The New Digital Photography Manual [BOOK REVIEW]

In this fourth edition, author Philip Andrews admits early on that “when I first saw the new digital technology in all its glory, 19 or 20 years ago, I was not all that impressed.”

What has projected digital capture into public and professional acceptance has been not only the rapid technical advances but the accelerating takeup by Mums, Dads and pro users.

We now have mature digital capture as an accepted part of the photographic process, so with this in mind Andrews takes from the early days of chemical photography, to the basics of a camera and all the way to how a digital image is formed and stored.

There are useful lessons in how to record a picture, with tips on composition and framing, dealing with depth of field, ISO speeds, resolution etc. In concise style this info will help even the rawest of recruits to the digital cause.

What usually frightens the novice is the challenge of how to deal with the digital image, post shooting: downloading, previewing on the computer, using software to hone and polish the picture, then delivering the optimum output, to print or Web or whatever.

There are useful mini primers on suitable software, including Photoshop, Picasa, Paint Shop Pro etc.
In many ways this book is an excellent primer for a newcomer to digital imaging as well as an memory kicker for the experienced photographer who may have fallen into bad habits!

Author: P Andrews.
Publisher: Carlton.
Distributor: Scribo Group.
Length: 192 pages.
Price: Get a price on The New Digital Photography Manual at Amazon.