David Pogue's Digital Photography: The Missing Manual

Book description

If you're ready to jump into digital photography or would like to increase the skills you already have, David Pogue's Digital Photography: The Missing Manual is just what you need. Bestselling author David Pogue provides a no-nonsense guide to the entire process, including how to: buy and use a digital camera; get the same photographic effects as the pros; manage the results on your Mac or PC; edit photos; and, finally, share the results with your adoring fans -- on paper, online, or on mugs, jigsaw puzzles, and blankets.

After reviewing hundreds of digital cameras and photo services in his weekly New York Times column, David Pogue knows digital photography. With this new Missing Manual you will:



  • Get expert advice on how to choose a digital camera, including information on the only specs that matter. (Hint: it's not about megapixels).
  • Learn the basics of lighting, composition, and shooting lots of photos
  • Understand how to choose the best camera settings for 20 different scenarios
  • Unravel the problems of correcting images and storing them
  • Learn David's tips and tricks for sharing and printing images
  • Get a special troubleshooting section you can turn to when things go wrong


David Pogue's witty, authoritative voice has demystified the Mac, Windows, iPods and iPhones for millions of readers. Now, he offers step-by-step instructions and plenty of friendly advice to help you join in the fun and get real satisfaction from digital photography.

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Table of contents

  1. David Pogue's Digital Photography: The Missing Manual
    1. SPECIAL OFFER: Upgrade this ebook with O’Reilly
    2. A Note Regarding Supplemental Files
    3. The Missing Credits
      1. Acknowledgments
      2. The Missing Manual Series
    4. Introduction
      1. About This Book
        1. About the Outline
        2. About → These → Arrows
        3. About MissingManuals.com
      2. The Very Basics
    5. I. The Camera
      1. 1. Camera Kinds
        1. Small, Medium, or Large?
          1. Pocket Cameras
          2. Superzoom Cameras
          3. SLRs
        2. Cameraphones and iPhones
        3. Where to Buy a Camera
      2. 2. The Only Features That Matter
        1. A Big Sensor
        2. Stabilizer
        3. Zoom Power
        4. Shutter Lag
        5. Optical Viewfinder
        6. Manual Controls
        7. Face Recognition
        8. Autofocus Assist Lamp
        9. Flip-Out Screen
        10. Memory Card
          1. Memory Card Types
        11. Burst Mode
        12. Hi-Def Jack
        13. Battery
        14. Movies
        15. Scene Modes
        16. Wireless
        17. Touch Screens
        18. Megapixels
        19. SLR Shopping
          1. SLR Stabilizers
          2. Body Size
          3. Sensor Cleaning
          4. Top-Mounted Status Screen
          5. Live View
    6. II. The Shoot
      1. 3. Taking the Shot
        1. Compose the Shot
          1. Fill the Frame
          2. Add Interest
          3. Lead the Eye
          4. The Rule Guideline of Thirds
          5. Simplify the Background
          6. Patterns are Fun
          7. Blur the Background (or the Foreground)
          8. Change Your Point of View
        2. Screen Displays
        3. Take the Shot
          1. The Half-Press Trick
          2. Review and Repeat
          3. Deleting on the Camera
      2. 4. The Ten Decisions
        1. Beep On or Off?
        2. Flash On or Off?
          1. When to Avoid the Flash
          2. When to Force the Flash
          3. Ways to Control the Flash
          4. Notes on Redeye
          5. Flash Modes
        3. Auto or Scene Mode?
        4. Use a Manual Mode?
        5. Burst Mode or One-Shot?
        6. White Balance: Manual or Auto?
        7. RAW or JPEG?
        8. How Much Exposure?
          1. Exposure Modes
          2. Exposure Compensation
          3. Exposure Bracketing
          4. The Histogram
          5. The Highlights Warning
        9. Which Focus Mode?
          1. Where to Focus
          2. When to Focus
        10. Adjust the Light Sensitivity (ISO)?
      3. 5. The Anti-Blur Chapter
        1. Shutter Speed and Aperture
        2. Use Stabilization
        3. Speed Up the Shutter
          1. Where to Find It
        4. Open the Aperture
          1. Where to Find It
        5. Fire the Flash
        6. Set Up a Tripod
        7. Fake a Tripod
        8. Use the Self-Timer
        9. Goose the ISO
          1. Where to Find It
      4. 6. How They Did That
        1. The Frozen Sports Shot
          1. Get Close to the Action
          2. Use a Fast Shutter Speed
          3. Use Burst Mode
          4. Prefocus
          5. Light Metering
        2. The Speeding Vehicle
        3. The Panorama
        4. The Silky Brook
        5. Trailing Car Lights
        6. Fireworks
          1. SLRs and Manual-Control Compacts
          2. Pocket Cameras
        7. Lightning
        8. The Star-Trails Shot
        9. The Stunning Landscape
          1. Shoot with Sweet Light
          2. Layer Your Lights and Darks
          3. Layer Your Foregrounds and Backgrounds
        10. The Classic Sunset
        11. The Prize-Winning Kid Shot
        12. Theater Shots
        13. The Undersea Stunner
        14. The Not-Boring Vacation Shot
          1. Packing Up
          2. Get Creative
          3. The Museum Challenge
          4. Vacation Portraits
        15. The Wedding Shot
          1. Shots to Look For
        16. The Ultra-Closeup
          1. The Flying-Bug Shot
          2. The Flower Shot
        17. The Blurry-Background Portrait
        18. The Outdoor Portrait
          1. Rim Lighting (Back Lighting)
          2. Open Shade
          3. Composition
        19. Existing-Light Portraits
          1. Keep it Steady
          2. The Camera Setup
          3. The Lighting
          4. Taking the Picture
        20. The Self-Portrait
        21. The Indoor-Flash Portrait
        22. The Nighttime Portrait
          1. Aperture-Priority Mode
          2. Nighttime Flash Mode
        23. The Exploding Zoom
      5. 7. The SLR Chapter
        1. Lenses
          1. Changing Lenses
        2. Film Equivalents
        3. JPEG Compression
        4. Ten Accessories Worth the Weight
          1. Camera Bag
          2. Lens Cloths
          3. Lens Cap Leash
          4. Tripod
          5. Monopod
          6. Cable Shutter Release
          7. External Flash
          8. Lightscoop
          9. Filters
          10. Battery Grip
    7. III. The Lab
      1. 8. Camera Meets Computer
        1. Picasa and iPhoto
          1. Where to Get Them
        2. Transferring the Photos by USB Cable
          1. Connecting with a USB Camera
          2. Step 1: Turn on the Camera
          3. Step 2: Import
          4. Step 3: Erase Them from the Camera, or Not
          5. Step 4: "Eject" the Camera's Card
        3. Transferring Photos with a Card Reader
          1. Two More Cute Tricks
        4. Importing Pictures on Your Hard Drive
        5. The File Format Factor
          1. Movies
        6. The Post-Import Inspection
          1. Step 1: Click the "Container"
        7. Instant Slideshow
          1. Music Options
          2. Controlling the Show
          3. iPhoto
          4. Picasa
      2. 9. The Digital Shoebox
        1. The Source List
        2. Working with Thumbnails
        3. Selecting Photos
        4. Hiding Photos
          1. Seeing Photos While They're Hidden
          2. Unhiding Photos
        5. Albums
          1. Creating an Empty Album
          2. Viewing an Album
          3. Removing Photos from an Album
          4. Deleting an Album
        6. Smart Albums
        7. Photo Info
        8. Keywords, Titles, and Event Info
        9. Flagging Photos
          1. How to Use Flagged or Starred Photos
        10. Searching for Photos by Text
        11. Searching by Calendar or Timeline
          1. iPhoto Calendar
          2. Picasa Timeline
        12. Keywords/Tags
          1. Keywords (iPhoto)
          2. Tags (Picasa)
          3. Using Keywords/Tags
        13. Backing Up Your Photos
          1. iPhoto Backups
          2. Picasa
      3. 10. Fixing Your Photos
        1. Opening a Photo for Editing
          1. The Picasa Editor
          2. The iPhoto Editor
          3. The Toolbar and Thumbnails Browser
        2. Notes on Zooming and Scrolling
        3. Backing Out, Undoing, and Restoring
          1. Undo
          2. Reverting to the Original
        4. Rotate
        5. Cropping
          1. How to Crop a Photo
        6. Straightening
        7. Fixing Color
        8. Redeye
        9. Retouching Scratches and Hairs
        10. Fine-Tuning Exposure
        11. Boosting Contrast
        12. Color Correction
          1. Color Correction in iPhoto
          2. Color Correction in Picasa
        13. Automatic White-Balance Correction
        14. Saturation
        15. Sharpening
        16. Cheesy Effects
          1. iPhoto Effects
          2. Picasa Effects
        17. Copy and Paste for Edits
        18. External Editing Programs
          1. iPhoto Meets External Program
          2. Picasa Meets External Program
        19. Juicy Bonus Features
          1. iPhoto: The Histogram
          2. Picasa: Captions
    8. IV. The Audience
      1. 11. Photos on Paper—and Everything Else
        1. Making Your Own Prints
        2. Resolution and Shape
          1. Calculating Resolution
          2. Aspect Ratio
          3. Tweaking the Printer Settings
          4. Paper Matters
          5. Resolution Warnings
        3. Printing from iPhoto, Step by Step
          1. Step 1: Choose the Photos to Print
          2. Step 2: Choose a Printing Style (Theme)
          3. Step 3: Choose Print and Paper Sizes
          4. Step 4: Adjust the Layout
          5. Step 5: Print
        4. Printing From Picasa, Step by Step
          1. Step 1: Choose the Photos to Print
          2. Step 2: Choose a Layout
          3. Step 3: Add a Border
          4. Step 4: Review the List
          5. Step 5: Print
        5. Ordering Prints Online
        6. Calendars, Cards, and Books
          1. Picking the Pix
          2. How to Design Your Book/Calendar/Card
        7. Way Beyond Paper
      2. 12. Electronic Photos
        1. Emailing Photos
          1. Emailing Photos from iPhoto
          2. Emailing Photos from Picasa
        2. Publishing Photos on the Web
          1. iPhoto Web Galleries
          2. Viewing an iPhoto Web Gallery
          3. Picasa Web Galleries
          4. Viewing a Picasa Web Album
          5. Syncing a Picasa Web Album
        3. The Screen Saver
          1. The iPhoto Screen Saver
          2. The Picasa Screen Saver
        4. Photo Wallpaper
        5. From Slideshow to Movie
          1. iPhoto Slideshow Movies
          2. Picasa Slideshow Movies
        6. Slideshow DVDs
    9. V. Appendixes
      1. A. Where to Go From Here
        1. Camera Reviews
          1. Camera Reviews
          2. Learning and Discussing Photography
          3. Online Printing
        2. The Real World
        3. Beyond the Software Freebies
          1. Photo Organizers
          2. Photo Editors
      2. B. The Top Ten Tips of All Time
        1. Take a lot of shots.
          1. Take a lot of shots.
          2. Half press the button to eliminate shutter lag.
          3. Get close.
          4. Don't buy into the megapixel myth.
          5. To get the blurred-background effect, back up and zoom in.
          6. Turn off the flash whenever you can.
          7. Turn on the flash for sunny outdoor portraits.
          8. No tripod? Improvise.
          9. Use the self-timer when sharpness counts.
          10. Exploit the magic hour.
      3. C. Photo Credits
        1. Chapter 1
          1. Chapter 1
          2. Chapter 3
          3. Chapter 4
          4. Chapter 5
          5. Chapter 6
          6. Chapter 7
          7. Chapter 8
          8. Appendix B
    10. Index
    11. About the Author
    12. SPECIAL OFFER: Upgrade this ebook with O’Reilly

Product information

  • Title: David Pogue's Digital Photography: The Missing Manual
  • Author(s): David Pogue
  • Release date: January 2009
  • Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
  • ISBN: 9780596555702