Monday, January 08, 2007
Digital Photo Secrets Book, How to Take Pictures Like the Pros
This past year our family was blessed with an addition in the form of an eight pound, three ounce baby boy so I knew that I would need to brush up on my photography skills.
I’ve always been the guy that is constantly ending up with one of his fingers blocking the shot.
Or blurring every picture because he doesn’t know how to set the shutter speed.
Or even most embarrassingly, leaving the lens cap on the camera.
Not exactly the best candidate to document those precious baby moments that you only get to see and document once.
When the holidays arrived, I knew that I had to get better at photography quick!
Doing some after new year’s shopping online, I came across an ad for an ebook offered at digital-photo-secrets.com.
I needed a quick solution, as everyone that has had a newborn already knows, running down to the book store isn’t always an easy thing to do.
After searching around a bit I finally hit on digital-photo-secrets.com, which has an e-book that promises to dramatically improve photography skills with the skills that professional photographers often use to get those great shots.
I cannot believe how much these tricks helped my photography!
I felt like a pro almost right away. The lessons were straight-forward and didn’t use pretentious “art speak” or technical jargon that would bore me to death. It was written concise and to-the-point and guided me step-by-step into becoming a better photographer.
After only the first thee chapters, I had a better understanding of my camera, the concept of lighting, and setting up the best shots for my subject, time of day, and occasion.
I was playing with my trusty old camera as if it were a brand new toy!
I remember being worried when I sent my payment through Paypal that I may have just purchased a stuffy book full of topics such as “The History of the Photograph” or “Classical Photography Interpretation” but I was pleasantly surprised that even though the book touched on those subjects here and there, the author got right into helping me take better photographs right away.
Here is a rundown of the contents of Digital Photo Secrets
- Introduction
- Top 21 Tips To Using a Digital Camera
- Digital versus Film Cameras
- Better Looking Pictures
- Composition
- Special Occasions
- Zoom
- Using Manual Modes
- Image File Formats
- Coverting from Film to Digital
- Which Digital Camera Should I Buy?
- Caring for your Camera
- Printing Your Images
- Miscellaneous Questions and Answers
The “Top 21 Tips” had me snapping professional shots of my baby son in minutes!
This is the part that, by far, had me convinced that I was forever changed as an amateur photographer. It resolved all of the biggest - and apparently most common – mistakes that amateur photographers make. Though it’s packed with information, it is laid out so intuitively that it all just comes naturally to me now. I don’t find myself fumbling to remember any of it. I’m just taking great shots!
I’ve saved hundreds on our family portraits because I can now do them myself!
I learned that I wasn’t necessarily inept at photography. The pros go to school and practice their craft for years to take those breathtaking, stunning shots that hobbyist photographers can usually only aspire to take. But put me up to speed in no time.
Now I know how to make my shots interesting and full of life!
Here are some of the tactics used by professional photographers that I would have never learned by teaching myself:
- Capture the essence of your subject for breathtaking stills
- White balance. How you can harness it to make great shots
- Use filters to bring out your subject like the pros do
- When you should use digital and when you should be using film.
- Incorporate themes to get your creative juices flowing
- Make your shots “stand out” from all the others
- Make movement, emotion, and excitement in each of your shots
- Generate the mood with your instincts.
- Frame your photo for every occasion using the elements of visual design
I take spectacular photos at every occasion.
- Weddings
- Vacations
- Family portraits
- Playing children
- Plant life
- Children playing
- Night scenes
- Low light
- Fireworks
- Sunsets
- Action shots
- Freezing shots
- Live-action sports
- Sunsets
I can print out sections to take with me as handy reference guides
My favorite sections were the “Composition” and “Special Occasion” guides. Or perhaps it as the section on “Using Manual Modes.” I’ve learned so much from this book in such a short amount of time, but I was never overwhelmed. Digital Photo Secrets make it all click together so I know how to take the best shot every time.
Now I take professional pictures and interject my own style!
Here are more tips and tricks I learned from Digital Photo Secrets:
- Image file formats
- File conversion
- Buying the right digital camera
- Take a great shot using any camera
- Printing the best photographs from your own printer
If I had this book earlier I would have saved hundreds on wasted photo paper alone!
The author wraps up Digital Photo Secrets with an informative Q &A that would have been worth the price of the book all by itself. Nearly every question that I had ever asked myself was right there; such as “Why doesn’t my printed photo look the same as on my monitor?”
Bonus Photography Reports
1. Digital Camera Noise
This 11 page report tells you how to get rid of that annoying digital camera noise forever, guaranteed!
2. Digital Photography Cheat Sheet
This is your printout of the 21 tips. Carry it with you wherever you go as a reference guide so you never have a question in the field again.
3. Jargon Explained:
Don’t be left out of the conversation anymore. This report has all the buzzwords and acronyms that will have you talking to the pros like a pro.
4. Using Flickr:
Social media has swept the World Wide Web and Flickr is at the front of the pack. Be the master of this online revolution with the guide that the pros didn’t want to be released for sale.
My final analysis of Digital Photo Secrets
Do you want to be a better photographer? You have to get this book.
Do you want to stop being an amateur and be an artist? You have to get this book.
Do you want to capture the best moments of your life? You have to get this book.
I can’t say enough about Digital Photo Secrets since I’ve finally found the book that helped me go from a clumsy guy with a camera to an artist that creates vivid photography. But I’ll finally shut up and let Digital Photo Secrets help you on your way to a great photographer.
Click Here to get Digital Photo Secrets
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