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Summary: Stuff you really oughtta know about digital photography
Review: This book could have been titled 'Stuff you really really ought to know about digital photography'. Heck, many of the tricks could be applied to point-n-shoot, disposable, even some pro equipment both in digital and film arenas. While most pros are keenly aware of most of the hacks in this book, many things only come after years of goofing up and asking others how they did something.
For example, we've all seen soft-focus portraits, but would you have thought to stretch nylons over the lens to get that effect? Or maybe you'd tear tiny holes in the nylons to get a more mottled appearance. Need a well-lit portrait but don't have a studio? Buy two flashes that can be fired by remote control, or consider using a mirror to bounce one flash around.
In the digital side, learn some tips about sorting an filing, backing up, and creating working copies so you don't lose your originals. Take your images into the 4th dimension by creating movies and slide shows - free! And learn to use the unique benefits of digital cameras to shoot many more exposures than you normally would with film, then combine the best parts of each.
The hacks in this book range from boring to quite imaginitive, and cover not only shooting techniques, but lighting setups, Photoshop tricks, archiving, weekend projects, and stuff you can do with a camera phone. Not all the hacks will be useful to everyone, but there is enough variety that most novice and intermediate photogs will be kept busy for quite a while.
The only drawback to this book is that many of the hacks rely on purchasing or building additional equipment. While this is not the fault of the author, it is a bit disappointing to open a book and be told to buy something else. However, Story does give plenty of information on do-it-yourself solutions, and generally provides alternates. Some things, like additional flashes, or more advanced digital cameras just can't be substituted.
Digital Photography Hacks really isn't meant for the shooter looking to solve very specific problems. Instead, the goal seems to be to get people thinking more creatively about their cameras and shooting. It might make a serious hobbiest of some, while give some inspiration to others. I've been shooting for a little while, and found lots of unique approaches to techniques I've already learned, and a few new tricks here and there.
This is a great book for anyone with a point-n-shoot digital camera who wants to do something more interesting than the typical travel or kid snaps.
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Summary: Take casual or hobbyist photography skills to another level
Review: This book from the O'Reilly hack series differs from the other in that it has color images. Since there are colored images, the headers are blue instead of traditional black and that's why the book costs a tad more than the other Hacks books. The landscape photos are spectacular.The first series of hacks covers tripods, travel-sized to one made for a bike. As expected, learn how to capture magic with flash and take professional portraits with a two flash-setup. The hacks aren't just hardware-related. Receive tips on taking daylight and nighttime photos with and dealing with kids, whiteboards, passport photos, panoramas, and other objects. Almost 100 pages cover using the computer and software like Photoshop to manipulate images. A chapter covers camera phones, providing creative ideas for their use. The chapter is brief, so those without an interest or a camera phone won't feel like a few bucks have been wasted. The next time you're bored, go to the projects section near the end of the book for ideas on what to do with photos. Such projects are guaranteed to keep you busy for hours and having fun in the process. Who will benefit from the book? Those who want to learn the things the pros do without spending time experimenting. Those who aren't afraid to experiment or try new techniques. Those who want to make a camera do things without buying expensive equipment like professionals use. Traditional photographers making the move to digital will benefit. The group that won't benefit are the folks who use a camera on vacation or on special occasions and snap at everything in sight without a worry about how subject is lined up.
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Summary: Check out the chapter on camera phones
Review: When I first looked at this book, I assumed it was a hundred nifty tricks in Photoshop. Because that is the standard digital image editing tool. But in actuality, only 13 of the hacks involve it. Because digital photography is more than just editing an image. First and foremost, it involves capturing an image, and all that this entails. From what I can tell, over half the hacks discuss this. Several are independent of whether you might be using a digital or analog camera. Like creating a maximum depth of field. The techniques for this probably predate Ansel Adams. Story makes a good overall point in his book. Digital photography is more than bit editing of an image. Many ideas learnt over decades of photography are still applicable. Ideally, you would use Photoshop only as a last resort. But there are some hacks about the latest hot thing. Camera phones. What these lack in resolution, they make up for in other dimensions of ubiquity and ease of use. Because of their increasing importance, Story devotes an entire chapter to them. Some of you will head straight here.
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