Rating: 
Summary: SLR users can also find good photo advice in this book.
Review: Photography For Dummies may be the most complete reference to date for point-and-shoot photography, if I do say so myself. (To be honest, there's not much good competition in this category!) But it isn't meant to exclude SLR users: There's lots of stuff in the book that pertains to ANY kind of photography. A short list: tips for composition; capturing the best light; documenting your life, both every day and on special occasions; how to deal with your photofinisher (very important!); choosing a film; great places to shoot; interesting and helpful photo websites; even how to get the best results from an autofocus system. (You use the same basic technique to insure correct focus with an SLR as you do with a point-and-shoot camera--"lock focus and recompose.") If SLR photographers use the book the way Dummies books are really meant to be used--by turning to the topic that most interests them at the moment, or the part that will help them with a specific (photographic) problem--they'll find plenty of valuable information. One thing they won't find, however, is much about setting f-stops and shutter speeds (though there's quite a bit about the connection between film speed and shutter speed). But then most SLR photographers just put their cameras on "P" (for program) and let the camera make those settings for them! Thanks for your interest. --Russell Hart P.S. It's over a year later, and I'd like to add that Photography For Dummies has since been positively reviewed by Shutterbug magazine. (Shutterbug is one of the publications I read for my own edification as technology editor of American Photo magazine.) I think associate editor Edward Sarkis Balian really understood what Photography For Dummies was meant to be--a reference that works at different levels of experience. (As an Amazon.com customer writes below, it "...really doesn't spend tons of time talking about equipment and accessories. Russell's book is heavy on `how to take darn good pictures.'") Here's an excerpt of the Shutterbug review: "Looking for a book on beginning photography? Photography For Dummies by Russell Hart hits the mark nicely... this is in fact a book filled with great tips and tons of information. Highlights in the book include the discussion of film types and speeds, artistic shooting tips, working with your photofinisher, and child portraits. For all these topics, Hart covers the territory beautifully... "Hart goes into excellent detail on many photographic principles. This is a serious reference book that probably goes far deeper than its title implies. While the reading and presentation is easy, the depth of material is actually surprisingly thorough, particularly in the areas of composition in landscapes and portraits. Beginning, or even some advanced photographers, will be referring to this book more than once, over time... Hey, where was this book when I started in photography back in the summer of '59? --Edward Sarkis Balian"
Rating: 
Summary: A superb volume for those interested in personal photography
Review: Regardless of the type of camera used - and I use SLRs to point-and-shoots (for the most part now, including the Advantix system)Photography for Dummies is remarkable, whether you're a complete novice or one who has spent a lifetime taking photos. Yes, indeed, it's instructive even to the point of showing how to load film, to the real "meat" of personal photography, and that is instructing us as to how to "compose" - the most challenging aspect of photography, and for those of us who choose to document our life experiences through a camera, usually the most frustrating. Mr. Hart's book brilliantly illustrates, in language we can all understand, how to evolve from the "snapshot" stage of photography to shooting images that are truly memorable and capture the essence of the moment. Beyond that, having purchased several "Dummies" titles, all of which have proved to be useful, instructive, and occasionally amusing, Photography for Du! mmies is far and away the most ambitious - and beautiful - of the Dummies books I own or have perused. It is an outstanding reference book, one that I will refer to for years to come.
Rating:
Summary: A huge help to this Photography Editor!
Review: This book helped me a ton! And here I thought that I knew all there was about taking pictures!! I now know that you shouldn't just take a picture at eye-level, but maybe lower or higher than usual to make it better. Any person who is even remotely interested in photography, should read this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Never used a camera? Buy this book.
Review: This book seems to be aimed at people who only get their cameras out on the weekends for trips to the beach or major events...people who hardly use their cameras. If you're in this position and want to know how to get good shots of your kids school plays and things like that, this is a good book for you.
Rating:
Summary: Great for beginners
Review: This book was most helpful because I have absolutely no desire to understand f-stops and apertures. I just want to know how to take good pictures using my slr camera that does everything for me except set the picture up.
Rating:
Summary: Point and Click - great SLR - okay
Review: This book, while doing a great job with point and click cameras, does not address SLR photogrpahy well at all. The really don't address what an f-stop is, what good settings are, etc.The format is good, point and shoot camera users can really benefit from this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Great intro to the subject
Review: Unlike many of my colleagues in the computer industry, I happen to like the Dummies books. My colleagues object to the term "Dummies", and they consider the books simplistic and silly. Well, philosophers from Socrates to Will Rogers have praised the virtue of knowing what it is we don't know, and Dummies books are written for those of us who know we're ignorant on the subject and just need a good, uncomplicated, non-threatening place to start. So, when I realized that I had both a camera and no real idea what I was doing with it, I checked to see if there was such a thing as Photography for Dummies. There is, of course, and Russell Hart is the perfect man to write it. He obviously knows and enjoys his subject, and while he's not as silly in his writing as, say, Dan Gookin, he is direct yet manages a light tone. He starts the reader with basics like choosing film, loading it into the camera, pressing the shutter release (more complicated than you might expect on many of today's cameras), how and where to get your film developed, and what to do if your camera isn't taking pictures. From there Hart goes on to the real meat of the book -- how to use the artistic elements of photography (such as light and composition) to create memorable photographs. He even explains why you should take pictures. Hart is very big on photographs as history, not just of memorable events like the Transcontinental Railroad or Neil Armstrong on the moon, but of our lives and families. He advocates taking pictures of anything and everything from weddings and graduations to the way the light changes the look of one's house throughout the year. There's also a chapter devoted to digital photography -- very important as digital cameras become cheaper, better and more widespread. Unfortunately, this book's biggest strength is also its biggest weakness. Hart assumes that the reader is using a point-and-shoot camera (the kind they sell at Kmart for $100 or so), or if you're using something else like a single-lens reflex or single-use camera, that you're using it like a point-and-shoot. Granted, this is the way most people use their cameras and the best approach for a Dummies book, but it would be nice to have some "transitional" material or at least a glossary for those who want to move on to more challenging formats. I looked in vain, for instance, for a definition of "f-stop," probably because point-and-shoot cameras don't have user-changeable f-stop settings. I knew I didn't need it for my particular camera, but I'd heard of it and I still wanted to know what it was. I would also like to have seen more "technical" sidebars, like what happens inside the camera when a picture is taken or what process film goes through as it's developed. (To offset this somewhat, in the Dummies-mandatory Part of Tens Hart includes a list of World Wide Web photography resources that the aspiring Steichen or Adams can use to learn more. That's where I found the information on f-stops.) I can hardly complain about the lack of advanced information in a beginners' book, though. I got some of what I wanted to know, but more important, I got what I needed to know -- the basics of taking decent pictures. Now if I had only bought this before I shot 20 rolls of film at Disneyland . . .
Rating:
Summary: Excellent beginners'book without entirely excluding the pros
Review: Very informative and logical. Many practical tips that apply to all picture-taking situations. Allows a novice photographer to put all those intimidating buttons on his camera to work like a pro. in no time. Teaches how to create photos people actually want to see.
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