The Digital Photography Companion
by Derrick Story
Published by O’Reilly
Reviewed by Billy and Denise CarterRating: 4 out of 5 stars
General Comments: This book is easy to understand and enjoyable to read. Topics are well organized and camera features are clearly explained. It is suitable for beginners in digital photography, but does assume some basic knowledge of film photography. On the downside some of the example figures are separated from the text which they illustrate, and a more thorough explanation of the Kelvin color temperature scale would have been appreciated.
Specific Comments: A good explanation is given of the differences between Compact cameras and Digital Single Lens Reflex cameras. Alphabetical lists of camera features and functions are provided along with detailed descriptions of each item. A very helpful chapter is devoted to tips on composition and lighting to get professional-looking results. Other informative chapters cover image and photo editing and printing techniques to help you make the most of your pictures. An appendix includes many useful tables such as “Exposure compensation reference guide,” “Megapixels to print size reference,” and “Number of pictures to capacity of memory card reference.”
Personal Note: The most important thing I have learned from the book so far is to use “fill flash” for daylight photography.
