Digital Photography All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

Book III, which explains finer points of taking photos in several different categories was a revelation all by itself. I'm glad I bought this book.


Dissapointing   March 17, 2004
 13 out of 16 found this review helpful

I bought this book after reading all the positive reviews from other buyers. I'm afraid I disagree with all of them: the thickness of this book looks really impressive, but the contents was quite dissapointing. I started out with the sections on image editing, which stretch out over 4 'books' (this book is supposedly 7 in 1 books). They are virtually identical in contents, so you keep reading the same instructions over and over again. Usually with (too) small variations and even conflicting here and there. It gave me the impression of someone adding a few hundred pages without checking what had already been written.
The most important part, the 3 first books, focus on 1. which camera to buy 2. which accessories to buy and 3. how to take good photos in general and some specific kinds (macro, portret, sports etc). Book 1 once again contains sections on basic image editing, beats me why. Because books 1 and 2 didn't interest me (I already have a camera), I skimmed them and moved on to book 3, which promised to finally teach me how to make good photos. Although I did pick up a few useful tricks, they are all fairly basic and not really detailed.

If you are serious about learning to take great photos, this book is not for you. It is just too basic. If you want to learn about image editing, the book might help you to experiment on your own, but it remains a bit basic for my test. You'd do much better to pick up a book specific for the graphics program you are using.
If you are a real newbie, this book might be what you need to get started, but you'll soon 'outgrow' it if you have some common sense and experiment a little.


Digital Photography for Smarties!   October 14, 2003
 18 out of 18 found this review helpful

You don't have to be a dummy to enjoy this book. Everybody knows that the Dummies series is aimed at the smartest computer users out there, people who want to learn about a topic in an easy and fun way. This Desk Reference does that, with a lot more depth than you find in the average digital photography book.

I especially liked the BOOK II chapters that looked at my favorite kinds of photography from a digital viewpoint. I learned more than I ever expected about sports photography, shooting close-up photos, and portraits. How many digital photography books have an entire chapter devoted to good composition? This one does!

The pictures in the color section are so gorgeous I wish there were more. However, the amount of color is pretty generous when you consider that this book costs less than $30.00. Dollar for dollar, pound for pound, this is the best digital photography book on the market.


Great author, great book! Best for Digital Photography!   September 9, 2003
 16 out of 16 found this review helpful

I had the opportunity to meet the author after a presentation he made in Dayton recently, and was surprised and pleased by the depth of his knowledge of photography. His talk was sprinkled liberally with anecdotes from his photography experiences, with concise explanations of how this applied to our own digitial/photography work. He kindly took the time to offer some advice for me after he autographed my copy of this book.

I was delighted to see that the book itself was as full of good ideas and solid techniques as I'd expected. I'd purchased other books on "digital photography" only to find that they were too advanced or covered digital gadgetry more than photography. Mr. Busch's book is solidly in the middle. It's easy to read, funny in places, and quite accessible for the beginner. Yet, he provides lots of "professional" tricks that anyone can use. This is truly one Digital Photography "desk reference" that's worthy of the name. (I have to admit that I don't leave it on my desk all the time; I'm fond of toting it along when I shoot photographs of vintage airplanes and other subjects.)

Thanks for a great book!


Everything you need in one book!   August 27, 2003
 104 out of 105 found this review helpful

What a great extension to the Dummies concept! I love Dummies books, but always finished each book wishing there were more information. This "All in One Desk Reference" has that information! It's two or three times the size of a typical Dummies book at 800 or so pages, and it's all meat. Everything you need to know about digital photography and basic image editing is in here.

The emphasis on photography, rather than digital technology, is refreshing. Certainly, there are chapters on how digital cameras operate, and guidelines for choosing a digital camera. But the center of the book has solid chapters on good old fashioned photography, as it applies to digital cameras. There's a chapter on composition, one on close-up photography, another on sports photography, and a great travel photo section. The thick section of color photos are great, too. It's good to see color images in a book about color photography.

The sections on image editing are fairly complete and will get beginners started and more experienced people trying some new things. Both Photoshop and Photoshop Elements are covered, but there is a chapter that evaluates most of the popular image editors and compares and contrasts them. This book really is thorough.

However, if you want to buy this book, purchase it for its great coverage of digital photography. That alone makes this the leading digital photography book. The other chapters make it a useful "All in One" reference book.