Focus on Light and Exposure in Digital Photography [Book Review]

Without light you can’t make a photograph. Too much or too little and you risk the shot to fail — or succeed, because it breaks the rules.

Without doubt, the management of light, via selection of the most appropriate lens aperture and shutter speed, is the key to successful and satisfying photography.

A book such as ‘Focus on Light and Exposure in Digital Photography‘ is very welcome and will answer many questions for beginners and help revise the more proficient’s current knowledge base.

As author Schaub says “the better you expose and set up the image when you record it, the less work you have to do later when you process it.”

The books is set up with a series of short tutorials and while the technology of cameras — film and digital — is paid attention to, the book concentrates on the ways to polish your techniques.

Under discussion early on is the role of the ISO setting and how to use it to your advantage. The relationship between sensitivity (ISO), lens aperture and exposure time is explained, as is the effect of image noise in high ISO settings.
The next topic is the lens aperture and its effect on depth of field in the photograph. Control of sharpness in a photograph is often the key that distinguishes a compelling image from a snapshot.

Following topics: the role of shutter speed; selecting Program AE, shutter speed or aperture priority; reading histograms; bracketing exposures for night shooting; manual exposure; light quality and colour temperature; shooting high or low key; colour temperature; high and low contrast scenes; using different metering patterns.

The book closes by offering help with the post editing stage: adjusting the tone curve; dealing with RAW files; High Dynamic Range processing. Just ten pages! Pity it’s not more … but then that should lead you to another book.

An excellent book for the info needy and the wise!

Author: G Schaub.
Publisher: Lark Books.
Distributor: Capricorn Link.
Length: 111 pages.
ISBN 978 1 60059 636 0.
Price: Get a price on Focus on Light and Exposure in Digital Photography at Amazon.