Photography

This book has a wealth of information and is a good second or third choice if you’re a beginner (buying several books is a good idea), and a good addition if you’ve got a shelf-full of books and like to keep up. Basically, about 95 percent of the book is good. However, the work has an excessive number of stupid little typos, for example p. 11: “Cameras can be damaged by the sun’s heat; being focused into the camera’s body.” That semicolon has no business there. Maybe it’s just me, but when I discover half-a-dozen such typos in the first 25 pages, I start wondering if the fact-checking is also sloppy. Also, there’s some really bad writing here; not a lot, but some. For example this sentence p. 33: “Changing the f-stop (or ’stopping down,’ as it’s called) causes a mechanical diaphragm inside the lens to close down and change this ratio. Now, here’s the thing you have to understand: as I said earlier, the aperture, or f-stop, is actually an expression of the ratio between the focal length of the lens divided by the diameter of the opening.” I can imagine a beginning photographer (the book is aimed at beginners via the word “Essentials” in the title) or an intermediate pausing right there and saying to himself/herself: “OK….the author says this is something I HAVE TO UNDERSTAND. Lessee….aperture is an expression of the ratio between the….Um, I better memorize it, I HAVE to GET THIS.” Etc. In fact, this is NOT something a beginner or intermediate needs to understand. What the photographer needs to understand, the thing the author is pointing you toward with his phrase “the thing you have to understand,” is contained in the NEXT PARAGRAPH (you need to turn the page to get to it): “So the bigger the f-number, the less light is actually entering the camera.” Ah. There’s something essential. There’s the thing you have to understand. I’m OK with the author including a moderate amount of technical background, but surely it should not be labeled as something you NEED TO KNOW; a decent copyeditor would have caught that in a second.
Rating: 4 / 5

This is a great book. It covers everything you need and nothing you don’t about the practical side of photography. Great in-depth detail without dumbing down the material.
Rating: 5 / 5

As an intermediate photographer (I have been taking pictures for 30 years) I found this book not only to be helpful, but amazingly accessable. The writing is clear and concise and the examples are very helpful! As the father of two, I find myself taking many pictures in varying conditions and this book addresses nearly all of the situations that I have found or could find myself in. I would certainly suggest this book to anyone who takes pictures or is interested in taking pictures. Either way, Mr. Jenkinson’s book can only help make your photos better.
Rating: 5 / 5