it, if you just had a load of money, you would run the risk of running out, this way, you will always have enough for what you want/need. Fabulous.

If I win, I would very much like you to surprise me. Or, failing that, I would really like this, this, this or this. I'm sorry, I couldn't decide D: (all are in my wishlists)

We are RAOA. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.

Edit: words

Some books to start with:

A World History of Photography by Naomi Rosenblum is a good history of photography including important artists and some basic insight to why they are important. It covers the names that you need to know if you're going to talk to someone and say "Well that photographer seems to be influenced by Walker Evans." It also gives some basic background on different mediums and processes and the general trends of the times.

On Photography by Susan Sontag is the first step into serious thought of photograph as an art. There are no pictures, it's a collection of essays about why people photograph. She will make reference to people and their photographs, but it's more about the thought and ideas.

As you go on there are tons of great books by individual photographers or books/catalogues of important exhibition. The Museum of Modern Art's "Family of Man" was a huge, groundbreaking, exhibition for photography at the MoMA put together by Edward Steichen (one of those important photographers you'd learn about in Rosenblum's book) that pulled together work from tons of photographers around the world in the 1955. While a bit dated, the catalogue from it is worth checking out if you ever come across it.

There's a lot more contemporary work that is certainly worth checking out but I tend to push people more in the direction of where their interest is... starting with the basics of the history of photography (Rosenblum), understanding the concepts of why we photograph (Sontag), and seeing what can be achieved (Steichen) is a good foundation to move forward from. It's my opinion that these are 3 books that probably should be on the shelves of any photographer that likes to call what they do art.

Glad I could help!

I'm glad you asked about books. Advice from the internet (including mine :)) has its limits. Here is what I recommend [Referral Links]:

• The first book I recommend for beginners is: "[How to Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck] (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0051NHJFU/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=B0051NHJFU&linkCode=as2&tag=hybrcamerevo-21)". Here is the trailer for the book: http://youtu.be/jF0z9k93Y9Q
  
  
• Since you're most interested in dance video and not cinematic storytelling, the next book I recommend is "[Making Video Dance: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Dance for the Screen] (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0415379504/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=0415379504&linkCode=as2&tag=hybrcamerevo-21)"
  
  
• If you have time, and really want to get into cinematography, your school library will probably have the standard texts, such as Mascelli's "[Five C's of Cinematography] (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/187950541X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=187950541X&linkCode=as2&tag=hybrcamerevo-21)" and Ascher's "[Filmmaker's Handbook] (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0452297281/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=0452297281&linkCode=as2&tag=hybrcamerevo-21)"
  
  
• You should also read up on sound - the sound primer I recommend is "[The Location Sound Bible] (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1615931201/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=1615931201&linkCode=as2&tag=hybrcamerevo-21)"
  
  Again, hope this is helpful and best of luck!
  
  Bill

Those mics ain't gonna cut it. If you are fond of Rode, look into their NTG-2. These aren't specifically designed to be mounted on camera, as they work best boomed over (or scooped under) talent. For the best audio possible, you want to have the boom mic just outside of frame. If you plan on shooting interview style setups, I suggest you go the wireless lav mic route, so you can run two or more mics right on talent, and not have to worry about having a boom operator (or two) . I suggest this one from Saramonic set. I have used this in everything from weddings to legal depositions, and it has never let me down.

But you also may need a mixer recorder. This is so you can adjust the levels for each person separately, as everyone doesn't talk the same loudness. I use the Tascam DR-60D, they are cheap, but they have a glaring problem, that they won't recognize over a 16GB SD card. For that reason alone, I recommend getting a DR-70D or a competing mixer/recorder from Zoom. The reason why I recommend these instead of ones that are cheaper, is that these have dedicated physical gain buttons for each channel, so you can "ride the pots" to keep your levels where they need to be.

Lastly, since you're a Noobie, I don't want you to suck, so I picked out some great, cheap, Kindle books that I've bought and read cover to cover, and they really helped BIG TIME! I recommend this book called How to Shoot Video that Doesn't Suck and The Angry Filmmakers Survival Guide - Part One (this is more about indie film production, but damn near everything can be applied to your use case).

I spent several years getting my lighting chops doing portraiture photography. I knew how to do what I needed with soft and hard light from studio strobes. But dealing with "hot lights" (continuous lighting) for multiple people or a whole room is something else altogether! The most expensive book I'll recommend (around $22.00 USD) is Lighting for Cinematography Please buy this book!! It is fascinating the amount of information you learn from this publication, as it's chock full of pictures from on sets of lighting setups.

​

I hope this helps!

My favorites:

The Visual Story


In the Blink of an Eye

How to Read a Film (personally bored by it but a lot of film classes I took in uni versity used it)

The Filmmaker's Eye (huge fan of this book)

The rest of this post is just general advice on how to gain a deeper knowledge of film.

If you want to learn the grammar of film, read about film history (it will help introduce you to editing/camera movement/directing techniques and the filmmakers/films that influenced your favorite directors).

Read criticism from Pauline Kael, Andrew Sarris, David Bordwell (his blog is a fantastic resource), Jonathan Rosenbaum, and older critics such as Bazin/Eisenstein. There are more out there, but this is a good start.

Read reviews after you watch a film instead of beforehand--those reviews will hopefully give you a deeper view of the film. That being said, you really have to look around to figure out who you like, stylistically speaking. There are a lot of critics that have no idea what they're talking about from a technical standpoint. If you're bored with short reviews without substance you might like FILMCRITHULK.

Watch YouTube tutorials and video essays on filmmaking. Video essays are particularly helpful at illustrating and pointing out things that you might not have noticed otherwise. It's also a hell of a lot more entertaining than reading criticism that was written in 1962 in another language.

From a practical standpoint, pick up a camera and shoot something. Edit it. Read books on composition--I've found that photography composition books are pretty helpful. Read scripts from films you love and films you haven't seen to get an idea of how a film exists before the first day of shooting takes place.

Keep watching films, and watch them actively. Don't text during films, and try to watch them in one sitting. The goal is to immerse yourself in the image and analyze the shots/cuts/etc. as they happen. Watch films with commentaries, watch them with the sound off, and branch out into different genres and time periods so that you can attain a more concise view of film.

Above all else, watch as many films as you can. You'll find that the watchlist keeps growing, no matter how many films you see.

Awesome! I kind of fell into the job. I was initially hired as a web developer, and didn't even know what BI was, and then got recruited by one of the BI managers and fell in love. To me, it is one of the few places in IT where what you create will directly impact the choices a business will make.

Most of what I do is ETL work (taking data from multiple systems, and loading them into a single warehouse), with a few cubes (multidimensional data analaysis) and SSRS report models (logical data model built on top of a relational data store used for ad hoc report creation). I also do a bit of report design, and lots of InfoPath 2010 + SharePoint 2010 custom development.

We use the entire Microsoft BI stack here, so SQL Server Integration (SSIS), Analysis (SSAS), and Reporting Services (SSRS). Microsoft is definitely up and coming in the BI world, but you might want to try to familiarize yourself with Oracle BI, Business Objects, or Cognos. Unfortunately, most of these tools are very expensive and not easy to get up and running. I would suggest you familiarize yourself with the concepts, and then you will be able to use any tool to apply them.

For data warehousing, check out the Kimball books:

Here and here and here

For reporting, get good with data visualizations, anything by Few or Tufte, like:

Here and here

For integration, check these out:

Here and here

Also, if you're interested in Microsoft BI (SSIS, SSAS, SSRS) check out this site. It has some awesome videos around SSAS that are easy to follow along with.

Also, check out the MSDN BI Blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/bi/

Currently at work, but if you have more questions, feel free to shoot me a message!

I believe that a strong understanding of the fundamentals of photography is important.

I don't agree with all the teaching techniques in this book, but it's the one that seems to get recommended most often.

Understanding Exposure.

Bet yet, IMO, would be to take a class. Most people learn better and faster when they have a knowledgeable instructor to walk it though with them in person.

I teach photography classes and our most popular class is along the lines of 'how to use your DSLR'.

Classes certainly cost more than a book or watching youtube videos, but good knowledge pays for itself over and over again for the rest of your life. 99% of people who take my classes are more than happy with the value they get for the cost of the class.

Sorry you're not getting a very warm response here. I haven't done studio photography myself, but I can suggest some photography education.

Here is a portrait lighting tutorial from Tony and Chelsea Northrup, while it's not exactly fashion photography, many of the same principles apply.

I also wholeheartedly recommend Tony Northrup's book, Stunning Digital Photography. Starting at $10 for the ebook, available on his website or Amazon. Some of the videos from the book are available for free on their YouTube channel, such as the one I posted above.

The book eases into the technical knowledge while teaching about composition and lighting, which apply to all types of photography. They have specific chapters for landscapes, wildlife, portraits, and others. The portrait chapter would be most applicable to fashion photography.

They also do a live show where they critique viewer submissions, and they did one on fashion photography with Roxy Rodriguez (she was in a photography competition sponsored by Adorama) so perhaps you can get some inspiration and ideas from that.

Information that would be helpful to know: What gear do you have (camera, lenses, flashes, lighting modifiers, etc.)? How do you post process your photos, do you have Lightroom? How comfortable are you with the technical aspects of photography already (fstops, shutter speed, depth of field, etc.)?

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. It's a solid lens for your camera at a very affordable price. There are a few other options like random and sigma but he 55-250 optically surpasses them.

You really can't find a better lens anywhere near that price for that camera. Make sure you shop around for a good deal. Check Adorama. BH photo. Amazon. Ebay.

It's not a very long lens but like I said you have a camera with which you can crop and still get usable images. Take a look at the canon 55-250 on pixel peeper or the flickr pool for it.

That's a couple hundred thousand photos to show you the quality you can achieve.

Remember photography is not about gear as much as skill. This is a great starter lens and if you're unhappy with photos you're making there are plenty of good books to read to improve your skills.

I usually recommend these three to start

Understanding exposure
Learning to see creatively
National Geographic ultimate guide to field photography

All right, since you said you do photograph events and weddings:

The Luminous Portrait: Capture the Beauty of Natural Light for Glowing, Flattering Photographs
by Elizabeth Messina et al.
Link: http://amzn.com/0817400125

Picture Perfect Posing: Practicing the Art of Posing for Photographers and Models (Voices That Matter)
by Roberto Valenzuela
Link: http://amzn.com/0321966465

Picture Perfect Practice: A Self-Training Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Taking World-Class Photographs (Voices That Matter)
by Roberto Valenzuela
Link: http://amzn.com/0321803531

These three are from my wishlist. The Valenzuela one on posing comes highly recommended from some of my wedding photographer friends.

If Jose Villa is your thing, he also put out a book:

Fine Art Wedding Photography: How to Capture Images with Style for the Modern Bride
by Jose Villa et al.
Link: http://amzn.com/0817400028

If you might want to expand into boudoir:

The Art of Boudoir Photography: How to Create Stunning Photographs of Women
by Christa Meola
Link: http://amzn.com/0321862708

OK, I get asked this type of question a lot so I have some pre-fab answers for you:

>Someone asked me about teaching yourself art (which is the way I learned) I thought I would share my replay in case It might be helpful to some of you.

>Fundamentals (walk before you run):

>How to draw http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933492732/ref=oh_details_o08_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 $30
Figure drawing for all its worth http://www.amazon.com/Figure-Drawing-All-Its-Worth/dp/0857680986/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401411454&sr=1-1&keywords=figure+drawing+for+all+it%27s+worth $25
Color and Light (this book blew my mind) http://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Guide-Realist-Painter/dp/0740797719/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401411299&sr=1-1&keywords=color+and+light $15
Imaginative Realism http://www.amazon.com/Imaginative-Realism-Paint-Doesnt-Exist/dp/0740785508/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y $15

>Digital Painting:

>Digital Painting Techniques 1 – 6 http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=digital+painting+techniques+&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Adigital+painting+techniques+ About $35 each = $210 total

>Also pick up some art books for games like Halo or Assassin’s Creed. There’s lots of great concept work in there to give you an idea of what to pros do.

>Visual design:

>Picture This (a very simple explanation on how all the components of a scene can tell a story) http://www.amazon.com/Picture-This-How-Pictures-Work/dp/1587170302/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401412344&sr=1-1&keywords=picture+this $15
Essentials of Visual Communication (A detailed breakdown on how the human brain consumes an image and how you can use this knowledge to best communicate your ideas) http://www.amazon.com/Essentials-Visual-Communication-Bo-Bergström/dp/1856695778/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401412394&sr=1-1&keywords=Essentials+of+Visual+Communication $30

>Structured Education:

>Digital Tutors (Perfect for learning a program) http://www.digitaltutors.com/11/index.php $50 a month or $515 a year
Ctrl+Paint http://www.ctrlpaint.com/ Free
CGMaster Academy https://www.youtube.com/user/CGMWORKSHOPS/videos?view=0&flow=grid

>Also I wrote on my blog “Become a better Artist Overnight” http://garretaj.blogspot.com/2012/12/how-to-become-better-artist-overnight.html where I take you through tried and true techniques on how to do focused learning revolving your sleep pattern. This is the way I did it (and still do it)

>Communities a must for getting feedback and ideas:

>http://conceptartworld.com/
>http://www.artstation.com/

>https://www.facebook.com/groups/400586640025350/
>https://www.facebook.com/groups/221278101324638/
>https://www.facebook.com/groups/awesomehorse/

>The final thing is you. You have to really want this, it’s not easy. Don’t buy this stuff or go to an expensive art school because you think it’s some kind of shortcut. The focus here is not becoming a good artist, but becoming a good student. Learn how to learn effectively, learn how to love learning, bust your ass, and always work on improving yourself.

>Do that and nothing can stop you. Or don’t.

Hope this helps

You might want to consider a warmer color treatment:

example

It's always a good idea to add warmth to subjects in the shade, especially if you're wanting to portray something positive.

Also you subjects should be facing the camera to the point where their noses don't protrude from their profile.

The leg should be closer to a 45 degree angle (high or low). This helps lead the eyes to your subject. Currently the leg does not direct your eyes anywhere useful and draws attention to the cross formed with the tree behind the knee.

Ultimately, don't get too discouraged though. There's a lot of complexity with posing subjects and it takes awhile to master. I'd recommend reading Picture Perfect Practice, as it has a lot of great tips on posing and composition.

• Mastering Composition
  
• Composition
  
• Picture This
  
  I didn't see any sites that particularly stood out to me, but a lot had good info. Some are simple and some have complex geometric breakdowns. Find what you like and works for you. I personally don't like the complex geometry approach, I have a short attention span and I would never spend the time planning a piece to that point, especially when I can get the same look with a simpler approach. Rule of thirds is the rule I fall back on the most, it never steers me wrong. Based on the two images you posted you have good instincts, don't get overwhelmed by all the rules and theories about composition. In the end, do what you think looks best. The more pieces you create the more you will develop your eye. Also, it is great that you are open to constructive criticism, some artists get so butt hurt that they cannot learn anything.

Everybody knows it but it still needs to be said: shoot, shoot, shoot.

Willief is spot-on in my opinion. An exercise I think you might find helpful is to give yourself assignments. Just like practice, or buying books about photography, it only works if you stick to it. You have landscapes, and your still-life work is coming along well too. I would say that in addition to portraiture (both studio and candid), you should consider other genres that 'put you out there' more, that are less under your control than your current work. Street photography instantly springs to mind - you don't have to live in NYC or LA to have amazing opportunities at street photography. If you're in a more rural locale, consider work like Frank's "The Americans," or Bruce Davidson, or even combine what you can do with what you want to learn, something like R.E. Meatyard.

When you want to push your landscapes farther, I would send you in two directions: Ansel Adams for technical mastery (if you haven't, read the holy trilogy, Camera, Negative, Print), and Minor White for artistry/composition.

You're already doing great work, keep on keeping on, never settle.

Very cool. If I can recommend a book or three - Scott Kelby Digital Photography 1-3. Really great books for learning because they are simple lessons - one page, one lesson. No need to read through, you can pick and choose what you want to learn. There are two others, books 4 and 5. I have 4 and found it less useful than 1-3 but some of that is because I moved past it in skills before I bought it. No idea about 5. His blog is great too - lots of free knowledge. Same with Joe McNally.

Good luck!

P.S. What camera did you get?

I am a hobbyist wildlife photographer but it was only a few years ago that I started so maybe I can point you in the right direction.

First what is your basic understanding of you camera? If you don't have the basics a specialized wildlife instruction session isn't going to help you too much. For the basics I highly recommend the book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson, it's the best beginner book for photography out there.

Off the top of my head I can think of photographer named Steve Mattheis up in Jackson Hole who does instruction. He's also got an awesome YouTube channel.

Frankly YouTube is your friend, I spend a lot of time watching YouTube videos on photography.

> Start with manual and don't touch other modes for a while until you learn how to expose the way you want to.

I could not disagree any more strongly.

If he starts in manual, it'll be harder to understand how aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc, each individually affect exposure (among other things) because it won't be obvious which change to which function caused which effect on the outcome of the shot.

On the other hand, if he's willing to take classes, then I might - note that I only said might - agree.

I definitely DO agree that he needs a good foundation. Perhaps a book like Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson, among others. And I definitely recommend downloading the manual to the camera.

That's some quality glass to start out with - I'm a bit jealous!

Based on your hardware I'll assume you're not entirely new to photography so, suggestions for next steps, aside from taking photos:

Books/Websites to read:

• The Moment it clicks - I got a big kick out of this book, but some didn't like it.
  
  
• Susan Sontag's On Photography is a thought-provoking look into the psychology and philosophy of photography. On some level it feels slightly dated, but it's still incredibly relevant - probably more relevant than when it was originally written.
  
  
• Digital Photography School is an extremely valuable online resource for people getting into photography.
  
  
• Strobist is almost required reading for people wanting to introduce artificial light into their photos.
  
  
• Flickr is a huge site, and a very useful place to find like-minded people. Search their groups for the kind of photography you're interested in and you're sure to find groups full of kindred spirits (and the occasional troll).
  
  Secondly, I'd suggest you pick some masters to emulate/study/admire. There are far too many to list so I'll just pop down a few that got my juices flowing when I first got into photography:
  
  
• Henri Cartier-Bresson
  
  
• Ansel Adams
  
  
• James Nachtwey
  
  
  Cartier-Bresson once said "your first 10,000 photos are always your worst", so get out there and take some! Then take some more :-)
  
  Edit: Fixed formatting.

Great question. I think about this a lot as well. As someone who was previously really bad at design and has gradually gotten a little bit better:

1. The book that really got me into this was Information Dashboard Design by Stephen Few: https://www.amazon.com/Information-Dashboard-Design-Effective-Communication/dp/0596100167. Tufte has some really great work as well.
   
2. Any time I find a design that I like, I take a full-page screenshot and save it to a folder in my notes system. I have about 40 full-page screenshots that I turn to.
   
3. Five Interface Laws Every Software Designer Should Know: https://speakerdeck.com/roundedbygravity/5-interface-laws-every-software-designer-should-know
   
4. This great Quora Post on color science: https://www.quora.com/Is-there-a-science-to-picking-colors-that-work-well-together-or-is-it-just-subjective/answer/Colm-Tuite
   
5. Ian Storm Taylor - Never Use Black: https://ianstormtaylor.com/design-tip-never-use-black/

JFRHorton had a good guess but Autographic is not correct. From the /r/photography thread, user av4rice says:

"4x6" glass plate negatives and a good long lens in soft light. That format used a large wooden box camera on a tripod with accordion-looking bellows and a black blanket over the photographer in the back.

The size and chemistry of the medium brings out nice details and tones. A soft-lit scene also contributes to the look. The lenses use a long focal length which narrows the depth of field and blurs the background, but still provide a relatively wide angle of view due to the large format."

And my comment from that thread:

In case you're interested, these are from the book called 'City of Shadows', a collection of police photographs out of Sydney. Great book, you can get it here though Amazon's price is way high. I think I got it for about $40-$60 from book depository though they're out of stock.

And in response to another question about the book (if it had details on the process):

From memory it doesn't go in to a huge amount of detail about the photographic process so much (I could be wrong) but I think there's a fairly large section on the archiving and all - if I remember they basically dug up thousands of these slides and had to sort them all. It ended up being a gallery exhibition in Sydney (if I remember at the old police station / museum by Circular Quay) which is where these photos and the ones from the book are taken.

Sorry I can't be more of a help as far as details go, it is a really interesting book and the portraits have a distinctly... Creepy tone to them. Crazy old ladies and cold eyed killers.

Here's an "Intro to Tableau" Evernote link that has the detail below, but this is what I've put together for our teams when new folks join and want to know more about it.

http://www.evernote.com/l/AKBV30_85-ZEFbF0lNaDxgSMuG9Mq0xpmUM/

What is Tableau?

• What Tableau IS and IS NOT - Interworks/Dan Murry - Blog post - [2p]
  
• A New Approach to Business Intelligence: Rapid-fire BI - Tableau - [Whitepaper - 15p]
  
• What is Tableau - Quora - Forum - [12a]
  
• What is Tableau - Yusheng Huang - Video - [2:26]
  
• Tableau Software Overview - Tableau Software - Video - [2:20]
  
  
  Where do I get it?
  
  
• Desktop latest version - Download Page - Tableau
  
• Previous versions - Download Page - Tableau
  
• Tableau Public - Tableau
  
• Pricing overview - Tableau
  
  Now that I have it, how do I use it?
  
  
• Tableau Starter Kit - Tableau
  
• Tableau Training Videos - Tableau
  
• Data Analysis Fundamentals with Tableau - Pluralsight
  
• Big Data Analytics with Tableau - Pluralsight
  
• Enterprise Business Intelligence with Tableau Server - Pluralsight
  
• Data Visualizations Using Tableau Public - Pluralsight
  
• Data Science and Analytics in Context - edX
  
  
  How do I become involved?
  
  
• Tableau User Groups - Tableau
  
• Tableau Community Forums - Tableau
  
• /r/tableau - Reddit
  
  
  I want to know more
  
  
• Books
  
  • Tableau Your Data! - Dan Murray
    
  • Storytelling with Data: A Data Visualization Guide for Business Professionals - Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic
    
  • The Visual Display of Quantitative Information - Edward Tufte
    
  • Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data - Stephen Few
    
  • Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten - Stephen Few
    
    
• Blogs
  
  • VizPainter - IFTTT
    
  • Tableau Viz of the Day - IFTTT
    
  • Vizioneer - IFTTT
    
  • VizCandy - IFTTT
    
  • Tableau Zen - IFTTT
    
  • Tableau Renders - IFTTT
    
  • Tableau Love - IFTTT
    
  • Viz Ninja - IFTTT
    
  • Paint by Numbers - IFTTT
    
  • Jewel Loree - IFTTT
    
  • Jen Underwood - IFTTT (BI)
    
  • datadoodle - IFTTT
    
    
• Podcasts
  
  • Tableau Wanna Be Podcast - Soundcloud iTunes
    
  • Podcast your data - Stitcher iTunes
    
  • Partially Derivative - Stitcher iTunes
    
  • PolicyViz - Stitcher iTunes
    
  • More
    
    
• Job Market
  
  • LinkedIn
    
  • Indeed
    
  • Monster
    
  • SimplyHired
    
    
• Certification
  
  • Tableau
    

Read a lot, trial and error as well as Scott Kelby's books and online trainings.

A few books to recommend:

David Ziser's Captured by the Light - He's a wedding photographer, but what he covers in this book is universally applicable.

Scott Kelby's Digital Photography books.

Scott Kelby's Photoshop for Photographer books along with his online training videos.

As we as some websites...

Digital Photography School's section for beginners (the whole website is good, but this will probably be most helpful).

Strobist because eventually you'll want to learn to light.

David Ziser's blog gives a lot of good tips, too.

Good post processing isn't necessarily in the post processing. It really does begin by getting it right in the camera, first. Understanding light, composition and the mechanics of your camera will do more for your editing than just about anything you could do in Photoshop (unless you're looking for abstract techniques like cross processing or the other crap that's really popular now).

(shamless plug)

> Actually it does! It’s really cool but in forests the trees sort of divide up sections of the sky by which they harvest sunlight. Trees in forests grow exponentially slower than trees in an open field.

You are right they do grow faster. But slow growth is better for trees and the microenvironment that they create. Faster growth leads to weaker/less healthy trees. Source.

This and many like it are featured in a collection at the Sydney Police and Justice Museum after being lost for many years. I forget the exact context but my neighbour worked on the initial collection and many of the old police files were lost due to buildings being transferred between departments. Eventually a building, then belonging to the Historic Houses Trust, was flooded and boxes of hundreds upon hundreds of these glass negatives were found in original condition however the attached notes were destroyed. Peter Doyle has (I'm sure along with many other people) worked for a number of years to put together information on these and created a book called City of Shadows which we gave to our neighbour last Christmas and was captivating just to look into these people's faces, stories, and I really loved the emotion in their eyes.

We went there back in Year 12 a few years ago and they were telling us how the criminals were allowed to adopt any pose they desired, but with the photography at the time (early 1900s) were essentially long exposures so some have blur as one of the men in the picture. Other images can be found here including the man who refused to open his eyes . Doyle has also noted that many faces appear several times with differing names and outfits showing the success of their alias'. Cool Stuff.

Guess I can mention something that hasn't been said.

Master studies. You don't need to reinvent the wheel. Just like with photos and movies as mentioned by others. Find works of art you like, do your own "version" and ask yourself the same "why" questions. Pay attention to darks vs. lights. negative space. All those art clichés. They start to make sense after a while.

Also, for a quick run through of what works and what doesn't.

Picture This: How Pictures Work
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1587170302

Not an amazing mind blowing book. But a good reference for a lot of plain fact. Things we may not consider that much but seriously, they are simple and they are true and they'll give you something to look for in masterpieces, movies, photographs, you name it. Things to look for and understand. Trust me. It's very clever in its simplicity.

I had time to to reply to /u/captainpoopantsVII with this:



The SRT series bodies are very simple with a built in meter, shutter dial, and aperture ring on the lens. A battery is not required for the camera to be used, as it's only required to power the meter.

You mentioned you don't know much about photography, so I would also recommend reading about camera exposure. Learning how ISO, shutter speed, and aperture relate is one of the biggest things about photography. If your photos are too dark or too bright, it might not look good. Of course, after mastering this, it's then your right to break these rules. :)

Understand Exposure is a good book about exposure
http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Bryan-Peterson-ebook/dp/B004FEFS5E/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398888049&sr=1-1&keywords=understanding+exposure


Also, I like Creative Camera Control.
http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Camera-Control-Peter-Laytin/dp/0240804260/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398888078&sr=1-1&keywords=creative+camera+control


That's a very short book that has nothing about digital photography. It focuses on getting creative and mastering the camera while shooting.

Scan tips (https://www.scantips.com) is nice, if nerdy/detailed, but fundamentals you must understand regardless. Then I have the speedlighters handbook ( https://www.amazon.com/Speedliters-Handbook-Learning-Craft-Speedlites/dp/0134007913/ref=dp_ob_title_bk) which is a great intro course to the artistic side of strobism (steps for setting your cameras exposure then flash, basic portrait lighting, indoor outdoor, multi flash setups, fill, use of reflectors and gels etc), and almost all of it is relevant even if you aren't a canon person. And finally for film the end of this article always comes to mind as well-written: https://web2.ph.utexas.edu/~yue/misc/35RC.html
Personally I am not good enough to nail flash on film yet but I'd had fantastic and reproduceable results, especially in studio, by getting my continuous and strobe balance and shape right on digital, then firing away with film at same settings (off camera flash of course via pc cord mostly). Here's example I did that way : https://i.imgur.com/sxwGnLJ.jpg

Good luck!

> the Canon speedlites are too expensive for me

I would honestly reconsider the Speedlite 430EX-III RT. It gets 4.8 stars on Amazon. Pretty much nothing on Amazon reviews that well.

I have a Canon EOS 650D and the first flash I purchased for it was the 430EX-II and it's a really good flash. Totally changed my photography game.

Also, this book is super helpful, too: https://www.amazon.com/Speedliters-Handbook-Learning-Craft-Speedlites/dp/0134007913/

Magnum Contact Sheets is a great book that shows how many shots went into getting the perfect image and the different ways the photographers tried to set up the scene before getting the final shot.

Similarly, if your SO has any interest in Hip-Hop and the iconic photography behind it, Contact High is a great selection.

if you ask this question you clearly don't know how camera work and you should really read tutorial on the internet to really understand how gear work
https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B006KY2VZ2/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
this book is the best value for money it cost only 5euro i think it should cost 200 and it would still be a good buy
having 5k euro gear is useless if you don't know how to use it

first remember the equivalent
24-70 and 70-200 F2,8 are good on FX
on DX theses give you and equivalent of :

36-105 and 105-300 F4

first in my opinion
24-70 f2.8 is stupid on aps-C
24 is not enough wide, go for the sigma 17-50 you will have better image quality than the tamron and nikon FX
you can also go for the sigma art 18-35f1,8


for the 70-200f2,8 on aps-c it's not really for portrait cause it will open at f4 (FX equivalent )
50-100F1,8 sigma art is sharper and you will open at f2,7(FX equivalent)

but if you want to have more reach go for the 70-200f2,8, but for wedding 50-100sigma art is clearly better


by taking sigma art 18-35f1,8 and 50-100f1,8 you will have really better quality than your 24-70 and 70-200

I think what you're really missing here is proper lighting. The valley is shaded except for that lip of sunlight in the back-right of the photo. You can play around with some color settings to try to get what you're looking for, but I don't think it'll come off looking quite as natural as what you'd want.

I always suggest taking a look at Understanding Exposure.. It's a great help in learning 1) the relationships between ISO/Aperature/Shutter Speed to achieve proper exposure, and 2) how lighting affects your image.

The exposure seems correct for the lighting situation, but the timing/composition is where you missed the boat on this particular shot. Good work, though, composition just comes down to lots of practice and exposing yourself to other photographers' works!

I hope this isn't looked at as inappropriate. I share this only to say that you are right about the trees. They are truly amazing beings. I always feel safe in the trees. They will absolutely protect the little ones.

There is. I shoot with a Canon, so I'm not going to be too much help on the specifics, but my camera has color/scene modes that tweak the resulting image based on the settings (I think, for example, the landscape scene - the mountain icon - drops the blues, which is essentially what Paint.net did when it leveled your photo).

Take a look at Alexandre Buisse's website - He compiled a 30-part photography course on Reddit in /r/photoclass, and has since moved it all to his website for easy reading.

If you're more interested in books, I highly recommend Scott Kelby's "Digital Photography Book". There are three volumes in total, and they cover all sorts of photography scenarios in very easy to understand language, and he includes instructions for both Canons and Nikons. I refer back to my copies all the time.

Someone else might be able to point you toward something online, but for me, The Negative and The Print are pretty essential. Understanding the Zone System opens up a new world of possibilities when you're ready to progress past blindly following manufacturer recommendations for developing. :)

Hey man. I agree with you on the 'more meaningful way' bit. I definitely got heated. Might have something to do with sleep deprivation and the marathon of HIMYM I'm currently on.

Regardless, excuses aside. Sorry man, shouldn't have been that harsh.

I would LOVE to go into detail about every single one of your shots and what I would've done and what I thought needed work. But to be honest. It's all subjective. It's an art. You might like something that I hate.

THAT BEING SAID, there are some basics you should really avoid. And there are are things you need to learn in order to accurately pull that idea out of your head and successfully get it into film.

Instead of yelling at you. I'm gonna gather up some resources for you that I really hope you take the time to learn from.

Now, you asked to see some of my work. Linking you stuff would just throw away the point of the 'throwaway' account since my first comment was so god damn harsh and to the point. Now I stated that

"You wasted 2:45 seconds. A lot of short films can make a grown man weep in that time"

I would just like to show you an example of what 2:42 seconds can do.

Here's the list:

QUICK VIDEOZ UP IN DIS BITCH:

Hands on lecture about Cinematography


Get out of AUTO mode! Some quick tips on shooting with a DSLR. I assume you're using a DSLR because that's what I started with. Regardless of camera this is great advice to start with

Wise words from my man Kevin Smith on independent filmmaking

Intro lecture on pre-production, script writing, and filmmaking in general

More DSLR tips and tricks


READING MATERIALS YO, READ DIS SHIT:

http://www.amazon.ca/The-Filmmakers-Eye-Cinematic-Composition/dp/0240812174

http://www.amazon.ca/The-Filmmakers-Handbook-Comprehensive-Digital/dp/0452297281



Now I understand if you can't afford to buy the books. When I was in highschool I was lucky enough to be able to beg my friends to borrow their camcorders in order to film my shorts. It's how I got started.

That being said I don't want to break rule #2 of this subreddit that I fucking love.

THAT BEING SAID.

LET'S JUST SAY.... THAT A CERTAIN BEARDED PIRATE.... IS CHILLING AT A CERTAIN BAY... AND IF YOU JUST GO TO HIM AND SAY THE WORDS "The Filmmaker" I'M SURE HE COULD HOOK A BROTHA UP WITH SOME OF DEM KNOWLEDGE PAPERS YA DIG?


Anyways brother/sister. I'm sorry about being harsh on your film. I wish you the best of luck in the future. All the stuff I've thrown your way you don't have to go through it all in one sitting. Just delve into some of them on your freetime every now and then.

Peace bitch. (I mean bitch in the nicestest most Aaron Paul way possible)

That's what I love most about this series! The speech of trees with OA has a scientific basis. The trees help each other, nourish each other, and maintain a system that resembles a huge living organism.

I suggest you watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HPgqqdcQXA

And if you're interested, read this book, it's very enlightening: https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Life-Trees-Communicate-Discoveries/dp/1771642483

When I was in film school 35 years ago, I had to read a bunch of expensive books - none of them taught me the answers to these questions. I had to figure it out for myself. Today, a few inexpensive Kindle books will save you a lot of time and headaches and give you a much better idea of what you actually have to do to make a movie.

Here's what I would read if I were starting out today - all from authors who have actually made movies, not just written about it (prices as of this post):

["11 Simple Steps to turn a Screenplay into a Marketable Movie" - 99 cents] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009YKJ5UI/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B009YKJ5UI&linkCode=as2&tag=battleforthew-20). This is a real world story of a guy who made a $10,000 movie that made money.

["How to Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck: Advice to Make Any Amateur Look Like a Pro" - $7.69] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0051NHJFU/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0051NHJFU&linkCode=as2&tag=battleforthew-20). You probably already have a firm foundation in the basics of storytelling, but here is a nice little summary of what it takes to make a movie watchable.

And, if you can afford it

["Raindance Producers' Lab Lo-To-No Budget Filmmaking" - $22.99] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GISSHO4/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00GISSHO4&linkCode=as2&tag=battleforthew-20). Soup to nuts for the low budget filmmaker.

The authors of these three books have actually made movies. Better to learn from their hard-won experience than to go out and reinvent the wheel.

Good luck!

Your question has been answered pretty thoroughly. The only advice I can offer is to pickup a good book about exposure. I picked my my first good camera (A6000) last January and this book was very beginner friendly and really helpful.

https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-Fourth-Photographs-Camera-ebook/dp/B0104EOJSK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=30Q5FX0FR8DSW&keywords=understanding+exposure+4th+edition+by+bryan+peterson&qid=1564165015&s=gateway&sprefix=understanding+exposu%2Caps%2C246&sr=8-1

I don't know about the analogy, but trees in general do this or some similar things.

There's a book called The Hidden Life of Trees that has some, IMO, pretty interesting stuff in there, if you're interested.

For example, the author even tells about a stump in an old beech (forest) I believe that had been cut down something like 150+ years ago that was still alive, as it was supported by the other trees.

Generally, forests will apparently support sick individual trees, potentially because if a forest loses a tree then the sunlight gets through which evaporates moisture and changes the milieu of the forest floor.

I bought this book about five years ago when I was just starting out and it was such a great resource. I always recommend it to friends and family when I know they've just bought their first DSLR. I hope it helps!

Dgital Photography School is great, Lightstalking.com is another good one. I'd suggest studying on composition first, then work on mastering exposure. Bryan Peterson has written arguably the best book ever on exposure (all of his stuff is worth looking at) and this series by Scott Kelby can really accelerate the learning process, there is a lot of good information in there not directly related to operating your camera that you otherwise would only learn after years of experience.

Anyone has suggestion for great photo books which I could learn a lot from about photography in general? Recently I bought both Magnum Manifesto and Magnum Contact Sheets, and I really love them, especially the latter, simply because I learned a great deal about composition by poring over it. So another question would be iss there any other book which compiles famous contact sheets of well-regarded photographers?

Let's see, there was Understanding Exposure, which is especially helpful for people who have only ever shot digital b/c it explains so much of the basic functions of the camera that most people take per granted and can improve your pictures dramatically, another one of Peterson's books, Learning to See Creatively is also really good, I also like The Photographer's Eye. Another really good book if you're into B&W is Black & White: Photographic Printing Workshop, which was written for using enlargers in a darkroom but can equally be used with basic Photoshop technique, shows how to convert blah pictures into really amazing imagery using basic dodging and burning techniques. I'll post some examples of his later when I get home.

Levelling your horizon will improve the shot somewhat. In this photo, there is foreground interest, but it fills the frame from top to bottom almost entirely. Anyway, practice makes perfect. And I highly recommend Bryan Peterson's book, Learning to See Creatively.

Meaning is imbued into a shot (or any creative decision) by the filmmaker. Depending on the context, the intent, and the execution, a single creative choice (like a shot) could mean all sorts of different things.

In other words: you won't find a comprehensive guide with 1 to 1 definitions for every shot out there because meaning ebbs and flows. It's subjective, and interpretive. That's part of what makes filmmaking so awesome.

That said, a good place to start with shots is this book. It's basically Composition 101. It'll teach you the fundamentals about what shots are, how to recognize them, and generally what they're used for. But pay close attention to the title of the book...learning what the shots are and what they do is only the first step. Learning to break the rules in interesting ways, turning them inside out, flipping them on their head -- that's the mark of a great filmmaker.

Highly recommend this read: https://www.amazon.com/Photographers-Playbook-307-Assignments-Ideas/dp/159711247X

​

The "prompts" (jf you can call them that) are intellectually and creatively engaging--and they're from some of the best photographers alive right now

You've got a very graphic design here, but your shapes are not at all picked for emotional impact on the viewer.

You have some rounds, a lot of sharp edges, horizontals and diagonals without seemingly much purpose. As viewer, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be feeling when I look at this. It's a cute design, but all the hard edges make it somewhat uninviting and harsh.

May I suggest picking up Picture This, a book on shape language. I think designing purposely to evoke particular emotions in your viewers will really take your beautiful work up a notch.

Oh, and it's already been said, but the sheep isn't working as indicator of a dream. It's all too definite. Dreams are fleeting, surreal, soft - the hard borders in your dream path just read as path.

When I first started with my G7 I was a complete beginner as well. I totally recommend this book. It's a super easy read and will help you immensely.

Agree. Like everything, it's about balance. It's good to try to have the best crop out of camera to use the maximum of your sensor or film, but as well its good to shoot slightly wider so you have room for some crops of rotation.

A good tool to prove your point is to send them to the Magnum Contact Sheets book and show them the corps they did on film in the darkroom.

You and most of the commenters sound like gadget collectors, not photographers. I can still take a good photo with my mechanical film camera from highschool(well if I can find film). You don'r need a good camera to take good photos. Instead of concentrating on the tech, try new things with composition, lighting or subject matter. I've taken ok photos with literally a toilet plunger(made into a pinhole camera).

A black and white print is rarely black and white when done by a skilled developer. Usually, prints are toned so the dark areas are different shades of brown or blue or... whatever works best. They can be split toned so they the shadows are a different color than mid and highs. Making a print in black and white is an art, especially when using chemicals. It is also a little bit cheating--put anything in a selenium bath and it will look fantastic.

If you really want to see some interesting examples, get this book: Photographer's toning guide

This other guy wrote a book on it, too: The Print

A few that I would point out that I have read, loved, and learned a lot from:

• Picture Perfect Posing by Roberto Valenzuela
  
• Picture Perfect Practice by Roberto Valenzuela
  
• More Brides by Mark Condon
  
• The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris

Introduction & enjoyable read:

Scott Kelby's Digital Photography Book series (there are 3 books - 1st one is highly recommended - by many is #1 best selling photography book ever)

...aaaaand The Moment it Clicks (by Joe McNally)

For portraits: Peter Hurley

Masterpiece: James Nachtwey - Inferno (if fact ANYTHING of James Nachtwey - the guy is alone in his own league)

I would recommend ["The Print"] (http://www.amazon.com/New-Photo-Negative-Ansel-Photography/dp/0821221868) by Ansel Adams. A techincally deep but easy to read book covering the zone system and how to capture different forms of light.

For thinking about photography Susan Sontag's ["On Photography"] (http://www.amazon.com/Photography-Susan-Sontag/dp/0312420099/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341440297&sr=1-1&keywords=sontag+photography) a great book on the meaning of photography.

Both are somewhat dated, but are the basis upon much has been written since. They are the touchstones.

Tony and Chelsea Northrup's book is incredible and widely recommended. It's inexpensive and has a wealth of knowledge to help you understand what is necessary to make excellent images.

https://www.amazon.com/Tony-Northrups-DSLR-Book-Photography-ebook/dp/B006KY2VZ2

4.8 of 5.0 stars. 2,200+ reviews. It's solid.

The iphone camera is plenty good enough to create appealing images. You might have seen the pro fashion photography with an iphone video here recently: http://fstoppers.com/iphone/
or this photography book shot all with the iphone:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0321684788/

And applying some post-processing to make up for the cameras weaknesses is a good thing! Some of the effects are over the top and/or cheesy, but he will learn to apply them more subtly with time.

Personally, I think these are quite good - [http://www.flickr.com/photos/codysanfilippo/4807166199/in/set-72157624533460560/](the Kiss) in particular. I've never shot anything that "emotional" with any camera.

Finally - the images here show that a lot of time and effort have gone into them. He spends some time shooting, some time selecting the good ones, some time post-processing them, and then he goes to the hassle of putting them online, and even asking for criticism here. And the best you come up with is "it's shit".

I guess you are right that your photos are not relevant here, but at least you could try with some constructive criticism. Or perhaps just not comment.

https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-Fourth-Photographs-Camera-ebook/dp/B0104EOJSK/

https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Shutter-Speed-Bryan-Peterson-ebook/dp/B004JHYK88/


I think those books should have the main info. But the basics of how the picture is made should be readily available in google also. Don't worry, we all have been beginners. Remember that the lens are more important than camera and photographer is most important. Composition and light make the picture. Just take a lot of pictures and don't worry if they don't look good, most photographers take a lot of pictures and only show the best. It's important to take pictures ;)

This is a good primer: http://photographylife.com/what-is-aperture-in-photography

This is a great book: http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Edition-ebook/dp/B004FEFS5E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1375110728&sr=8-2&keywords=understanding+aperture

Canon, Nikon, Sony or other? (Not like it really matters, they are all just tools)

MA in Photo History and BFA in Studio Photography here. If I was teaching beginning photography, these would be the books I would use to illustrate the history, theory, and techniques behind photography:

• The History of Photography by Beaumont Newhall This book is a bit outdated but it is the seminal text for the history of photography
  
• On Photography by Susan Sontag A series of essays about the meaning of photography
  
• [Camera Lucida by Roland Barthes] (http://www.amazon.com/Camera-Lucida-Reflections-Roland-Barthes/dp/0374532338/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374024103&sr=1-2) A book that illuminates the standard theory of studium and punctum
  
• Black and White Photography: A Basic Manual by Henry Horenstein
  
  The two theory texts (Sontag and Barthes) are collegiate level so I would introduce them lightly - maybe use a section out of both to structure a project around. If you want to PM me I can email you a syllabus I created for when I taught 6 week adult course at a community studio. This will give basic gist of how it can be structured and what you will need supply-wise. Also- if you want - I'd be happy to review any syllabus you make.

Especially with landscapes, but really with all kinds of photography, I can't recommend the book How Pictures Work enough.

It's not a photography book, but it is a fabulous and very simple to understand, book on composition and how/why different shapes and colors make us feel the way they do. It's not a one-stop bible by any means, but it's an excellent resource to get you going.

Ansel Adam's books are amazing. The Camera and The Negative are really good. The Print is also good but not really relevant to a hybrid work flow. Still neat reading though.

• Windows of the Soul: My Journeys in the Muslim World by Alexandra Avakia
  
• Inferno by James Nachtwey
  
• Signos by Veejay Villafrancia
  
• Magnum Contact Sheets by Magnum Photo Agency
  
• Free E-Books on street photography by Eric Kim
  
• Afghanistan: The Road to Kabul by Ron Haviv
  
• American Color 2 by Constantine Manos
  
• Wear Good Shoes: Inspiring Advice from Magnum Photographers by LensCulture
  
• Sleeping by the Mississippi by Alec Soth
  
  
  I suggest you visit Magnum, LensCulture, Invisible Photographers Asia, In-Public, British Journal of Photography, etc. Have fun!

Following up on this, if you are into photography and don't mind splurging a bit, the following are always fun to play with.

• Speedlight with tiltable head (buy whatever one works with your camera) - Yongnuo and the name brands are both good choices.
  - Speedlighters Handbook if nothing else, every photographer who likes flash should read this.
  
  Bounce flash off the roof is how I typically shoot dark dogs, since I don't often drag out my other lighting stuff.
  
  Additionally, if you want to be more adventurous, the following enable mountains of options.
  
  
• Cheap shoot through umbrella eBay
  
• Cheap light stand x 2 eBay
  
• Light stand umbrella & flash brackets eBay
  
• Cheap off camera flash controller cable or wireless
  
  The wired controller allows full control of the flash from your camera along with flash exposure control. The wireless trigger is manual flash control only.
  

Force: Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators- by Mike Mattesi

Probably my favorite drawing book ever. Focusing on force and motion rather than stiff posing.

Picture This: How Pictures Work- by Molly Bang

Not really a drawing book per se, but a great book about layout and constructing an image all told with simple shapes and colors.

np. I saw it posted (sorry can't remember who) right after I joined reddit. It's what helped me begin to understand how planned out and intricate Brit and Zal's story/puzzle is.

Beware, if you browse through past posts here or on r/forkingpaths it gets very addictive with sources from greek mythology to groundbreaking books to Leonara Carrington painter of SYGYZY & Q Symphony + the IRL Q Symphony, Nazi dream studies, this, etc. Plus theories like Fight Club HAP, forking paths from the start, interdimensional FBI (MIB), Sixth Sense Ending to S1, etc.

or just fun stuff. or things we want to believe, or ponder :)

My favorite educational book on photography is probably "The Art of Photography: An Approach to Personal Expression" by Bruce Barnbaum.

My favorite book on portraiture is "50 Portraits" by Gregory Heisler and for landscapes it's "Treasured Lands" by Q.T. Luong.

All of these have a big focus on film photography.

Another good set is Ansel Adams trilogy, The Camera, The Negative and The Print, which you can get used on Amazon for about $20 for all three books. However, they focus primarily on large format cameras, black and white negatives, and darkroom printing, so unless you're doing specifically that, I'd go with The Art of Photography above.

These are pictures I took on my iPhone 4s in Guatemala.



I took it with my phone because it wasn't safe to bring my "real" camera into many of those environments. I am a professional photographer, and I love my big expensive cameras BUT The best camera is the one you have with you!

Sure!

In terms of Western Science:

The Philosophy of Plants

OP also mentioned The Hidden Life of Trees (This one's a bit reductive, and Wohlleben's been accused of anthropomorphizing trees a bit too much by many ecologists)

This interview with Wohlleben at Yale360 is a good primer for his book *Free*

I've also mentioned Suzanne Simard and Stefano Mancuso. They've both done TED Talks on the subject which will pop up on a quick google search of their names. It's important to note, also, other thinkers have pushed back against their ideas!

In terms of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK):

EDIT: Forgot this AWESOME interview with Robin Wall Kimmerer, the author of the book below, a Citizen of the Potawatomi Nation, AND a plant ecologist *Free*

Braiding Sweetgrass (I'm sure with some googling you could find some PDF's of a couple chapters online)

As We Have Always Done

This article by Deborah McGregor is a good primer on the dangers of co-opting and viewing Indigenous Knowledge in a reductive way (that of the "Noble Savage," which one person in this thread was attempting to get at, I think)

I'm in the same boat except I'm an editor trying to improve my motion design work. I've been reading about design and trying to find ways to practice. I started with Karen Cheng's How to become a designer without going to design school blog post because she's aggregated a lot of great resources there.

So far the best book I've read that she references is: Picture This: How Pictures Work which well illustrates some fundamentals about design and composition.

I'm also taking the first Mograph Mentor online class which has been a great experience but costs money.

You could find a project to take up. This book is pretty cool for finding ideas. A 30 day photography challenge with different photo requirements each day can be fun too.

Just a few of the lighter purchases I've made this year that I can recommend to anyone. Maybe these are more like stocking stuffers but they're definitely must-haves.

• Nikon Lens Pen
  
• Giottos Rocket Air Blaster
  
• The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world's top shooters by Joe McNally

If you really want to know about HDR, go pick up copies of Ansel Adams' The Camera, The Negative, and The Print. I'm not even a big Ansel Adams fan, but the dude understood HDR before it was 'cool.'

And I agree with goose_of_trees: The HDR technique here is mostly used to take boring shots and make them look terrible. Good HDR should be invisible to the viewer - they should be captivated by the content first, and if extending the dynamic range of the image will enhance that, then it is appropriate to do so.

I am interested in getting into photography and recently ordered my first camera. I bought a Canon T5i w/ EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM Lens and a EF 75-300mm F/4-5.6 III Autofocus Telephoto Zoom Lens.

I am mainly interested in taking portraits, landscape and event photos. The events I work at are in everything from hotel ballrooms, private homes to convention spaces, almost always indoors with fairly dim lighting.

I've been trying to do some research on different equipment and gear that I would need, and came up with the following list. Is there anything that I don't need or a better alternative than I have listed? Is there anything I'm missing?

Thanks

"Nifty Fifty" Lens - https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00X8MRBCW

Bag - https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00CF5OGP8

Memory Card - https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B007NDL54C

Battery Grip - https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0039VYN1Y

Speedlite 430 - https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B010W2MAOO

Lightsphere - https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01JPY41RO

Book 1 - https://smile.amazon.com/dp/1446302172

Book 2 - https://smile.amazon.com/dp/0134007913

GorillaPod - https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B002FGTWOC

Battery Charger - https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00JHKSMJU

Extra Batteries - https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00JHKSL28

I wholeheartedly agree.

Did some research!

The photographs were exhibited at the Historic Houses Trust, and taken down on Sunday 11 February, 2007. A 239 page book was later formed called the City of Shadows: Sydney Police Photographs 1912-1948, though a little out of my price range. Fortunately there are tons more mugshots floating around for those interested.

Cheers.

Honestly if you don't know what they need from asking them, a gift card to Amazon. I'd much rather have that and spend it on what I need or whatever G.A.S. tells me I need than to receive a piece of kit that I didn't choose. I don't mean to sound rude, it's just that I rather prefer researching and choosing my own gear.

If you absolutely must, though, I recommend a book.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1907708952/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0817439390/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0961454733/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/159711247X/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312420099/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Or a notebook for taking notes while out shooting, scouting, etc.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/8883701127/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I don't know how a purely aural medium can effectively convey a purely visual art form.

Instead, I think it would be a better idea to pick up some ebooks on composition, light or even painting to go through. Two books I would highly suggest are:

The Photographer's Eye

https://www.amazon.com/Photographers-Eye-Composition-Design-Digital/dp/0240809343

and

Learning to See Creatively

https://www.amazon.com/Learning-See-Creatively-Third-Composition/dp/1607748274

I came across a nice book ads last time in the subway the book is called : The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate. great read!

>The Best Camera Is The One That's With You: iPhone Photography by Chase Jarvis

> - Chase Jarvis of the Internet

I use that iPhone app. And for fuck's sake I got a lot of much better photos out of that than I got with my 7D. ... Maybe if I buy that $2000 lens and put it on that $2400 camera.... hmmm...

Roberto's book, Picture Perfect Practice: A Self-Training Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Taking World-Class Photographs, really opened new horizons for me, totally recommend it!

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.

Thank you. I am planning on picking up this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Picture-Perfect-Practice-Self-Training-World-Class/dp/0321803531/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

I'm hoping it will help me learn more.

The Filmmaker's Eye is a brilliant basic starting point. Very easy to read quickly.

Learn to improvise. How cute does a home have to be for you to clean up one little corner to shoot? Only the part that's in-frame needs to be cute. You should read Joe McNally's book The Moment it Clicks for dozens of inspiring anecdotes about how he improvised under difficult or even impossible conditions.

Problem-solving is what it's all about.

Taschen makes some wonderful budget photo book options. They have this one on New York which is $10. Bernice Abbot's Changing New York is a wonderful book but is most likely out of your price range unless you're willing to buy used. Diane Arbus' Revelations also falls into that category. There is also Humans of New York by Brandon Stanton though I don't find the photography particularly compelling.

I think after getting the basics down (exposure triangle) it’s about composition and making creative decisions.

There’s a book called The Photographer’s Playbook that might offer you some cool ideas.

I also like Ted Forbes’ Photo Assignments series on YouTube.

Learn about Rule of Thirds and read this book: https://www.amazon.com/How-Create-Stunning-Digital-Photography-ebook/dp/B006KY2VZ2

You're not going to become the best from it, but it will make you understand how to make photos that are more interesting.

The Filmmaker's Eye - Easy to read book that I've fallen in love with. Not sure if it's what you're looking for, but definitely something to consider!

And an excellent place to start it is.


Not sure of your age and whether or not you've never taken a photography course in high school or college. Not even sure if they still teach film photography in high school (gosh I'm old). But if you haven't then I suggest reading one of these books on basic photography principles. Familiarizing yourself with f stops, ISO, shutter speed, basic composition principles will go a long way.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321678737/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0321678737&linkCode=as2&tag=httpwwwpho006-20


as far as lenses go I would start with a prime lens. For the a6000 I suggest something closer to the Full frame equivalent of 50mm. In this case you'd be looking at the Sony 35mm f1.8 or Sigma 30mm f1.4. Using a prime will force you to move in our out to frame your shot and will prevent you from using your zoom to frame a shot. Old school photographers like my pop says zoom lenses make people lazy. You'll also get the pleasing depth of field and bokeh look out the gate.


One other tip from a non professional photographer to another is to take your camera everywhere and shoot everything. The best way to learn is to do IMO. Mirrorless cameras are light and compact so there is no excuse to not take it with you.

Edit: And if you;re on a budget I would absolutely start with the kit lens then work your way up to a prime lens. But go for a prime lens if you can.

Humans of New York is a wonderful book. It also happens to be a blog and an Instagram account. By interviewing his subjects, Brandon Stanton brings an interesting sense of reality to his photographs.

I found Speedliter's Handbook: Learning to Craft Light with Canon Speedlites very useful when I began trying to use my flashes more effectively. I've not read the 2nd edition as it's been a few years now since I read the 1st.

If you are new to photography, these books are worded in an easy to understand way to get you shooting the results you want quicker. My fav set of books that still give me tips and I have been shooting for years. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0321678737

You're making this too easy for me. See, with that statement, I just have to list one single pro that contradicts you. And that's quite easy.

Meet Chase Jarvis, who published a book in 2009 shot entirely with his iPhone. Who uses gear from Nikon, Hasselblad, Olympus, Fujifilm, Canon, Sony and, obviously Apple. He calls his cameras "boxes with holes in the front that record pictures" and is the youngest person to be named Hasselblad Master, Nikon Master and ASMP Master.

People who care too much what kind of gear they use are the photographer equivalent of the "your camera takes nice pictures"-people. I don't care if a Hasselblad or a shoebox was involved in taking a picture. It's the picture that counts.

If I were to give you an honest ranking I'd say you're "Below Average" quality.

My biggest critique for you is that all of your photos feel like snap shots. They're all taken from the same angle, they're all kind of flat lighting and editing wise, they're all posed or of nothing of any real importance. The compositions are also very weak - Specifically your backgrounds.

Almost all of the photos look like you just pointed a camera and said "Hell yea" and clicked the button. It doesn't appear like there's a whole lot of thought that went into any thing and the same thought process carried over into your post work.

Your photos are competent (In a technical manner) they just lack any real artistry or intention. One thing I would suggest you do is check out this book which is fucking rock solid for learning some compositional tricks and helping teach yourself to see them on the fly, and work on your post processing technique so that your images stand out a little more.

If you were to ask me what to charge for your wedding photos now, I would say if the middle ground of local photographers is charging ~$2k-2.5k you should be around $1250 for a full day. Maybe after you get a few under your belt around $1500. If you're asking what you should get as a second shooter that depends on who you work for, they usually have set rates for their seconds. I pay $200-300 depending on how much experience they have.

I like the hotshoe diaries and the moment it clicks, both by Joe McNally. Hot Shoe diaries is more lighting specific, and really focuses on using small flashes to get good results.

OK... help me figure this out!

I absolutely want to buy it, however I feel misled from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Magnum-Contact-Sheets-Kristen-Lubben/dp/0500292914/

The listing says "This title will be released on October 24, 2017" however reviews are from 2012 and beyond.

Would this book actually sell at $28.33? If so, DEAL OF THE CENTURY.

IF not, where should I source a copy?

The Photographer's Playbook: 307 Assignments and Ideas https://www.amazon.com/dp/159711247X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_gHH2CbS43S1K7

You can try this book. I bought it myself, but haven’t used it yet so I can’t tell you if it’s legit worth it. It seems like it has what you’re looking for tho (bunch of prompts to follow for practice).

I was given this book on one of my first dates with my now husband. It's still one of my faves.

Also, I love to give the book "Humans of New York" to people who don't live here.

Pretty sure they're taken from here or here.

Photography Changes Everything by Marvin Heiferman

EDIT: More:

Magnum Contact Sheets by Kristen Lubben

Photography: The Definitive Visual History by Tom Ang

Michael Kenna: Images of the Seventh Day

Raised by Wolves by Jim Goldberg

The Photography Book: 2nd Edition by Ian Jeffrey

The Photographer's Eye by John Szarkowski

The Photographer's Eye by Michael Freeman

The Photographer's Vision by Michael Freeman

Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson

+1 for [Art and Science of Digital Compositing]
(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004HHOC8I)


Heres a few more I can recommend:

Digital Compositing for Film and Video

[Production Pipeline Fundamentals for Film and Games]
(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IOPYVIU)

[Maya Python for Games and Film]
(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005OI23OO)

[Introducing ZBrush 3rd Edition]
(https://www.amazon.com/dp/1118244826)

[Digital Modeling]
(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006QRYPC0)

[The HDRI Handbook 2.0: High Dynamic Range Imaging for Photographers and CG Artists]
(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VB46ACG)

[Professional Photoshop: The Classic Guide to Color Correction, Fifth Edition]
(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004USQQOC)

[Understanding Exposure, Fourth Edition]
(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0104EOJSK)

Light Science & Magic: http://amzn.com/0415719402
The Moment It Clicks: http://amzn.com/0321544080
Best Business Practices for Photographers: http://amzn.com/1435454294

If you're interested in Street Photography or how photographers go about getting the final shot everyone sees, I'd recommend the Magnum Contact Sheets.

If you’re interested in dashboard design, I can’t recommend this book highly enough.

http://www.amazon.com/Information-Dashboard-Design-Effective-Communication/dp/0596100167

I bought http://www.amazon.com/Tony-Northrups-DSLR-Book-Photography-ebook/dp/B006KY2VZ2 best ten bucks I ever spent

I would think you would have used something like this to go over composition:

https://www.amazon.com/Filmmakers-Eye-Learning-Cinematic-Composition/dp/0240812174/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=mercado&qid=1550772898&s=gateway&sr=8-7

it's a lot more comprehensive that Brown's section on this topic.

Who told you that photography was the act of releasing the shutter? Photography doesn't stop when you press the button—and it never did, it's not new to the digital workflow. All sorts of manipulations used to be done in the dark room before. Look at this more globally as visual art—nobody looking at the final image gives a damn how it was made (well, except perhaps other photographers, of course).

Sometimes it would take a lot of time/money/effort to make something perfect at capture, other times you'd be wasting time in post for something you could have easily fixed at capture. Whatever is more efficient is preferable.

TL;DR: The end justifies the means.

It is less about the camera and more about the person behind the camera. iPhones can take great photos. This book was shot entirely with an iphone camera

Not quite a daily assignment thing, but quite interesting.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Photographers-Playbook-Assignments-Ideas/dp/159711247X

A little late to the party, but...

This does actually harm the tree. Cutting into a tree's outside bark will expose their inner bark (aka the phloem) which the tree uses to transport food all over the tree. If the inner bark is damaged and gets infected with bacteria/fungi then the tree will unknowingly transport the infection to the rest of itself and slowly die.

You can see in this picture that the tree has attempted to heal itself by producing a covering over the scratch marks people cut into it, and that's essentially scar tissue. It's weaker than the normal outer layer of bark, but is a quick fix to help the tree prevent infections.

If the tree does end up infected by either fungi or bacteria it will still likely live for another 10+ years because of the nature of how a tree grows and survives. The phloem only moves at something like 2cm/hr so for an infection to fully take over a tree it would take months on its own, and the tree has other internal defenses to attempt to prevent an infection that prolongs the lifespan even longer! And even still, the separate parts of the tree can live even if the trunk dies (i.e the roots or leaves), but if the trunk rots and becomes hollow the tree will likely fall over in a storm or strong gust of wind.

So, this tree is likely slowly dying, but is trying it's hardest to keep on keeping on! It can take tens of years for a tree to become weak enough to fall over or stop producing leaves, so this buddy will probably be around for a while longer.

Side note: if you're interested in this more, I would HIGHLY recommend reading The Hidden Life Of Trees because it is amazing.

I would recommend Scott Kelby's Digital Photography Boxed Set. 3 books that show a bit of everything and tips on Lighting, Exposure, Basics, and more advanced techniques. http://www.amazon.com/Scott-Kelbys-Digital-Photography-Volumes/dp/0321678737

This pic is from a great book called City of Shadows: Sydney Police Photographs 1912-1948. seems all these guys were freshly arrested and these special photos were made allowing them to pose as they wished.

I would suggest picking up a copy of Bryan Peterson's excellent "Understanding Exposure" and reading it. Once you understand this, you're pretty much set.

https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-Fourth-Photographs-Camera-ebook/dp/B0104EOJSK/ref=sr_1_1

Magnum Contact Sheets
Fantastic look into process and history through the contact sheets of some of the greats.

I am currently reading The Filmmaker's Eye by Gustavo Mercado
I am enjoying it a lot

The Photographer’s Playbook from Aperture should keep you busy. I use it with my students and it’s overwhelmingly amazing.

>...Are there any free (or not free, even) resources that I can look at that I'd be able to get the hang of in 5 days, or that I could refer to while there? ...

https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-Fourth-Photographs-Camera-ebook/dp/B0104EOJSK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1524406808&sr=1-1&keywords=understanding+exposure

I have the 3rd rev.

a good book for the next one - https://www.amazon.com/Information-Dashboard-Design-Effective-Communication/dp/0596100167

> What makes pantone any different than going to a hardware store and getting their paint swatches for free?

Because Pantone is guaranteeing not just the color ink is right, they're guaranteeing that the print is right. Those are two totally separate things.

There are about a million different ways to fuck up a physical print. Open up some art books and compare the pictures of the same piece of art. You'll see all kinds of range of colors on the page. Consider, one of the reasons art collectors place a premium on lithographs is because one of the things you pay for when you get a lithograph or other "pure ink" facsimile of a piece of artwork is the guarantee that it will continue to actually look like the same thing according to the people that are the ones that define what "it" actually is.

Another book that I liked was Syl Arena's Speedliter's Handbook.

I liked The Filmmaker's Eye

this is the book we are using in my cinematography class. I really like it.

I highly recommend you to read this book: https://www.amazon.com/Shoot-Video-That-Doesnt-Suck-ebook/dp/B0051NHJFU/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1484194715&sr=1-1&keywords=how+to+shoot+video+that+doesn%27t+suck

These are the kind of posts I love to see on this sub. Thanks for initiating this discussion.

I think you may be referring to this book, a lot of the research you and u/RadOwl (cool name) ar discussing is in this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Life-Trees-Communicate_Discoveries-Secret/dp/1771642483

I'd recommend any of Bryan Peterson's books; Understanding Exposure and Learning to See Creatively are the ones that really got me into photography a few years ago. He has one on portraiture if that's what you're looking for.

I'm a fan of this book, The Filmmakers Eye.