Digital Home Thoughts: 40 Digital Photography Techniques (3rd Edition): Good for the Basics

40 Digital Photography Techniques is one of those books that you might get for a friend or relative that's just getting started with digital photography, or perhaps someone who's been shooting digital for a while but wants to learn to shoot better. What it's not is a book appropriate for someone who already knows a fair amount about shooting digital - there's just not enough new, interesting information in it for them. What it does cover are the things every digital shooter should know: the basic understanding of shutter speed, aperture, resolution, and camera care. The first 40 or so pages are like every other camera book out there today. Where it starts to get more interesting, however, is the discussion of actual techniques for taking photos of products (think eBay), food, shooting at night, or on snowy days, or animals at the zoo. The advice is basic, but practical.

The book itself is printed in full colour, and has a nice high-quality feeling about it. The photo samples used are less impressive though: the examples are all very small on the page, and most of the photos are mediocre at best. This book isn't going to inspire anyone. Although this is the 3rd edition, some of the information is quite dated (the average pixel count on a camera is from 640 x 480 to 2272 x 1704? maybe in 2002). CompactFlash is not the memory card standard any longer - Secure Digital is. A discussion of Windows Vista would have been helpful, as Vista includes many new features for working with and managing digital photo collections. And where's the discussion of Flickr, Smugmug, or other online photo sharing services? The book seems to ignore the fact that photo sharing with friends and family is a top priority for many people. With a cover price cost of $16.99 USD ($11.55 from Amazon.com) this book isn't expensive, so it's not like you're dropping $60 on a book that has a lot to live up to. 40 Digital Photography Techniques is a decent book for someone just getting started with digital photography, or someone who's been shooting digital for a while but still has trouble moving beyond the basics.

Jason Dunn owns and operates Thoughts Media Inc., a company dedicated to creating the best in online communities. He enjoys mobile devices, digital media content creation/editing, and pretty much all technology. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his lovely wife, and his sometimes obedient dog. He's always trying to improve his photography.