Suggested Photography Books

Seeing Landscapes, Charlie Waite

For regular visitors to this site you will know that I am a particular fan of Charlie Waites work. This book is no exception. The book is crammed with fantastic images on virtually every page, each of which carries comment and technical information. The comment for each picture highlights some of the creative decisions that have been made and describes how the elements of the image have been used. The technical information, whilst difficult to use directly , does allow you to understand how the camera was used at the time the image was captured. Overall a useful addition to your bookshelves.

Personal rating 7/10

Think of England, Martin Parr

I am probably an typical analytical thinker who spends most of his time examining the process and technique of capturing images. It comes a real surprise to me that I am reviewing here a book of images from Magnum photographer Martin Parr. My daughter first showed me this book whilst out shopping in Manchester and it really stuck in my mind. In the end I had to have a copy and am delighted that I made the purchase. Flicking through the images is a delight; they are very cleverly constructed to make you do just what the title says "Think of England". Having spent a number of hours in deep review of this book it has opened my eyes to a whole new world of image making possibilities all around me.

Personal rating 10/10

Take your Photography to the Next Level, George Barr

At first I was struggling which catergory to place this book into as it could easily be Inspiration. In the end I settled for this one due to the practical nature of the content.

I find this book quite unique and a gem amongst rocks. Recently I have found the repetition amongst photography books a little hard to swallow. Few authors give anything new and I do find myself wondering if they are interested in helping keen photographers of just making money. Sure everyone has to earn a living but don’t do it by repeating the same old work – tell us something new. Enter George Barr and this excellent book. How many books actually describe how to work a scene in order to get the best out of it in a quite methodical way? He considers subject matter and composition but not in the dry theoretical way most books do. Instead he shows what works and what doesn’t in a very engaging and practical way. The book is also packed with great images in a quite unique style.

I find myself revisiting this text on a regular basis as it’s packed with great advice. I recommend this as an early buy for anyone getting into photography. In fact, better buy two copies in case one copy wears out as you continue to refer to it for years to come.

I am also currently reading his latest book “From Camera to Computer” which is different again and proving to be equally as good. I will post a review here once I have finished it.

Personal rating 10/10

Learning to See Creatively, Bryan Peterson

One of the essential skills to master in photography is the ability to compose an image successfully. It's very easy to get caught up in learning the latest Photoshop techniques and photographic technologies whilst ignoring the basic skills. Learning to see Creatively is an excellent resource that will repay your investment handsomely. There is however a proviso; you must set out to practice the simple techniques explained. Practice and keep practicing until they become automatic. If you can achieve this level of mastery your photography will reach a new level.

Personal rating 9/10

Teach Yourself Photography, Lee Frost

This is the book that started it for me. If you are relatively new to photography then I can't recommend this text enough although some elements are dating a little. The coverage is sufficiently wide to give grounding to those new to the subject. It's a very well written book in a style that is easy to understand. The images within the book serve as excellent examples to supplement the text and add meaning.

Personal rating 8/10

Waiting for the Light, David Noton

When I ordered this book I wasn't sure that I would really enjoy it. I thought to myself, I like David Noton's Photography but I wouldn't class it as outstanding. How wrong I was and unfortunately there wasn't even any basis for my assumptive judgment. David's work really is exceptional and this is a wonderful book. The books does a very good job of conveying to the reader how to approach photography and produce excellent Landscape images. I liked the book so much that I went on to purchase the accompanying DVD from David's web site. Ordinarily I wouldn't purchase instructional DVD's but I was now intrigued as to what this one would be like. I am so pleased that I made the purchase and it really brings the book to life in a very approachable style. Highly recommended.

Personal rating 9/10

Adobe Photoshop Restoration & Retouching, Katrin Eismann & Wayne Palmer

Another amazing book of the highest quality. Read the review on this site for Masking and Compositing by the same author – this book is of a similar standard and quality. I s hould also make it clear that I am rating these books as general Photoshop Books and not rating them against their area of specialism. If I were they would be receiving a straight 10/10 without question. Fabulous.

Personal rating 9/10

The Creative Digital Darkroom, Katrin Eismann & Sean Duggan

I have only just bought this book and started to dip into a few of the chapters but feel compelled to review it at this stage. I doubt the standard of the content will drop as I have dipped into the sections that interest me and all are to the highest standard. The techniques discussed are clearly explained and are of a very professional nature. If you can learn and apply everything in these pages you will be a very competent Photoshop artist indeed. This is a classic.

Personal rating 10/10

Masking & Compositing, Katrin Eismann

The only drawback I can find with this book is that it needs a reasonable familiarity with Photoshop and Photoshop skills in order to really benefit. This however is also its strength in that it is for serious users of Photoshop and has photographers in mind. There is a wealth of information in these pages and I would highly recommend purchasing a copy and keeping it close to hand. Whilst the title says this book is about masking and compositing images, it doesn’t make it clear just how frequently these skills are needed if you want to produce professional quality images.

Personal rating 9/10

The Photoshop Book for Digital Photographers, Scott Kelby

If you are going to buy one Photoshop book then this should be the one. Forget those huge volumes with hundreds or thousands of pages. Trying to extract the relevant information is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. This book focuses on the information pertinent to photographers. It's packed with valuable advice which I don't think I have seen in one place before. Forget about wading through pages of useless filter effects that you will never use. Every page is clear and easy to understand. The only criticism is one that Mr Kelby makes in the book himself - his photography is not great - but his Photoshop skills clearly are. The book shown here is the Photoshop 7 version. If you use CS or CS2 then be sure to get the right edition.

Personal rating 10/10

Photoshop LAB Color, Dan Margulis

I would say that at least 90% of Photoshop users don't know that the LAB colour space exists and the vast majority of those that do, are probably blissfully unaware of its potential. If you want to add some real punch to flat lifeless images then this is a topic you should investigate. Now the warning; the book is quite heavy going and assumes a working knowledge of Photoshop. That said the information is simply fantastic and I have not seen it elsewhere. The results you can achieve by following the first 6 chapters are alone worth the price of the book. Buy it, read it then re-read it regularly.

Personal rating 8/10

Scott Kelby's 7-point System for Photoshop CS3, Scott Kelby

This is a very accessible book for those new to Photoshop and highly recommended. It works the reader through a number of chapters or lessons in deploying 7 basic techniques and steps including such things as painting with light. Whilst some of the material is very repetitive (needed to help the lessons sink in for those less experienced) there are a few real nuggets in there as well. One word of warning is that you will need to put up with the authors humour – not always easy (sorry Scott).

Personal rating 9/10

Welcome to Oz, Vincent Versace

I like this book very much and it has a great deal to commend it, especially to someone who wants to make their photographs stand out from the rest. The techniques and their discussion are quite advanced and definitely assume a good working knowledge of Photoshop. If you can get past this (and the regular use of the Nik plug-in – some of which the book allows you to download for free) this is a great book. There are concepts shared here that I haven’t come across elsewhere and which I have started to integrate into my own work. Well worth a look and I believe there is a new version out with much new material.

Personal rating 9/10

Camera Raw, Bruce Fraser

I am not a great fan of most books on Photoshop and sometimes question the value of books that claim to examine an element of the application in great detail. This book is however one of the few that is a must have for anyone who shoots with a digital camera and wants to get the most from their photography. Not only does this book provide detailed technical information that I haven't seen elsewhere, it's easily understood. However the book does not stop at explaining how to use Camera Raw, it also gives a great explanation of how to create a practical workflow that saves hours. A must for any serious digital photographer

Personal rating 9/10

The DAM Book, Peter Krough

In case you are wondering DAM is the abbreviation for Digital Asset Management. Okay it's not the most inspiring topic but it's vital if you become serious about photography. If you are shooting digitally you might already have come across some of the issues addressed. It's very easy to generate hundreds if not thousands of images and the more you shoot the more important it becomes to keep track of and protect your image library. This is where The DAM Book can help. You will learn a very effective workflow to help you maintain your library of images and extract the most value from it. It's aimed at professional photographers but the information is priceless to us all. Whilst there is some overlap with the information in the Camera Raw book discussed below, there is a significant volume of new material I have not seen elsewhere. Highly recommended.

Personal rating 9/10