Recommended Reading

Ever get the feeling that you are spending too much time at the computer, but you still are thirsting for knowledge? Well, for those of us that grew up before then internet, we had these great things called books! It goes without saying that there are literally thousands of books about photography, both film and digital. As in all things, the cream really does rise to the top though. Over the past 3 or 4 years, I have found myself constantly referring back to and seen others reference these, which in my mind means that they are well-worth the time spent lost between the pages:

Technical Texts

  • The Digital Photography Book, Vols. 1 & 2, Scott Kelby
  • Nature Photography Field Guide, John Shaw
  • Understanding Exposure, Bryan Peterson
  • Complete Digital Photography, Tom Ang
  • Light and Lens – Photography in the Digital Age, Robert Hirsch

Creative Inspiration and Understanding

  • The Photographer’s Eye, Michael Freeman
  • The Photographer’s Eye, John Szarkowski (Yes, the same title but different author)
  • The Camera, Ansel Adams
  • The Negative, Ansel Adams
  • The Print, Ansel Adams

Workflow, Organization and Purpose

  • The DAM Book -Digital Asset Management for Photographers, Peter Krough
  • Raw 101 – Better Images with Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, Jon Canfield
  • The Photoshop CS_ Book for Digital Photographers, Scott Kelby (where _ = your version, whether CS, CS2, CS3 or now CS4) – great beginner reference
  • Shooting and Selling Your Photos, Jim Zuckerman

Naturally, we all learn differently, and we all enter the field at diferent points along the never-ending learning curve, but some of these may be really useful and I would encourage you to use them, whether for a doorstop, a reference, or a bible!  With that in mind, I’ll throw this out for others to include their favorite books – they can be technical, inspirational, organizational, or any “ional”, as long as it’s related to photography!  What are your favorite books?

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