Rating: 
Summary: An excellent guide
Review: The National Geographic Photography Field Guide strikes a perfect balance in its approach. Beginning photographers will find this an effective reference, and the more experienced will benefit from advice from National Geographic's greats. And the book manages to cover this range without being either condescending or talking above the heads of newcomers. Sure, you'll get advice on how to avoid under-exposing a subject with a light background, and how to use a ceiling flash bounce to give your portrait subject a flattering illumination, but the main value of this book is the inspiration it gives to readers who aspire to take better pictures. The photographers' first-hand accounts of experiences and techniques are invaluable. The book itself is beautifully printed and is full of beautiful color photos. Just like the National Geographic Magazine, one buys this book in part simply to look at the pictures. An excellent book that will help you take better photographs. Covers everything from equipment to composition. Very highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite photography book
Review: The title of the book is "Secrets to making great pictures" and it delivers on exactly that. It cuts through a lot of the fluff of other photography books and gives the beginning photographer the tools to start taking solid pictures immediately. It goes over the same old aperture/shutterspeed/filmspeed topics as other books early on and perhaps in slightly less detail than necessary to truly understand the concepts, but the meat of the book is devoted to understanding what to take pictures of. The hardest skill involved in photography is the 'seeing'. It's the ability to see beyond the normal and into the extraordinary. This book will help you see. In fact, it will tell you where to look with specific examples and suggestions as to how to improve your photos. Unlike other books on general photography (a category that this book falls into) that spend very little time discussing how to make a picture better, this book devotes pages to describing how to go about getting better perspectives and better scenes. If you want to take portraits, try this, this, and this. If you want to take landscapes, try this, this, and this. The book is very specific as to what kind of techniques would be appropriate in various scenarios. Perhaps a seasoned veteran photographer would not need to relearn these techniques, but for a budding photographer this kind of technique (as opposed to theory) approach to picture taking can jumpstart the hobby and get the photographer well along the road to actually 'seeing'. The included photos are fantastic, but one gripe is that several photos are spread over two pages so much of the middle portion of the photos is hidden in the book spine. I'm glad I bought this book. 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: One of my very favorites
Review: This book in concise, well-written, and inspirational. Don't think this is only a book for beginners, though it would be my number one choice as a gift for someone interested in starting a serious approach to photography. It's full of clear explanations of what are often misunderstood concepts (e.g., perspective), useful tips, and, best of all, the wonderfully interesting and inspirational "World of Subjects" section where we learn about some NG photographers. They vary widely in style, subject, and equipment choice, but every one is worth reading about and their tips alone are worth the price of this book. Highly recommended for both beginners and experienced photographers. This is a book I return to again and again.
Rating: 
Summary: Lots of Details but Little Help
Review: This book is aimed at the photographer who is making the transition from a point and shoot camera to a full featured camera with controls for aperture, shutter speed and focus, and lens focal length selection. The authors start out with what they call the "basics": cameras, lenses, composition, light, exposure and other building blocks of good pictures. They then present a "World of Subjects", that is, a look at pictures by content. After talking about "Making Pictures under Pressure", they finish up with a brief section on computers and photography. The chapters on the basics are both highly simplified and boringly detailed. At the same time they leave out critical information about the basics. For example, in the chapter on film, they spend a few pages discussing the difference between "pro" films and amateur films without saying very much except that there may be a difference. For the average photographer, who may be unable to find pro films in his local outlet, this certainly doesn't merit the lengthy discussion. However, the comparison of slide films and print films leaves out any mention of the wider exposure latitude of print films. The fact that print films can take in a greater range of light, so that bright tones are not burnt out, while shadows show detail, is an important consideration for many serious photographers. I suppose the discussions of subject matters might prove helpful for an inexperienced photographer going out to shot a new kind of subject, but many of the specialty books dealing with subject matter will prove far more helpful. This book advertises itself on the cover as "Revised & Updated with the latest in digital technology" but there is no mention of digital cameras until almost the last thirty pages of the book. Given that digital cameras now make up close to half of all camera sales, this is ludicrous. It feels like the chapter was added when someone suggested that something had to be said about digital photography. My litmus test for whether a book deals adequately with serious digital photography is the handling of white balance. This book makes no mention of it. But my biggest complaint about this book is that after discussing the details and the subjects, the authors never really tell you how to make the transition from equipment and technique to taking pictures. Serious photography involves capturing a photographer's vision (which can be as simple as recording how cheery Aunt Tillie is or as weighty as considering the destruction of the environment). All the technique must be tied to this goal. The authors never get there. As a general introduction to serious photography, this volume falls short in several areas. On the other hand, it might prove an occasional useful reference. I haven't read many comprehensive introductory photography guides lately. However, although it dealt primarily with nature photography, I think John Shaw's Nature Photography Field Guide would better serve someone just getting into serious photography than this book, and I'm sure there are many similar volumes available.
Rating:
Summary: A very useful Manual
Review: This book is simply GREAT, it is dense for its size. Comments about every picture is shown. Tips to keep in mind in the margins of pages. The book covers in a very clear manner the art of photography. The book is divided in these areas, and each is developed in well explained sections. 1.- Essential Basics (Composition, cameras,lenses, light, flash, exposure) 2.- A World of Subjets (weather, Landscapes, peoplearchitecture, close up) 3.- Making photographs under pressure (Underwater, animals, Aerials, Adventure) 4.- Computers and photography 5.- Useful information (preparing for travel, web sites, magazines and books) each word between parenthesis is a section. The interviews are in sections where they are related to. The interviews are great, i thought there were going to be 2 or 3 very short interviews, but nothing farther from the truth, there are 8 interviews where the more important characteristics of each photographer is shown as well as their life as photographer. Sincerely this is a GREAT Acquisition. I recomend it strongly.
Rating:
Summary: Very helpful book
Review: This is a great reference, especially for the wanna-be photographer (like me!). Alot of good, useable information on a variety of photo topics. It is one you can read over and over and still find something you can use. I especially like the tips/advice from the pros in the book.
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