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Photography as Technology

The Lighting Cookbook: Foolproof Recipes for Perfect Glamour, Portrait, Still Life, and Corporate Photographs by Jenni Bidner (Photography for All Levels: Advanced: Amphoto Books) The book begins with the first section, "The Well-Stocked Studio," and describes cameras, lighting, and accessories. This is valuable information for a serious photographer wanting to get more advanced, but is overwhelmed at all of the equipment and what it does. Other sections are "Basic Portraiture," "Corporate and Industrial Shots," "Product Shots and Still Lifes," and "Specialized Techniques." Each section presents about a dozen different examples of techniques in that area, detailing the equipment used. Each technique example is covered in a few pages with excellent photographs, a pretty good diagram of the lighting arrangement, and`an "ingredients" list. The book is also sprinkled with valuable side notes.

To duplicate every example in the book, the reader will need an extraordinarily extensive studio. However, the book starts with simple techniques involving one or two lights and reflectors, and builds upon that. Even the more extensive lighting techniques are helpful in developing your skill at visualizing how a scene should look and how you would choose lighting to achieve that look. Moreover, the less advanced photographer could duplicate the techniques with a couple of battery-powered flashes, a couple of slaves, and using an umbrella, walls, or poster board as reflectors.

I tend to judge the value of a book by how quickly I read it versus its cost. Unlike`"The Photographer's Guide to Using Light," which I read in a couple of hours and cost about as much, I found this book to have excellent value as far as the amount of information for the money. You could probably not sit down in a day and go through this whole book. In fact, I read a little at a time over a few months.

The Better Photo Guide To Digital Photography by Jim Miotke (Amphoto Books) A book for anyone who has ever felt intimidated by a digital camera, this book demystifies this increasingly popular piece of photography equipment. Author Jim Miotke has created a great beginning hands-on workbook covering every aspect of digital photography, from buying the right camera for your uses to understanding how all the camera features work to taking successful and satisfying pictures. This truly is a photo course in a book, giving readers hands-on tutorials that address all their needs as new digital photographers and answering all their questions as they arise.

IN "THE PIONEER DAYS of photography, photographers had to be part-time chemists. They mixed potions and caustic powders together themselves to make images appear on paper, glass, and metal. Then Kodak introduced the Brownie, with the slogan You press the button—we do the rest." Kodak was betting on the general shopper's reluctance to become an at-home chemist. And, as history has shown us, the bet paid off.

We see the same pattern repeating itself today. When digital cameras first became popular, people filled them up with pictures and then struggled to figure out how to get these images on of the camera and printed on home printers. This required learning a lot more than just photography. So, many companies now provide services to help digital photographers turn their digital images into beautiful prints. For instance, they can insert their memory card into a kiosk at a local photo lab, order prints from stores like Costco or Wal-N4art, or upload their photos to online companies for print ordering via the Web.

This means that anyone who wants to put off learning about computers, software, and printers can leave these lessons for a future time, focusing instead on photographic techniques. For this reason, this hook focuses on shooting techniques, rather than software techniques. We're going to take things one step at a time and concentrate first on the art of taking great pictures.

This book is entirely about making great photos with your digital camera. It is not. about altering images on your computer, and it is not about scanning your old film pictures into your computer. We are here to focus on what you need to know in order to make great photos. It's true that you can do a lot to improve your photos by tweaking them on the computer. However, since most of us only have so much time in the day, this book avoids lengthy discussions of Photoshop and cutsright to the chase. I will discuss only those software techniques that you really need to know.

Likewise, this book will not discuss how to set up your computer, printer, or e-mail account; I fully understand that these are important concepts for most digital photographers, but they are beyond the scope of this book. I've kept the focus here on technique—on how to make better photos with a digital camera while out in the field.

If you are converting from film photography, you may recognize many of the topics that we explore. That's because many aspects of exposure, composition, and lighting apply equally to both film and digital photography All the same, digital photography introduces a few new quirks that we'll discuss in detail. By presenting both the traditional principles of photography and these digital aspects, this book is the perfect starting point for any photographer, whether you've been shooting film for a while or you are just now getting into photography for the first time.

The guidelines presented in this book come from practical experience. If I haven't tested it out myself, I'll tell you. Having said that, these guidelines are just my personal thoughts and opinions. To really learn these concepts and make up your own mind about each technique, I encourage readers to go out shooting. That's why you'll find, at the end of each section, an exciting photography assignment. For each principle that we explore, the corresponding assignment will help you make it your own.

There's an old saying by Confucius that I just love:

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.

Let this he our mantra while we learn digital photography. Take each assignment as an opportunity to overcome—once and for all—the fears, doubts, and confusions that you have about digital picture-taking. After you've completed each assignment, share the photos with your friends and family, and feel free to upload them to the BetterPhoto online discussions or contest (go to www.betterphoto.com). I look forward to seeing what you yourself create when you put these guidelines into practice.

The Digital Color Printing Handbook: Getting better colors from your photographs by Tim Daly (Amphoto Books) With the rapid increase in quality of both digital cameras and desktop printing devices, has developed an increasing awareness of color management techniques. Yet for most photographers, establishing a color managed workflow can be a daunting prospect indeed.

Highlighting all the major tools and processes used to control color from shooting to printing, this book assumes you have no prior knowledge, but a commitment to creativity.

Maintaining top image quality throughout each stage, you will learn how to change and manipulate color without overlooking your original source file. You'll learn the limitations of each process and how to stay within the rules, without compromising your plans.

Using easy to follow step-by-step sequences, Tim Daly shows you how to build a tightly controlled color environment, then how to make the most creative use of it.

The Digital Color Printing Handbook is a guide to getting better results from your digital images. With no-nonsense instructions for setting up your camera, monitor, software, and printer, this book is both a handy reference work and creative companion.

With recent advances in color management tools, an increasing number of photographers are demanding better results from their printer. Working with tools to fit all budgets, Tim Daly's techniques will enable you to proof, preview, and predict color more effectively.

Highlighting the most practical answers to the most frequently asked questions, the book offers advice about all stages of image capture, processing and print-out, in a clear and jargon-free manner.

Using a range of tools for proactive color control, you'll also learn how to troubleshoot effectively when things go wrong. Simple and complex projects are explained with equal clarity and are supported by a handy illustrated reference section.

All creative techniques are designed to work with all recent versions of Adobe Photoshop and generic inkjet printer software. To accompany this book, further resources can be downloaded from the author's own website.

Illustrated throughout with the author's own stunning photographs, The Digital Color Printing Handbook will show you how to maximize the return from your creative workstation and keep you in control.

Beginner's Guide to Adobe Photoshop Elements by Michelle Perkins (Amherst Media) A guide to the leading image-editing software for nonprofessionals, this book guides even those who are novices at digital imaging on how to use Adobe Photoshop Elements to perfect their images and present them in creative ways. Each tool and feature of the software is presented in short lessons that facilitate rapid learning and avoid technical jargon. Beginning with basic operations, amateur photographers learn how to open images from a scanner, digital camera, CD, or other source, then name and save files. Also covered are viewing options and simple techniques for undoing any mistakes, as well as how simple it can be to make basic improvements to correct the overall color of images and fix photos that are either under- or overexposed. Retouching and preparing images for output are also explained. 

Real Business of Photography by Richard Weisgrau (Allworth Press) This honest, tell-all guide is written by one of the best-known players of the media photography business. Drawing from decades of experience as a working photographer and industry leader, the author defies popular business myths and trend-driven behavior by providing a fresh, common-sense approach to running a photography business. The essentials of running a photography business are covered-from setting a strategic vision to managing finances.

Power Marketing for Wedding and Portrait Photographers by Mitche Graf (Amherst Media) Wedding and portrait photographers are shown how to use power marketing-a systematic, proactive approach that takes advantage of the best possible resources available to photographers-to make wholesale changes in the way they run their businesses. They learn to take the proactive steps needed to generate a better income, cater to their artistic notions, and devote more time to life beyond the studio walls. Strategies are provided to supercharge a marketing effort's reach and visibility, bringing the photographer more clients and better profits. The same techniques used by marketing pros from major corporations are outlined for photographers, including creating slogans that show target audiences what they do and how they do it and learning how to best use everything from the Internet presence and press releases to pricing and business cards.

Digital Infrared Photography: Professional Techniques And Images by Patrick Rice (Amherst Media) Presenting advances in infrared photography, which has long been an artful alternative to traditional color or black-and-white photography, this guide provides tips for creating vivid infrared prints. Previsualizing the effects of infrared light on a subject, successfully using Adobe Photoshop to heighten the effects of infrared images, and creative toning and framing strategies are discussed. The savings from shooting digitally and using imaging programs during development are also detailed. Before-and-after photographs paired with instructive text provide a visual approach to this ethereal photography form.

Infrared imaging offers a spectacular, otherworldly view of the people and places that surround us. While infrared film is expensive, requires special handling, and can be unpredictable at best, the ability to create infrared images with a digital camera and proper filtration has revolutionized the genre. In this book, you'll learn everything you need to know about digital infrared imaging—from testing your camera's infrared sensitivity, to selecting the proper filtration, to enhancing your images with digital effects.

• Understanding infrared light theory
• Testing your camera for infrared sensitivity
• Adding filters (or modifying your camera) to block visible light and enhance the effect of infrared light in your images
• Predicting how infrared imaging will render the subject of your image—including skin, eyes, foliage, water, architecture, fabrics, and more
• Shooting techniques for ensuring the correct exposure and focus
• Boosting contrast, grain, and the characteristic infrared "glow" in Photoshop
• Creating "pseudo color infrared"—a creative and appealing effect
• Digital infrared advice from some of the top photographers in the industry
• Tips for marketing and selling infrared images

Infrared photography has long been one of the most interesting and mysterious applications of photography. From infrared's earliest beginnings in the 1920s and 1930s with technical and scientific films to its current applications in landscape as well as portrait and wedding photography, infrared has fascinated photographers. As an artist, I appreciate infrared photography for its ethereal qualities. The businessman in me appreciates the competitive advantage that using infrared imaging provides for my studio.

If you have never experimented with infrared imaging, there is no time like the present. If infrared imaging is something that you did back in photography school but haven't used lately, it is time to rediscover this interesting media.

If you are a veteran infrared film user who is looking to move into the digital age, then this book will help you through the transition.

Digital infrared photography for me was a natural extension from shooting infrared film for so many years. When we decided to make the transition to digital capture for our portrait and wedding work, we looked for a digital solution for creating infrared imaging.

The purpose of this book is to show photographers that infrared image capture can be done with digital cameras and techniques as well as it could be with traditional infrared films. I hope that you get, as much reward from viewing these images and reading this text as I and others have had in creating them.

The Practical Guide to Digital Imaging: Mastering the Terms, Technologies, and Techniques by Michelle Perkins (Amherst Media) This thorough guide to digital photography provides instructions for every step of making photographs with a digital camera, from capturing an image to producing beautiful prints. Hints for choosing a camera, tips for evaluating images, and advanced techniques for manipulating pictures are discussed, as is the importance of selecting the correct software. Using digital images online is reviewed, with suggestions for minimizing file size to reduce upload time, ideas for using images to create graphics for a web page, and guidelines for creating a safe digital work flow.

This book is for anyone who wants to learn more about digital imaging and how to make the most of this new technology. Whether you are shopping for your first digital camera, want to stick to film but still use digital imaging software to retouch your images, or have been using digital for a while but feel you need a stronger grasp of the con­cepts to maximize your results, you'll find information here that will fit the bill.

In the first chapter of this book, we'll look at the basics—concepts that you need to understand thoroughly to begin purchasing or using your digital-imaging hardware and software. You may want to refer back to this chapter periodically.

Next, we'll look at digital cameras and learn about the features that set models apart, as well as how these differ­ent features can improve your images. In this chapter you'll find the information you need if you're planning to purchase a digital camera—or if you already own one and want to learn how to make better use of it. Because new digital cameras are being introduced every day, at the end of the chapter you'll also find some helpful resources for evaluating the fea­tures of individual models, as well as for getting reviews from digital camera users on what they like and don't like about specific cameras or features.

In the chapter that follows, we'll examine shooting techniques, looking at some of the great advantages of shoot­ing digital—and noting a few common problems to watch out for!

Even if you want to continue shooting your images on film, you can still use digital imaging—you'll just need to dig­itize your film images using a scanner. To this end, we'll look at scanners and discuss how they can be most effectively used. This will also come in handy for  those who do shoot digitally but have decades of negatives and prints sitting around the house—old family photos that certainly shouldn't be written off just because digital imaging has come to town. In fact, now is the perfect time to drag out those photos and fix damaged areas, crop them, remove blemishes, and take care of anything that might have made you store them in a drawer instead of displaying them on your walls.

Of course, without a computer, dig­ital imaging doesn't reach its full potential. Therefore, setting up an effective system for digital imaging is also covered—along with some useful gadgets that make the experience of digital imaging even nicer!

With your computer set up, you'll be ready to move on to using digital imag­ing software. Options for every price point (from amateur to pro) are cov­ered, and step-by-step techniques are included for many common operations.

Next, you'll learn how to output your images, with techniques for home and commercial printing—and some advice on the costs and quality issues involved.

Finally, tips for building a safe and convenient digital workflow are presented. These will help you ensure that your images are protected, well organized, and easy to access—so you'll never need to spend hours looking for a lost digital file (as we've all probably done with a misplaced negative at one time or another).

Into Your Digital Darkroom Step By Step: Step By Step by Peter Cope (Amherst Media) Presenting advances in infrared photography, which has long been an artful alternative to traditional color or black-and-white photography, this guide provides tips for creating vivid infrared prints. Previsualizing the effects of infrared light on a subject, successfully using Adobe Photoshop to heighten the effects of infrared images, and creative toning and framing strategies are discussed. The savings from shooting digitally and using imaging programs during development are also detailed. Before-and-after photographs paired with instructive text provide a visual approach to this ethereal photography form.

Everything photographers need to become comfortable with the latest advancements in digital imaging is provided in this guide. The most prominent photo-editing software is discussed, including Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements, JASC Paint Shop Pro, Corel Photo-Paint, Corel Painter, and Picture Man, with a look at the differences between Macs and PCs and requirements for memory and processor speed. Outlining five distinct states of digital photographic manipulation, from input and image sizing to output and printing, photographers learn the keys to producing professional-quality results from digital photographs with the latest in digital imaging software.

Learn how to coax the best qualities out of each and of every image, whether it was shot digitally or on film. With these simple instructions, you will quickly discover how easy it Is to produce effective images enhancements---without wading through pages of complex terms and concepts!

• Creating a digital darkroom, with information on hardware and software
• Inputting images from your digital camera, a scanner, CDs, memory cards, or the Internet
• Adjusting the size and resolution of your images make prints or share them online
• Perfecting the color and exposure of your images
• Manipulating your images to correct common problems, remove distractions, or add some creative enhancements
• Sharpening and softening images
• Using layers and selections to take total control of your photographs
• Creating panoramics and 3D images Restoring damaged and faded images

Digital photography has been one of the great D success stories of our time. It has taken an activity that was largely the domain of the enthusiast and brought it to the mass market. And that mass market has taken to it like nothing else. Even cell phones allow us to capture, share, and enjoy images.

Perhaps the key to the success of digital photography lies in its immediacy. Many years ago we showed the same enthusiasm for Polaroid photos. No longer did we have to wait until we'd completely used a roll of film; we could see our images only moments after they were made. In the digital domain we can view our photos with even greater rapidity and then, in our digital darkroom, we can make of them what we will.

Some photographers, though, have shown a degree of contempt for digital photography. They don't take issue with the technology but rather worry about declining standards. Digital photography by its nature encourages us to take lots of photos. And in doing so, some argue, the appreciation of photo-graphic style, technique, and a consideration of composition fly out of the window.

But is this really the case? Advocates of digital photography argue that this new technology empowers the user and helps them along an accelerated path toward what some have dubbed photographic nirvana. It's that accelerated path we want to tread through this book. We'll take a critical look at the opportunities and, with just a nod of appreciation to our forebears (who, if grudgingly, are now largely "going digital" now), embark on new adventures in image creation.

Your home computer can now form the hub of your digital darkroom from which all your imaging magic can be woven. Don't worry about using a dedicated room either. The digital photographer has no need to retire to a room from which light has been permanently banished. This is an activity that you can enjoy anytime; you can even share the fun, if you wish, with family and friends.

So the message is clear: for those of us who describe ourselves as photographers—whether casual, enthusiast, or professional—digital technology has empowered us more than any other single photographic advance.

 

Profitable Portraits: The Photographer's Guide To Creating Portraits That Sell by Jeff Smith (Amherst Media) Learn How To Target Your Clients' Needs And Create Portraits That Sell Themselves!

Featuring more than 100 sample portraits, this guide to professional portraiture uses many before-and-after images to reveal how simple changes in poses, camera angle, lighting, clothing, and location can dramatically improve images. Designed to meet the needs of professional photographers who would like to improve their business as well as serious amateurs seeking to begin professional work, this text includes tips for post-session digital retouching, instructions for effectively using Photoshop, and techniques for consistently producing flattering images of clients. Advice for creating an effective business plan that will create increased sales and repeat customers is also provided.

Features:  

• Understanding your clients' unique tastes and the types of images they want to buy
• Evaluating your current images to determine how they could better meet your clients' needs
• Using your knowledge of what sells to develop a consistent style—a signature look that sets you apart in your market
• Making conscious, well-informed decisions at every step of the portrait-making process—from selecting the right equipment, to coordinating clothing and backgrounds, to lighting and posing your subject
• Communicating your signature style in your marketing and through your studio's appearance
• Proofing, sales, and packaging techniques to enhance your profits and boost customer satisfaction

When you think about the profitability of your studio, you probably think about marketing, pricing, overhead, etc. And, of course, these do impact the amount of money that ends up in your pocket. However, another important factor that might not immediately come to mind is style. With an off-target style of photography, you can struggle for each sale; with a well thought-out one, you can create images that sell themselves.

There are two styles of photography created by studios. There is the photography that the photographer likes to create and there is the photography that sells. Many photographers spend their entire careers trying to sell clients on images that were created to suit the photographer's tastes, not to fulfill the client's expectations. Successful photographers, on the other hand, determine what sells and then learn to enjoy and improve on the style of photography that sells to their clients.

That may sound easy, but it's not—and that's why I wrote this book. In it, we'll explore how to deter-mine what it is your clients want, as well as how to create it in your photographs—and create it consistently. Creating a successful style means taking control of your business and making conscious decisions based on what you need to do to create salable images. This includes: your choice of equipment; your decisions about lighting, posing, clothing, and back-ground selection; and the decisions you make about your studio's marketing and appearance.

If you follow through on these steps—analyzing your unique market and making decisions designed to create the product that's best suited to it—you'll be amazed at the difference it will make, both in your customers' satisfaction and your bottom line!

I started in photography at a very young age. I knew that I wanted to be a photographer when I was four-teen, did my first wedding at the age of sixteen, and opened the studio I have today at the age of twenty. I was either ambitious or crazy.

As a mere baby in this business, the one thing I kept hearing from older photographers was that I needed to develop a "style" of photography. When I asked these all-knowing gurus of photography how you developed such a "style," they shrugged their shoulders and said, "It just happens." Through the early stages of my career, no one seemed to be able to pin down and explain to me how to develop this much-discussed style. The photographers I spoke with either had one and didn't want to share the secret or couldn't explain the process. I felt like a little kid who asks his parents about sex and hears in reply the stuttering and rambling of two people who don't know how to explain it. They knew what it was (after all, you were here), but they just couldn't put in into words. Photographers were the same way—they had a style, they just couldn't explain to me how I could get one of my own. 

The Art of Photographing Children: Creative Techniques For Taking Amazing Color, Black & White, Handcolored And Digital Pictures by Cheryl Machat Dorskind (Watson-Guptill Publications) Introducing Parents and photographers to the equipment, materials, and strategies necessary to photograph children like the pros, this guide covers color, black-and-white, digital, hand colored, and other alternative photographic techniques popular today. The photographs found throughout the book reinforce the instructional and show how the spirit and individuality of each child can be captured. In addition to the author’s own photography, a number of other photographers’ work are included in a gallery section to give the book a diverse and comprehensive look at a number of different styles and approaches to this genre. Topics covered include current technology, lighting, moving beyond snapshots, posing, everyday photo "golden" moments, and organizing a shoot.

• For professional and aspiring professional photographers, as well as parents and grandparents.
• Full of fabulous color, black-and-white, and hand colored images of children
• Perfect for scrapbookers. 

Digital Landscape Photography Step by Step by Michelle Perkins (Amherst Media) This compact guide to digital landscape photography provides all the tips and instructions necessary to create beautiful landscape images with a digital camera. The finer points of digital composition are discussed, including discerning the pertinent features of each landscape, using manual exposure settings, and photographing sunsets and silhouettes. Practical examples for working at night, photographing subjects such as flowers and clouds, and creating classic black-and-white landscape photographs are provided with the beginner landscape photographer in mind.

From grand vistas, to stunning skylines, to the familiar tranquility of a backyard garden, we all witness scenes on an almost daily basis that would make memorable landscape images. With digital technology, these are now easier than ever to photograph.

However, capturing the majesty of even the most breathtaking scenes is still far from simple (in fact, sometimes the more amazing a scene is, the harder it is to do it justice). If you just "point and click," you'll capture only the most rudimentary representation of your subject.

Not only will these images fall short of capturing the scene as you experienced it, they will also fail to communicate your sense of the scene to people who see your images.

Fortunately, help is a few short lessons away. This book is arranged a little differently than other instructional books you might have read in the past. Designed for quick learning, each lesson has been condensed down to two quick-to-read pages—so you can peruse them quickly and start putting the techniques to use right away in your own images.

If you flip through the book, you'll also notice that the pages are not numbered. Instead, each two-page lesson is numbered sequentially on the left-facing page. The numbers listed in the table of contents and index (as well as the cross-references within the text) refer to these lesson numbers.

Although the lessons are numbered, you don't have to read them in order. If you do so, you'll get a complete overview of the concepts of landscape photography. If you prefer a more "organic" learning experience, though, you can skip around and find the tedhniques that most appeal to you (or answer your individual questions).

Landscape photography is an extremely challenging artistic pursuit, and practicing regularly is the best way to improve your results. Therefore, to make the most of your learning experience, be sure to get out and actually try the techniques. Remember, it doesn't cost you a penny to take even a terrible photo with your digital camera, so experiment while you're out shooting and take the time to darefully review your results when you get home.

Most of all, have fun and be creative. For millennia, landscapes and the natural world have fascinated artists working in all media—so you're in very good company.

Nature Photography Close Up by Paul Harcourt Davies, Peter Parks (Watson-Guptill) Nature reveals her unseen beauty in an up-close-and-personal fashion in the photographs of Paul Harcourt Davies and Peter Parks. Zooming in on the "faces" of dragonflies and hornets, unearthing the intricate patterns of fungi and mosses, and even capturing the active beauty of plankton, Nature Photography Close Up presents a "think small" approach to natural subjects. Containing dozens of full-color photographs, each accompanied by a succinct and insightful essay, this gorgeous book doubles as a showcase and an instructional guide. Any photographers with an interest in macro nature photography will enjoy this new way of looking at the unseen wonders around them.

Digital Photography Expert: Close-Up Photography: The Definitive Guide For Serious Digital Photographers by Michael Freeman (Lark Books) An acclaimed professional photographer, with a display of more than 400 beautiful color images, shows how to get close-up and personal with a digital camera. Michael Freeman teaches amateurs how to meet the challenges of this very special type of photo-graphy, with plenty of information on the ins and outs of magnification, parallax control, and depth of field. See how to apply selective focus to enhance the subject and make it stand out from the background. Such issues as using found and commonplace objects and capturing the beauty of shadows, all receive detailed attention. With technical tips and software retouching projects too, this guide is simply an indispensable resource for the avid digital photographer who wants to take great close-up shots.

Digital Photography Expert: Nature and Landscape Photography : The Definitive Guide For Serious Digital Photographers by Michael Freeman (Lark Books) Packed with more than 400 photographs, technical tips, and personal insights, this inspirational guide helps outdoor photographers make the most of their digital camera. With a concentration on the different techniques required by the digital format, each page explains how to create professional quality photos of all the popular subjects: urban and rural photography, street portraits, architecture, and more. Manage such challenges as excessively bright skies and find out how to take full advantage of nature’s beauties, such as the warm golden light found at daybreak and dusk. Expert information reveals how to enhance the image by using filters such as grads and polarizers, along with computer and image-editing software. There’s added advice on composition, framing, and setting the scene.

The Complete Guide to Digital Illustration by Steve Caplin, Adam Banks, Nigel Holmes (Introduction) (Watson Guptill) Digital illustration is a revolution, and this is a frontline report. The Complete Guide to Digital Illustration, a how-to volume, lavishly illustrated, covers the whole breadth of the field, from the most stylized line-drawn artwork to photorealistic 3D animation. This comprehensive review is a must-read for anyone with an interest in the graphic arts.

The Complete Guide to Digital Illustration showcases the most exciting and inspirational work from leading international illustrators, complete with “behind the scenes” secrets. Tips and practical workthroughs make advanced techniques accessible. This work also gives real world advice on everything from buying the right hardware and software to exhibiting your work and developing a career.

Each section begins with a general discussion of a particular area of digital illustration before providing information on the application, styles and methods involved. Along the way, example images are broken down to give an insight into how even the most complex images can be created using easy-to-learn techniques. Chapters include: The Basics, including what you’ll need and different illustration methods; Digital Painting, including how digital painting works, painting techniques and painting showcase; Digital Drawing, including drawing principles, drawing techniques and drawing showcase; 3D Illustration, including applications, modeling and rendering, and illustration showcase; Animation, including an introduction to digital animation and animation showcase; Professional Practice, the working illustrator; and Essential Reference, including resolution, color modes, color management, file formats, essential Photoshop filters, and special effects filters.

Packed with beautiful, full-color examples, The Complete Guide to Digital Illustration is a perfect introduction to this fast-moving world, and essential reading for the forward-looking professional.

I Using Digital Cameras: A Comprehensive Guide to Digital Image Capture by Joel Butkowski and Andra Van Kempen (Amphoto: Watson-Guptill) and The Art of Digital Photography by Tom Ang (Amphoto: Watson-Guptill) Both the practical operation of digital cameras and the aesthetic possibilities of on-line utilization and reproduction are discussed in these volumes. The Art of Digital Photography is an authoritative guide to the world of digital photography brings together in one volume all the helpful instruction camera artists need to update their skills and use exciting new technology to create successful images. Written in clear, jargon-free language, this essential handbook is fully illustrated with inspiring examples, diagrams, and step-by-step illustrations taken directly from the computer screen. Lucid answers are provided to common questions readers will have about this brand-new way to produce pictures: how to get started, how to correct mistakes, and how to utilize digitally generated images. In chapters structured as workshops, input from pioneers in the field reveals techniques and tricks to lead readers from basic digital photography through image manipulation and output.
Photographers and desktop publishers eager to be up-to-date on digital-camera technology will find clearly written, easy-to-understand information in Using Digital Cameras that describes the basics of digital cameras and how their images are reproduced in the computerized formats used in prepress work. A lavishly illustrated gallery demonstrates that digital photography can be effectively used for a wide range of subjects, from food to portraits to landscapes to cars.

Make-up Techniques for Photography by Cliff Hollenbeck and Nancy Hollenbeck (Amherst Media) Photographers who know makeup techniques set themselves apart from the competition. All aspects of professional makeup, from initial evaluation to final application, are covered in this guide to makeup for portrait photography. Topics include evaluating a makeup job; recognizing trouble spots; bringing a face into shape, balance, and proportion; creating highlights and shadows; and dealing with problem situations such as sunburned areas.

Classic Nude Photography by Peter Gowland and Alice Gowland (Amherst Media) Covering classic duotone portraits from the Hollywood heyday of the 1940s and 1950s through glamorous Playboy images of the 1960s and 1970s, this book pairs each photograph with a technical analysis to reveal how these timeless images were created. Included are techniques for using window light, sunlight, water, and props for various effects; as well as information on the use of studio portraiture, action photos, and dramatic imagery in nude photography.

 

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