Book Reviews

Photoshop Elements 6: The Missing Manual by B. Brundage, 594 pages, £24.99. Published by OReilly

Having had Photoshop Elements for a couple of months we can verify that Adobe's help pages are not much help. Everybody who uses the program needs this book if they are going to do more than just scratch the surface of what it can do. In its 586 pages it covers the whole range of features from basic to complex. There are downloadable images that you can practice on and each tool is explained in easy to understand terms.
  Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson, 160 pages, £16.99. Published by Amphoto Books.

For digital and film photographers, it goes through the details of exposure including shutter speed, aperture and film speed. The book has many photographs of a high standard printed on good quality paper. Switch off the auto mode on your camera and get creative is the theme.

Beginners and intermediates will find this book interesting, it's written in an easy to understand style. All the information can be applied to any camera providing it allows you to set the shutter speed and aperture.
 
The Digital Photography Book by Scott Kelby, 240 pages, £13.99. Published by Peachpit Press Publications.

Aimed at people who have been taken photographs with a point and shoot and have now upgraded to a better camera but don't think their photographs have improved. Many will not appreciate Scott Kelby's sense of humour, it's wacky and very American.

Suitable for beginners there is some good advice in this book but most subjects are not covered in enough depth.
   
Digital SLR Cameras and Photography for Dummies by David D. Busch, 336 pages, £19.99. Published by Wiley.

Some of the books in the Dummies series are excellent others are not so good, this is one of the better ones. This books starts with camera controls and in easy stages explains how a dslr works, looks at accessories, different types of photography, editing photos. You get the idea, it covers virtually every subject, not in a great deal of depth, but just enough to give the reader a reasonable knowledge.

If you have brought a dslr, after reading the instruction book this should be the second book you read. Printed in colour throughout, it's easy to read and understand. Recommended, not for the expert but for everyone else it should be required reading.
 
The Digital Photography Handbook by Doug Harman, 224 pages, £6.99. Published by Quercus.

An excellent book for beginners with 224 pages packed with colour photographs. If you're new to digital photography this is a bargain at £6.99, it covers virtually every subject of interest to the novice.

It starts with advice on which camera to choose, gives you ideas on subjects to photograph. There's a look at image editing and it's all written in an easy to understand way. The low price combined with informative content it's not surprising this is a best seller.