I was disappointed with their treatment of depth of field, which is what is in focus. They claim that the aperture (f-stop) determines the depth of field, and discuss this for several pages. It is not until page 196 where they mention that focal length affects depth of field. The focal length discussion needs to be in the depth of field discussion. With a wide angle lens you are going to have a long depth of field, and with a telephoto, you are going to have a shallow depth of field. Many authors make this mistake and send amateurs on wild goose chases because they don’t have the proper lens to get the depth of field they seek.

Below are the notes I took for myself from this book. I hope you find them helpful.

Shutter speed can either freeze movement, or cause blurring. The faster the shutter speed, the more likely to freeze motion. On the high end:

* Toddler roaming 1/250

* Kids running 1/500

* Child swinging 1/1000

For noise free results use ISOs of 100-400. Common settings are:

* Sun 100

* Porch light 200

* Overcast day 200-400

* Window light 400

* Indoor w/o flash 800 and up

* Stage performance w/o flash 1600

* Indoor sports event w/o flash 1600

F stop (aperture) affects depth of field

* f/8 to f/22 produce a long depth of field, meaning most things are in focus, this is referred to as shooting closed down.

* For a short depth of field that makes the subject jump out and the background be more blurry use larger apertures. Most photos in this book were shot between f/1.4 and f/5.6. This is called shooting wide.

“Photographs are not made by cameras, which are only tools.”

Program modes;

* Portrait mode is a precursor to aperture priority, sports mode to shutter priority,

* f/4 and f/5.6 give you pleasing depth of field for portraits. Larger f-stops, such as f/1.5 and f/1.2 make for very selective focus and make everything else blurry.

In the chapter on natural light, called “seeing the light”, the authors favor natural light, and sweet light with is the first hour of sunlight of the day and the last hour. High-key photos are light subjects against a light background. Contouring light is 3 times as much light on one side of your subject as on the other side. Specular light is the bright line dividing the highlight from the shadow. The flash in the eyes is called catch lights.

There is also a chapter about manipulating light with flash, light modifiers, white balance, and studio lighting. Using your on camera flash as the main light is almost always a mistake. Cosmetic ads are shot with front or flat lighting because it creates a shadowless light that disguises imperfections. Rembrandt lighting is achieved by placing your subject at a 45-degree angle to your light source such as a window. With studio lights, the closer they are to the subject, the softer they appear.

On composition, keep it simple, and do so by getting close. Watch for dark things in light spaces and vice versa. Negative space is empty space around your subject that works to emphasize. Never crop off hands and feet. Either zoom in to the head and shoulders, or zoom out to get the hands, or zoom out more and get the whole body including feet.

Focal length

* 12mm Wide angle - good for large groups

* 50mm Standard - this is what the eye sees

* 105 Telephoto - often considered ideal for portraits (finally!)

* 200mm Telephoto - good for blurring out backgrounds and getting close to action
Rating: 4 / 5