Comments on: Understanding Exposure by Brian Peterson – a Reader Review

By: Mike C

Mike C — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:58:27 +0000

I just bought this book for my tab to read on a Kindle app. I am a few chapters in and have already picked up some interesting things that I have not figured out yet just trying to get the whole manual settings on my own. I will post again when I finish it up.

By: Allison Puketza

Allison Puketza — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:28:45 +0000

I also loved this book! I recommend it to anyone who wants more than a album full of ‘point and shoot’ images.

By: Ray Harland

Ray Harland — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 23:10:22 +0000

Just downloaded this book this very day to my kindle. compulsive reading for myself (very much a beginner) with a bridge camera Fuji HS20. i have read 25% of it already and can i say it has explained so much as to why not to use those auto settings, i have had what i consider to be milestones of advancement just by experimenting with shutter speed/aperture setting and of course ISO setting with some mindblowing resuluts. Well done Brian for giving us a chance getting kinda’ addicted already!

Kind Regards Ray (Manchester,England)

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 07:20:36 +0000

A commenter referred to this book as “bible.” I could not disagree more.

The goal of exposure is two-fold:
1) To get the proper exposure while at the same time
2) Achieving a certain effect (like shallow or extreme depth of field, freezing or blurring action, etc.)

This book only illustrates how choosing various combinations of ISO, shutter speed, and aperture can effect your pictures. But, it does not address how to achieve the proper exposure. In fact, the key technical information is factually incorrect. The book confuses more than it helps.

For instance, the author creates terms like “Brother Sky” and “Mr. Green Jeans” and then adds his own bizarre twist to the old worn out “plumbing” analogy. Instead, the book could just say, “In snow, just spot meter the snow and open up 2 stops,” which is 100% reliable. But no, he says to meter “Brother Sky” (the blue sky) and shoot. But, “Brother Sky” is rarely reliable. This is the old John Shaw idea that never worked reliably, since the blue sky can take on varying tones. Also, if the snow in the scene is not sunlit (like the sky is), then the exposure will be way off. And, if the sky is not blue, then what?

How about the exposure for a yellow flower? Just spot meter the yellow and open up 1.5 stops. (1.3 to 1.67, really). These simple problems are not addressed. What about green grasses. Well “Mr. Green Jeans” says it’s -2/3. That’s completely wrong, too. It’s zero, for the most part. -2/3 is probably correct for darker evergreen trees. What a disaster.

And the most humorous idea is his use of the old flawed plumbing analogy for aperture/shutter speed/ISO, which is already silly enough. But, the analogy fails when it comes to illustrating ISO. Instead of coming up with a more pertinent analogy, he introduces “worker bees” that carry away water to represent ISO. This can’t be real, but it is! The publisher found a talented photographer, but not a good technical teacher.

This is just one more photography book that confuses more than it teaches. I know because when I was first learning I never found a great book or source that taught it completely. Most books really taught much and some were just plain erroneous, like this one. That’s the problem when big name photographers are asked to do a book about something that they are unequipped to address.

The book “The Backpacker Photography Handbook” by Charles Campbell was quite good in that it taught the various “exposure compensations” for the different tonalities. But, it lacked in that it only addressed the simplest of lighting scenarios (single light source situations, as opposed to scenes that are both sunlit and “skylit”). And, it isn’t a modern book that speaks of histograms, etc.

I stuck with it and once I became accomplished I developed my own methods, analogies, and animations to teaching the topic. I developed a powerful and concise approach to teaching exposure and I hold these classes four times each year. I’m working on a tabletop book right now, but one day I plan to have my own book on exposure, possibly an animated e-book, that hopefully one day will be the true “bible” on this topic.

By: Ruth M. Velez

Ruth M. Velez — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:01:51 +0000

I must say that I am an amateur photographer and this is the first book I have purchased. But I bought the 3rd edition where he does include information on ISO and flash. This book is amazing and he explains everything.

By: GG

GG — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 17:47:38 +0000

Although I have most of his books, this is the first book I read about photography. It has helped me understand exposure better. This book serves well as a guide or point of referrence.
And Darren, I believe it spells Bryan..not Brian Peterson.

By: Chantal Rhodes

Chantal Rhodes — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 09:22:08 +0000

I have this book too, I just recently bought if after much research into what book would suit me as I am a beginner and I am trying to learn the different concepts first and understand how my DSLR works and basically learning the technique. I am finding his book a little bit confusing and I have to say I am agreeing with Kimberly here that it is a bit challenging. I have researched another book – Complete Digital Photography by Ben Long and was wondering if anyone has read it (or any one of the 5 editions) as I would like to purchase the 6th edition to be released shortly?? Any comments???

By: John Cox

John Cox — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 00:14:47 +0000

Having just retired I was bought a nikon d90 for Christmas by my Wife after having joined a camera club in December , as I struggled to understand all the controls and after various discussions with various club members I was quite suprised how many photographers old and young shot in various priority modes after having spent out on all this sophisticated equipment they did’nt really know how to get the best from their cameras and I was not sure the info I was getting was right.
The general attitude was just play with it and take some photo’s and pick it up from there,having the need to know why things work or dont work I came across your book on “Amazon” purchased it and a whole new world opened up just by being able to understand apetures and shutter speeds and I only shoot in the manual mode on the camera now. The book was worth every penny I paid for it and can only recommend very highly.

Regards John Cox

By: Kimberley Jackson-Brown

Kimberley Jackson-Brown — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 03:22:10 +0000

I got this book from the library and read it from beginning to end. Let me also say that I am very much a BEGINNER as I have only had my Canon SLR camera for about 2-3 months. I found that this book was somewhat challenging for me to understand. The author gave detailed info about the photos that were taken as a way for the reader to see what settings he used, but as a beginner, it just didnt seem to help me. Perhaps I need something that is even more basic – perhaps I need a class where I am taking a picture using one set of settings and then comparing it to another photograph where the settings make the picture look better and understanding th difference between the two. For example, when I take pictures with my SLR I can definetly see the difference in the pictures vs. my point and shoot camera. But, because my eye has not been trained, I can not and typically dont see why one setting would be better than another unless it is DRASTICLY different – not sure if you are understanding me here….but, for me, the book was a challenege. Thanks for suggesting it. I am going to be taking a class this month for beginners, so I am hopeful that after the class, things will become a bit clearer in understanding how to get and take the best photos.

By: James Hallows

James Hallows — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 21:39:30 +0000

I have to say that I found the book to be somewhat disappointing for an enthusiastic amateur. It’s very difficult to identify who this is targeted at. For the complete beginner, you’ll definitely learn more about photography, but there are far better and more complete books out there for you. For those who’ve got most of the basics understood and have digested most of their camera manuals and are looking to pick up some good practical tips, Scott Kelby’s books are far superior and have way more useful content. It’s of little interest to the professional.

Certainly, it is absolutely not a “bible” on digital photography or any other photography for that matter. Much is glossed over or omitted.

Of course, your mileage may vary

Cheers

James