Which photography books for beginner?

Hi,

I need some books to help me quickly get started in DSLR photography. Which of the following books are good for beginners? There are a couple "field guide" books in the list. Do they contain duplicated information? Thanks!

1. National Geographic Photography Field Guide
2. John Shaw's Nature Photography Field Guide
3. The Q&A Guide To Photo Techniques (Paperback)
4. The Camera (Paperback)
5. The A-Z of Creative Photography
6. The Photographer's Guide to Filters
7. Understanding Exposure

The first two are very good - but I'd probably recommend the Nat'l Geo book because it's not specifically about nature (unless that's the only thing you're interested in). It's also small so it can fit into a camera bag.

I'd avoid the book on filters - with a DSLR, you probably won't be using filters too often. Really, the only one I use is a polarizer. It's a pretty technical book and doesn't go over any of the basics. Sorry, don't know the other books.

I have the book titled "Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera" by Bryan Peterson. And think it is a great starting point to learn about SLRs in general

I agree - Understanding Exposure - is probably one of the best books out there. I have it - it is easy reading, but full of good information and many photo samples.

Liz

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by markcoleman

I have the book titled "Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera" by Bryan Peterson. And think it is a great starting point to learn about SLRs in general

---

I don't know if you're interested in shooting sports photography at all, but there is a good book called Digital Sports Photography by G. Newman Lowrence that covers the basics of shooting sports.