Julie Adair King - Digital Photography For Dummies

Digital Photography For Dummies, 7th Edition

by Julie Adair King

Digital Photography For Dummies, 7th Edition

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Copyright 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2012933404

ISBN 978-1-118-09203-3 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-22335-2 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-23681-9 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-26175-0 (ebk)

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Author

Julie Adair King is the author of many books about digital photography and imaging, including the best-selling Digital Photography For Dummies. Her most recent titles include a series of For Dummies guides to Canon, Nikon, and Olympus digital cameras. When not writing, King teaches digital photography at such locations as the Palm Beach Photographic Centre. A graduate of Purdue University, she resides in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Authors Acknowledgments

I am extremely grateful to the team of talented professionals at John Wiley & Sons for all their efforts in putting together this book. Special thanks go to my awesome project editor, Kim Darosett, who is the type of editor that all authors hope for but rarely experience: supportive, skilled, and amazingly calm in the face of any storm, including my not infrequent freakouts.

I also owe much to the rest of the folks in both the editorial and art departments, especially Heidi Unger, Leah Michael, Rashell Smith, Nikki Gee, Steve Hayes, and Andy Cummings. Thanks, too, to technical editor Lyle Mannweiler for his eagle-eyed observations and thoughtful suggestions. This book simply would not have been possible without each and every one of you.

Finally, thanks to my family and friends for not only putting up with me, but doing it with humor and grace.

Publishers Acknowledgments

Were proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions and Editorial

Project Editor: Kim Darosett

Executive Editor: Steven Hayes

Copy Editor: Heidi Unger

Technical Editor: Lyle Mannweiler

Editorial Manager: Leah Michael

Editorial Assistant: Amanda Graham

Sr. Editorial Assistant: Cherie Case

Cover Photo: iStockphoto.com / Carmen Martinez Banus

Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Nikki Gee

Layout and Graphics: Claudia Bell, Carl Byers, Joyce Haughey

Proofreaders: Lauren Mandelbaum, Shannon Ramsey

Indexer: Estalita Slivoskey

Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies

Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher

Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director

Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director

Publishing for Consumer Dummies

Kathleen Nebenhaus, Vice President and Executive Publisher

Composition Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

Introduction

When I wrote the first edition of this book, way back in 1997, digital cameras were just coming onto the scene. They were much more expensive than film cameras and, worse, they werent capable of producing images that could generate decent prints. You could impress your tech-savvy friends with your cool new toy one of the few benefits of being an early adopter but as far as serious photography, well, lets just say that digital cameras werent ready for prime time.

Now, of course, all thats changed. Film is all but dead, and everyone from preteens to great-grandmothers uses digital cameras. And the features and quality packed into todays digital cameras are nothing short of astounding. Tiny, fit-in-your pocket cameras are now capable of producing images that, in some cases, surpass those of professional models from five or six years ago and at prices that were unheard of in years past. Digital SLR and compact system models, which accept interchangeable lenses, are now remarkably inexpensive, too, making the step up to semipro features much more accessible to enthusiastic shutterbugs.