The Betterphoto Guide to Digital Photography (Amphoto Guide Series)

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
Digital cameras are the hot new tech toy, but many of the millions of people who are buying the cameras aren't getting the most out of their new purchase. Mysterious icons, strange jargon, a dizzying array of imaging software and hardware...stumbling blocks quickly become tools to create great pictures with THE BETTERPHOTO GUIDE TO DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY. This practical, lesson-based workbook gives readers a step-by-step tutorial in getting bright, crisp, beautiful pictures from their digital cameras every time. Learn about exposure, file formats and quality settings, low-light photography, digital filters and white balance, composition and lens choice, manipulating images, printing, and much more, all in a handy, bring-along format. Everyone who has a digital camera - or who is thinking about getting one - needs THE BETTERPHOTO GUIDE TO DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY!

Customer Reviews: Read 80 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Highly Recommended October 17, 2005
179 out of 185 found this review helpful

A lot of books these days equate digital photography with Photoshop, which to me is a waste of time. If you don't take good photos to begin with, the end-result will not be good not matter how much post-precessing you do on your computer. This book actually talks about photography techiques in a very accessible fashion. Aperture, shutter speed, iso, white balance are gently de-mystified, while equal emphasis is given on the content and compositon of photographs. As a relative newbie to serious photography, I found this book's explanantions and illustrations to be very good indeed. Highly recommended!

5 out of 5 stars

Your Complete Beginner/Intermediate Reference to Digital Photography! February 13, 2006
126 out of 129 found this review helpful

If you are about to buy your first digital photography book or even your new compact digicam
or SLR camera let this book be your first reference. In fact, it can be your only reference as a beginner or even intermediate
photographer.

Why I like it:
--------------
1. Simple language that makes it easy to understand and follow
2. A practical guide that drives you through steps to create your professional photos
3. Covers a variety of aspects concerning photography other than just shooting
4. Full of colorful pictures that clarifies what they are talking about
5. Unbelievable price! A complete photography course in a book that cost no more than $16.47!
6. Written by a great person JIM MIOTKE, he is professional photographer and photography instructor.

Believe me, this book is one of the BEST you could ever read in this area! And the best one to start with!

5 out of 5 stars

The choice for the camera novice January 10, 2007
111 out of 114 found this review helpful

I picked this book and another by Kelby (The Digital Photography Book) based on reviews from this site and recommendations from several photography forums. When the two are compared, it is no contest Miotke's book wins hands down. That's not to say that Kelby's book is terrible, it is, in fact, quite good.

The Betterphoto Guide provides a comprehensive overview of digital photography and explains the foundation on which it's based. Technical elements like exposure and light are clearly explained in an easy to understand and succinct manner. As my understanding of the different components increased, I quickly moved away from the automatic settings on my camera (Canon Powershot A630) and the quality of my pictures soared.

Another important component of the book deals with the artistic elements of photography (Composition). What, how, and why are all discussed and all the suggestions are immediately applicable. After reading this book, I was able to compose better pictures with a tighter focus and, in addition, have gained a greater appreciation and understanding of other's work.

There are also chapters that discuss the particular components of a digital camera. These help the reader become "acquainted" with his/her particular camera. File settings and there importance are also discussed and will help the reader decide which is right for him/her (if one's camera allows that choice). A digital camera Buyer's guide is included at the book's end, which provides invaluable advice.

This book is targeted at beginners and is a great choice for both DSLR and p&s owners. My only caveat is that it will leave you wanting better equipment and more time to pursue your new habit. Er.. I mean hobby (Kelby moment).

Overall, I find this a beautifully illustrated book that provides a solid foundation on which to launch your photographic endeavor.

3 out of 5 stars

Not as good as expected March 12, 2007
73 out of 83 found this review helpful

This book had a 5-star average review on Amazon when I was deciding which books to buy, and for that reason (and that reason alone), I bought it. I must say I'm a little disappointed. Don't get me wrong --- this is not a bad book. But it's certainly not a 5-star book. If you want a a really good book on digital photography, try Scott Kelby's Digital Photography book. This one is more pedestrian. It's a valiant effort, but most of what's inside can be found (at no charge) on the Web. It's also a chore to read. I find myself browsing rather than reading (by way of comparison, I read Kelby's book more or less cover to cover in one sitting).

All that having been said, it's a better book than Tom Ang's Digital Photography (published by DK).

2 out of 5 stars

Competent but Mediocre April 22, 2007
47 out of 67 found this review helpful

I bought this book--my first about photography because--because of all the positive reviews. The writing is clear and competently explains the most basic concepts of photography. I think those explanation would make useful primer for someone wanting to exploit the capabilities of a point-and-shoot camera. But for anyone wanting more help understanding the greater potential of a dsrl, or even to do interesting stuff with a point-and-shoot, the book is embarrassingly simple.

On the up side, it includes many photographs illustrating such photographic princles as are covered. On the downside, those photographs are uninspired, dull, predictable, and bland. Implicitly, the photographs Miotke uses show us novices what we can achieve if we apply his principles. But those photographs look like what a lot of people produce with ordinary point-and-shoots and without reading any books, so what does Miotke offer?

Not that these photographic principles are themselves eye-opening. Miotke spends some time, for example, explaining that sometimes to improve the framing of a subject, we should get closer to it. Wow! He illustrates this with a picture of a cowboy putting a saddle on a horse. He points out that that picture is kind of ordinary, so his inspiration is to take a tight shot of one of the studded leather saddle straps. Now, that studded strap did look cool, but a better picture? I'm not so sure about that. They both looked pretty point-and-shooty, pretty daddy-playing-with-the-camera-on-the-family-vacation to me.

So much of the praise for this rather ordinary book is so extravagant and uncritical that my suspicion is that at least some of those 5-point reviewers are shills from the "Betterphoto" enterprise. I mean, the book ain't that great.

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