Editorial Reviews:
Whether you're just making the transition from a lifetime of traditional photography or are looking to bring your digital photography skills in line with today's market, if you're serious about digital photography, you need this book. In the four years since the first edition was published, just about every aspect of digital photography has changed (often radically--and it's all covered in these pages. Organized in four major sections--Digital Processing Essentials, Digital Processing Techniques, The Digital Darkroom, and Output and Presentation--the focus here is on getting great pictures and spectacular printed output through a combination of smart techniques and the right equipment. As with all of the titles in the Real World series, the authors here realize that this entails learning not just techniques but the concepts behind them. For a professional-level understanding of the digital photography process--from how a digital camera works to advice on buying cameras and accessories, choosing hardware and software, downloading and outputting images, and more--this is the place to turn.
The title of Real World Digital Photography doesn't adequately indicate the scope and sheer practical usefulness of the information within. The book not only gives a clear breakdown of how to choose and use a digital camera, it also covers everything from sound photographic advice (lighting, framing, and cropping) to manipulation of digital images (primarily in Photoshop). This latter section is especially well-written, covering everything necessary for color correction: levels, histograms, the unsharp mask filter--all explained clearly but without an overwhelming amount of detail. This book is aimed at neither the casual consumer nor the professional digital photographer with $50,000 to spend. Rather, it is perfect for several types of professionals: graphic designers, design students, real estate and insurance agents, and many others. It shows how digital cameras work (what makes both the inner workings and the output differ from that in traditional film cameras); which camera to buy for your needs and budget; and how to take, edit, archive, and store pictures. Many basic terms get clarified--for example, how JPEG compression works--and there are lots of sidebar tips such as how to progressively downsample an image in a way that preserves the most detail. The book also explains how to print the images on inkjet or dye sub printers. (Did you know not to convert an RGB image to CMYK before sending it to the printer? Let the printer do the conversion.) A lot of the information and explanations in Real World Digital Photography will still be useful long after the featured cameras are considered yesterday's technology. --Angelynn Grant Topics covered: Types of cameras and which to buy, how they work, the mechanics of digital imagery, setting up a digital "darkroom" and desktop studio, the basics of good photography, Quicktime VR, digital correction of images, preparing images for print or Web, and archiving digital images.
Customer Reviews:
Displaying 1 to 5 of 39 total reviews (Page 1 of 8):
 Very good
I was a beginner digital photographer when I got this book. Taught me a lot and I still use it and what I learned every day. Glad I bought it. Useful Book.
I'm a photography major and was required to get this book for class. Though it has a high price tag, it's very useful and will probably last for the rest of your life as a guide to photography. It starts from the beginning, from how a camera works, to how to develop film, printing, color photography, and more. There are detailed pictures, charts and examples to help you understand certain concepts. Thoughtful, thorough book on digital photography
This is a genuinely well thought out book concerning digital photography. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good grasp on all of the concepts surrounding Digital Cameras and image post-processing.  Not a good choice for class room text.
I'm teaching a beginning digital photography class and this book was the one being used by the college. I went with it. On first read, liked the book but as I tried to structure a methodical, logical class, I found the book to be frustrating. The book jumps from one topic to another, often with no thorough treatment of a subject. Topics are scattered through it. It often promises "we'll cover more on that later" without really covering it well later. The book can't be read by a beginner because terms are often used without being defined or taught. The book assumes you already know about photography. I found I could not assign much reading from the book until 1/2 way through the course when the students had finally been introduced to ISO, shutter speed, f/stops, depth of field, exposures, stops, white balance, etc.
The back 1/2 of the book focuses on Photoshop CS which was not the SW we used in the class. That part of the book was nearly useless for us.
For someone already familiar with photography, this book isn't bad at all. As a text for a class, I'd not recommend it.  Good Book
It's a good book, I'm doing first year photography at uni and this is one of the text's. it's writen in a way that is really easy to read and it covers everything really quite well. More Customer Reviews:
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(39 reviews)
