The Digital Photography Companion [Book Review]

The Digital Photography Companion by Derrick Story was sent to me by O’Reilly publishing for review.  While it wasn’t initially part of the Your Photo Tips Book Club this review will get added to the page.

The Digital Photography Companion was a pleasant surprise. Touted as “Practical photography advice you can take anywhere”, the book’s format is a rather nice change of pace. Let’s look at the chapter layout.

Chapter 1. What is it?

The first chapter starts out typical of any other photography tutorials book I’ve read. The camera and it’s functions are the core here. Nothing wrong with that at all. Derrick Story talks about the pros and cons of digital point and shoots and DSLR’s, some of the common advanced features present in today’s cameras, as well as a brief look at lens choice and functionality.

Chapter 2. How does it work?

This is actually where the book seems to shine as a functional reference tool. “Hands on techniques from A to Z”. The basic techniques, functions, and terminology about using a camera to take pictures are presented in alphabetical order. Story takes you from Aperture Value Mode (AV), Exposure Bracketing, Face Detection, ISO Sensitivity, to Zoom/Magnify Control using conversational language and examples almost anyone would be able to understand and relate to.

Chapter 3. How to shoot like a pro

This is where things get a little more advanced, but once again, Derrick Story excels at engaging the reader with common language and vivid story telling. You’ll learn how to create powerful landscape images, capture action shots, produce do-it-yourself product photography, and more.

Chapter 4. I’ve taken great pictures, now what?

This chapter discusses all of the post production stuff like viewing your images, emailing them to family, image editing, and even a very quick look at HDR processing.

Chapter 5. Printing made easy.

Photography isn’t quite finished until you have a print to hand out or hang on your wall, so it is appropriate that this would be the final chapter in the book. There’s a great look into the range of home printers available on today’s market as well as the importance of printer profiles.

Overview

I liked the book for what it is: A book to help novice and hobbyist photographers get a handle on digital photography. The images presented throughout the book are beautiful and shot using various cameras using different techniques.  Chapter 2 and the size of this book really make it a great reference book that should fit in any medium or larger camera bag.  It’s going in mine for sure.

Buy this book if:

• You are new to photography
• You still use Auto most of the time
• You find yourself in situations in the field struggling to remember what camera settings to use for any given situation
• You’d like to have a quick reference tool that fits great in your camera bag

Get your copy of The Digital Photography Companion at Amazon today!

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