DSLR Photography for Beginners by Brian Black

Read DSLR Photography for Beginners before you sign up for a photography class or workshop. A camera is a small and complex piece of equipment that can do wonders and if you are looking to learn the art of photography from eminent photographers you best know their jargon. What does SLR, single lens reflex actually mean? White balance, ISO speeds, f-stop, depth of field, the rule of thirds, light metering, shutter speed are all important aspects to consider before pressing the shutter button. A pro photographer can weigh all these aspects and more in a matter of seconds and will be able to tune his camera to his desired setting to get the picture he can see in his mind.

Just like learning to drive a car it takes knowledge and familiarity with the equipment to get from clumsy to second nature. You can never hope to take super photos solely depending on a cameras auto and mode settings. To make the camera obey your eye and inspiration you have to switch to manual and change its settings to what you need. For this the manual your camera comes with is never enough. If you invested a lot of money on the camera and need a ‘cut to the chase’ manual that is worth every penny than pick up DSLR Photography for Beginners by Brian Black for just US$3.99 on Kindle or pdf.

This book is written and published entirely by Brian Black so the formatting is bare minimum. You will not find pictures of what the camera battery looks like or how to charge it, or a labeled picture of a DSLR camera that names its parts. His intro is about why digital photos are now preferred to analog photos and why SLR cameras take the best photos–because you can change the lens. Then he jumps straight into teaching about aperture, shutter speed and ISO sensitivity, the three most important elements that make up all photos. After that he teaches about the different interchangeable lenses you can use, what they are called and what they do including light filters which I find is the most valuable part of this book.

This is really a book written for photographers who are deciding to upgrade from their phone or compact cameras to a DSLR. A very helpful feature I find in this book is Brian’s recommendation of what equipment to get from the camera to lenses and filters in the ranges of “for the budget conscious”, “In the middle range” and “Top of the line.” Brian's preference is Nikon and Cannon so the recommendations are for these DSLRs.

If you need to go one step back to the real basics of using your DSLR I recommend Getting to know your digital camera by Victoria Dye. Its only US4.99 on Kindle or pdf. Put together both these books will give you all the information you need for noodling with your cameras settings and to come up with your own unique photography philosophy or technique.