Creative Nature & Outdoor Photography, Revised Edition

Creative Nature & Outdoor Photography, Revised Edition Review

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A classic guide to creative nature photography, now updated for the digital world.

Amateur and experienced photographers interested in taking more compelling, personal images will love this new edition of Creative Nature & Outdoor Photography, now updated to address the exciting possibilities (and challenges) of digital image-making. Author Brenda Tharp’s inspiring approach has garnered fans all over the world, as she teaches that magical skill no camera can do for you: learn how to “see.” Readers expand their photographic vision and discover deep wellsprings of creativity as they learn to use light, balance, color, design, pattern, texture, composition, and many simple techniques to take a photo from ordinary to high-impact.

Featuring more than 150 stunning, all-new images, Creative Nature & Outdoor  Photography, Revised Edition is for anyone who understands the basic technical side to photography but wants to wake up their creative vision.

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Digital Photography Masterclass

Digital Photography Masterclass Review

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It's easy to see why digital photography has overtaken analog in popularity-it's affordable, convenient, versatile, and, above all, it makes photography more fun than ever before. Tom Ang's latest book is an in-depth, inspirational, and uniquely practical guide to every aspect of digital photography. There are assignments and analysis spreads, and step-by-step tutorials to help you hone your skills. He teaches you to look at the world with a photographer's "eye" and shows you how to get great shots every time. In short, this book shows you how to master your camera to ensure the best results in every situation and how to push the computer to keep up with your vision.

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The Big Book of Cats

The Big Book of Cats Review

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J.C. Suares' best-selling series of feline and canine-inspired books have charmed and delighted dog and cat lovers through the past decade. From funny cats to heroic dogs, cool cats to dogs in love, and cats in the city to dogs in Hollywood, readers have adored them all. The Big Book of Cats and The Big Book of Dogs presents the best of Suares' series of books. These 384-page compendiums each include over 230 black and white images by such well-known animal photographers as Eve Arnold, Tanya Braganti, Elliot Erwitt, John Drysdale, Martine Franck, Herbert List, and Robin Schwartz. The photographs are paired with excerpts from such diverse writers as Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Mark Twain, Rudyard Kipling, and Sigmund Freud, as well as personal stories and anecdotes. From the cat that fell in love with a parrot, to an Australian Shepard who rescued tornado survivors, The Big Book of Cats and The Big Book of Dogs are filled with the loveable and the famous, the hilarious and the brave. Enlivened with Suares' whimsical drawings, The Big Book of Cats and The Big Book of Dogs are a remarkable tribute to our feline and canine friends, and are sure to warm the hearts of dog and cat lovers everywhere.

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The HDR Book: Unlocking the Pros' Hottest Post-Processing Techniques

The HDR Book: Unlocking the Pros' Hottest Post-Processing Techniques Review

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When it comes to HDR, only three key ingredients are needed: hardware, software, and post-processing technique. Hardware is simple—there are only a few things you need to set up and shoot an HDR series. Software is vastly improved, making it easier for anyone to create an HDR image. The hard part is the post-processing technique. There are only two options: hours and hours of experimentation or The HDR Book.

Featuring real-world interviews with passionate HDR photographers, The HDR Book, by Rafael “RC” Concepcion, is more than a how-to and different from any other HDR book out there. While other books on HDR tend to lean toward the esoteric or formulaic, this book takes another approach. It's a complete and total HDR workshop that teaches you the one thing that most other books miss– once you've tone mapped your image with HDR software, you're still not finished.

Within the pages of this book, you'll find 10 projects shot with everything from a point-and-shoot to a 37-megapixel, medium-format camera. The projects are designed to show you how the subtle differences in each scenario (lighting, subject, environment, etc.) dictate the post-processing needed to achieve one of the many final looks covered. You'll learn not only the different tone map settings RC used, but you’ll also learn the final steps taken in Photoshop to complete each image. Then, you'll recreate these looks your self using the exact same RAW files that RC used! Plus, you get four bonus images to play with and create your own look. The end result: a more intrinsic understanding of the nuances of HDR that will help you create the images you’ve always wanted.

Best of all, The HDR Book is written using the three top HDR processing programs in the industry today: Photoshop’s HDR Pro, Photomatix Pro, and HDR Efex Pro. No matter which program you use, you'll be able to follow along and create your own stunning looks in no time.

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Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books (Unpacking My Library Series)

Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books (Unpacking My Library Series) Review

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As words and stories are increasingly disseminated through digital means, the significance of the book as object—whether pristine collectible or battered relic—is growing as well. Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books spotlights the personal libraries of thirteen favorite novelists who share their collections with readers. Stunning photographs provide full views of the libraries and close-ups of individual volumes: first editions, worn textbooks, pristine hardcovers, and childhood companions.

In her introduction, Leah Price muses on the history and future of the bookshelf, asking what books can tell us about their owners and what readers can tell us about their collections. Supplementing the photographs are Price's interviews with each author, which probe the relation of writing to reading, collecting, and arranging books. Each writer provides a list of top ten favorite titles, offering unique personal histories along with suggestions for every bibliophile.

Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books features the personal libraries of Alison Bechdel, Stephen Carter, Junot Díaz, Rebecca Goldstein and Steven Pinker, Lev Grossman and Sophie Gee, Jonathan Lethem, Claire Messud and James Wood, Philip Pullman, Gary Shteyngart, and Edmund White.

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The Photoshop Elements 9 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter)

The Photoshop Elements 9 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter) Review

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This book breaks new ground by doing something for digital photographers that’s never been done before—it cuts through the bull and shows you exactly “how to do it.” It’s not a bunch of theory; it doesn’t challenge you to come up with your own settings or figure things out on your own. Instead, it does something that virtually no other Elements book has ever done—it tells you flat-out which settings to use, when to use them, and why.

If you’re looking for one of those “tell-me-everything-about-the-Unsharp-Mask-filter” books, this isn’t it. You can grab any other Elements book on the shelf, because they all do that. Instead, this book gives you the inside tips and tricks of the trade for organizing, correcting, editing, sharpening, retouching, and printing your photos like a pro. You’ll be absolutely amazed at how easy and effective these techniques are—once you know the secrets.

LEARN HOW THE PROS DO IT
Each year we train thousands of digital photographers and, almost without exception, they have the same questions and face the same problem—that’s  exactly what we cover in this book. You’ll learn:

• The real secrets of how the pros retouch portraits
• How to color correct any photo with out breaking a sweat (you’ll be amazed at how they do it!)
• How to use Camera Raw for processing not only RAW photos, but JPEGs and TIFFs, too! (And you’ll learn why so many pros like it best—because it’s faster and easier)
• The sharpening techniques the pros really use (there’s an entire chapter just on this!)
• How to deal with common digital camera image problems, including removing noise and avoiding halos
• The most requested photographic special effects, and much more!

THE BOOK’S SECRET WEAPON
Although Elements 9 offers some digital photography features that Photoshop CS5 doesn’t offer, there are plenty of features that Photoshop CS5 has that Elements 9 still doesn’t have (things like paths, Channel Mixer, etc.). But in this book, you’ll learn some slick workarounds, cheats, and some fairly ingenious ways to replicate many of those Photoshop features from right within Elements. Plus, since this book is designed for photographers, it doesn’t waste your time talking about how to frame a shot, set your exposure, etc., and there’s no talk about which camera or printer to buy. It’s all Elements, step-by-step, cover-to-cover, in the only book of its  kind!

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The Photographer's Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos

The Photographer's Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos Review

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Design is the single most important factor in creating a successful photograph. The ability to see the potential for a strong picture and then organize the graphic elements into an effective, compelling composition has always been one of the key skills in making photographs.

Digital photography has brought a new, exciting aspect to design - first because the instant feedback from a digital camera allows immediate appraisal and improvement; and second because image-editing tools make it possible to alter and enhance the design after the shutter has been pressed. This has had a profound effect on the way digital photographers take pictures.

Now published in sixteen languages, The Photographer's Eye continues to speak to photographers everywhere. Reaching 100,000 copies in print in the US alone, and 300,000+ worldwide, it shows how anyone can develop the ability to see and shoot great digital photographs. The book explores all the traditional approaches to composition and design, but crucially, it also addresses the new digital technique of shooting in the knowledge that a picture will later be edited, manipulated, or montaged to result in a final image that may be very different from the one seen in the viewfinder.

Features
*Covers both traditional in-camera composition and the new opportunities for picture-making made possible by digital imaging editing
*Shows how to explore situations and locations in order to find the best possible photographic possibilities
*Uses clear examples from real photographic assignments, with schematic illustrations of how and why the pictures work

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How To Take Better Pictures Like A Pro

How To Take Better Pictures Like A Pro Review

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Knowing how to take better pictures like a professional photographer will improve your picture taking capabilities regardless if you never make photography your profession. This book points out some great photography tips that will truly help sharpen your creativity.

You'll develop a better understanding as to why light is so important to the photographer. You'll learn why professionals anticipate the shot well in advance of them actually clicking the shutter. Why the magic isn't in expensive camera equipment, or why does a certain personality make you a better people shooter?

It is my intention in writing this book, "How To Take Better Pictures Like A Pro", is to help you understand the design and composition process as your first step to improving your skill level. Your most valuable asset as both a professional and amateur photographer is discovering your visual identity. Without personal interpretation, your photographs will lack uniqueness.

Sometimes throughout your daily life you begin to see things that may have potential of becoming a good photo, but unfortunately in those moments when the light fills the scene just right allowing your eye to see contrast and patterns, you are without a camera. Developing a mental image through the practice of visualization will produce dividends in your growth as a photographer. So when you recognize those moments with a camera you can take full advantage.

Storytelling with a camera is different than a writer with a pen. A photographer's world is a visual one meant to be seen. A writer writes with imagination. So a photographer needs to make the visual fresh. He needs to ask himself - What story do I tell here? He needs to first look with his eyes before he acts.

The photographer's eye opens up his world. When a professional photographer brings his eye up to the glass of the viewfinder, his three dimensional world changes. His world becomes two dimensional and intuitively the transition is seamless. An amateur's journey is more uncertain. He is not yet a master of composition and mindlessly overshoots his subject matter without any thought of basic design. So what should you do?

Train like a professional and develop good habits. If you have aspirations to become a professional photographer than you need to become more aware of things than the average person. You need to see things with a keener eye. You need a sharper focus to detail. You can't be a casual observer. You need to pay attention.

Throughout this book you will read behind the scenes stories with a many related photography tips. How you choose to see the world through your photography may not yet be fully developed. It will take time. It will take patience. It will take commitment. It will take learned knowledge to take better pictures like a pro. It'll take a trained eye and work to sharpen the creative inside you.

Afterwards, please visit my site http://www.beaphotoninja.com for more behind the scenes stories as well as photography tips. I hope, “How To Take Better Pictures Like A Pro”, encourages you to continue the journey to become a better photographer and maybe one day bring out the photo ninja inside you.

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Mamarazzi: Every Mom's Guide to Photographing Kids

Mamarazzi: Every Mom's Guide to Photographing Kids Review

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Calling all mamarazzis! Every camera-toting mom will want this guide!

Moms, if you can't seem to take enough great photos of the children in your life, this is the book for you.  Now you can learn how to photograph children with the style, clarity, color, and beauty you see in professional photographs.  This fun guide combines humor with solid know-how to show you how to compose shots, handle cameras from basic compacts to advanced dSLRs, take portraits or candids, create prints that impress, and even work with kids! Packed with beautiful examples and written in a down-to-earth style from one mom to another, this book will help mamarazzis everywhere take better photos.

• Moms are one of the fastest-growing segments of the camera-toting demographic, and the blogosphere has a term for them, mamarazzis
• Mixes information, inspiration, and fun for women who want to take better photographs of the children in their lives
• Explains how to set up a camera and use the controls on basic compacts up to advanced dSLR cameras
• Covers shot composition, determining settings, exposing images correctly, the essentials of printing images, how to process for clear and bright color, and more
• Includes stunning examples of portraits and candids of children

Become a better mamarazzi with this fun and informative guide!

Mamarazzi: Top Tips for Getting Super Kid Shots
Of course, every mamarazzo wants to know how to capture winning photos of her children. She wants to pick the perfect spots for shots, use lovely lighting, and make her camera’s bells and whistles sing. But the true show stopper for most moms is the ability to capture her child’s true personality in photos. A few insider tips can do the trick!

Don’t act your age.
The best way to guarantee giggles from your children is to think like a kid yourself. Figure out what makes them laugh … and then start the show! This may mean breaking a few rules in honor of photo time. For instance, let your monkey jump on the bed or plan a ridiculously bubbly bath time.

But whatever you do, aim to capture the magic of childhood. Grab close ups of your son’s grass-stained knees. Or keep your distance and zoom out to show your daughter at play in her room. Use your imagination--right along with your child--to grab some great captures.

Catch smiling siblings.
Sibling shots are the pièce de résistance for nearly every mama--and papa, for that matter! But they can also be the most difficult images to get. How can you capture the charisma (or chaos!) of siblings without taking a trip to the looney bin?

Here’s an idea: Gather your crew and engage them in a fun-for-all activity, like blowing bubbles, playing in the sprinkler, or building a blanket fort. Step back and capture the candids that ensue.

Or hop into the Director’s chair for some shots. Mix up the words to a standard song to get a few grins. Suggest a jumping contest or try a tickle fest for fun. Balance something on your head and then let it fall to the floor. Engage your inner actress and make a big deal over the funny fails.

Encourage siblings to get close (closer … no, ever closer!) to each other as you snap your shots. Chances are, if they’re having fun, they won’t mind the close quarters … and yep, it even works with toddlers and tweens!

Give ‘em some star treatment.
A seemingly simple tip that can go a long way to improve your mamarazzo moments is to handle your “star” with care. Be fun, honest, and kind to your child when you’re behind the camera.

Make picture time fun … and enjoy the experience … rather than just getting the shot. Play games, tell jokes, or act silly along with your child. And if your children are old enough, let them be part of the photography process. Encourage your daughter to choose her own funky photo outfits. Or have your son pick his favorite places for picture-taking. If you make it fun, chances are that you’ll all enjoy camera time together.

Remember to be kind to your child, especially when taking photos. You’ll want your child to feel cherished rather than chastised when the shutter is snapping. So keep your cool, mama. And no matter how much your kids push your buttons when you’re trying to (wo)man the camera, keep it fun and upbeat. And when you’re tapped out, close the curtain!

With these tips, you’re sure to capture the winning shots you want. And even better, you might just earn a repeat performance the next time you bring out your camera!

Photo Examples

The Right Lighting

Picking Clothes

Sibling Photos

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Photoshop Elements 10 Top 100 Simplified Tips and Tricks (Top 100 Simplified Tips & Tricks)

Photoshop Elements 10 Top 100 Simplified Tips and Tricks (Top 100 Simplified Tips & Tricks) Review

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You already know Photoshop Elements basics. Now you'd like to go beyond with shortcuts, tricks, and tips that let you work smarter and faster. And because you learn more easily when someone shows you how, this is the book for you. Inside, you'll find clear, illustrated instructions for 100 tasks that reveal cool secrets, teach timesaving tricks, and explain great tips guaranteed to make you more productive with Photoshop Elements 10.

1. Minimal text and maximum illustrations
2. Task-oriented, step-by-step approach
3. Navigational aids connect instructions to illustrations
4. Self-contained, two-page lessons
5. Uniform layout makes it easy to read less, learn more

How easy is it?

Look for these symbols marking the difficulty of each task.

• Demonstrates a new spin on a common task
• Introduces a new skill or a new task
• Combines multiple skills requiring in-depth knowledge
• Requires extensive skill and may involve other technologies

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On-Camera Flash Techniques for Digital Wedding and Portrait Photography

On-Camera Flash Techniques for Digital Wedding and Portrait Photography Review

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With this guidebook, photographers learn how to create stunning, professional images while avoiding the common pitfalls of using an on-camera flash. Techniques for using simple accessories—such as bounce cards and diffusers as well as how to improve a lighting scenario by enhancing it rather than overwhelming it—show photographers how to master this challenging aspect of portraiture. For wedding and environmental portrait photographers who must work in ever-changing lighting scenarios, executing these tips to evade flat, lifeless images with harsh shadows, washed-out skin tones, cavernous black backgrounds, and other unappealing visual characteristics results in not only better images, but happier clients and more sales.

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Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition)

Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition) Review

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More than 100 vivid, graphic comparison pictures illustrate every point in this revised classic and can help any photographer maximize the creative impact of his or her exposure decisions. Peterson stresses the importance of metering the subject for a starting exposure, and then explains how to use various exposure meters and different kinds of lighting. The book contains lessons on each element of the exposure-aperature, shutter speed, iso-and how it relates to the other two in terms of depth of field, freezing and blurring action, and shooting in low light or at night. A section on special techniques explores such options as deliberate under- and overexposures, how to produce double exposures, bracketing, shooting the moon, and the use of filters. Understanding Exposure demonstrates that there are always creative choices about how to expose a picture-and that the decision is up to the photographer, not the camera.

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Beyond Portraiture: Creative People Photography

Beyond Portraiture: Creative People Photography Review

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Great portraits go beyond a mere record of a face. They reveal one of the millions of intimate human moments that make up a life. In Beyond Portraiture, renowned photographer Bryan Peterson shows how to spot those “ah-ha!” moments and capture them forever. A teary child...old people laughing together...a smiling girl with big, big hair. Everyone remember pictures like these, usually taken by a mother, a father, a friend holding a camera, forever preserving small yet revealing vignettes of our personal histories. But we always relied on pure luck and chance to catch those moments. Peterson’s approach explains what makes a photo memorable, how to spot the universal themes that everyone can identify with, and how to use lighting, setting, and exposure to reveal the wonder and the joy of everyday moments. Beyond Portraiture makes it easy to create indelible memories with light and shadow.

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The Magic of Digital Nature Photography (A Lark Photography Book)

The Magic of Digital Nature Photography (A Lark Photography Book) Review

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For anyone who has tried to capture a blazing sunset or catch the stark and simple beauty of bare tree limbs in winter, this manual will prove irresistible. Rather than providing ideas of what to photograph, Sheppard presents invaluable insider techniques and insights: use a histogram to get the ideal exposure, or white balance to create atmospheric images. Find out how to shoot crisp close-ups or awe-inspiring panoramic shots, and how to enhance pictures by using filters such as grads and polarizers. See how computer and image-editing software can turn ordinary images into extraordinary photos. Each section lists 10 Quick Tips for handling common outdoor photography challenges.

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How to Start a Home-Based Photography Business, 6th (Home-Based Business Series)

How to Start a Home-Based Photography Business, 6th (Home-Based Business Series) Review

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Everything you need to know to start and run a profitable photography business from your home.

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Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty (Metropolitan Museum of Art) Review

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Arguably the most influential, imaginative, and provocative designer of his generation, Alexander McQueen both challenged and expanded fashion conventions to express ideas about race, class, sexuality, religion, and the environment.

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty examines the full breadth of the designer’s career, from the start of his fledgling label to the triumphs of his own world-renowned London house. It features his most iconic and radical designs, revealing how McQueen adapted and combined the fundamentals of Savile Row tailoring, the specialized techniques of haute couture, and technological innovation to achieve his distinctive aesthetic. It also focuses on the highly sophisticated narrative structures underpinning his collections and extravagant runway presentations, with their echoes of avant-garde installation and performance art.

 

Published to coincide with an exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art organized by The Costume Institute, this stunning book includes a preface by Andrew Bolton; an introduction by Susannah Frankel; an interview by Tim Blanks with Sarah Burton, creative director of the house of Alexander McQueen; illuminating quotes from the designer himself; provocative and captivating new photography by renowned photographer Sølve Sundsbø; and a lenticular cover by Gary James McQueen.

 

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty celebrates the astounding creativity and originality of a designer who relentlessly questioned and confronted the requisites of fashion.

 

 

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