King - Digital Photography For Dummies

Digital Photography For Dummies, 8th Edition

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2016939093

ISBN 978-1-119-23560-6 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-23563-7 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-23564-4 (ebk)

1. Table of Contents

Afew months ago, while cleaning my office in an attempt to put off sitting down to write, I came across the first edition of Digital Photography For Dummies, published in 1997. Flipping through the pages, I was struck by how much digital photography has changed in the intervening years. Consider these snippets from that first edition:

• For $800 to $1,000, you get a pixel count in the 1280 x 960 range. Pixel count refers to resolution, which determines how large you can print a digital image. With a resolution of 1280 x 960 pixels about 1 million pixels altogether, or 1 megapixel in today's terminology the maximum print size is 4 x 6 inches. If you needed more resolution back then, a Kodak/Canon hybrid model offered a 6-megapixel resolution for $29,000. (No, that figure is not a typo.) Today, even sub-$100 cameras offer resolutions of 6 megapixels or more.
• Some cameras suck the life out of a set of batteries in just a few hours. This issue was a huge problem, and one that manufacturers have done a good job of resolving. Today, you can shoot for an entire day, or even days, without needing a recharge.
• On cameras that have LCD screens, battery consumption is even higher. Wait what? Digital cameras didn't have monitors back then? Well, some higher-priced cameras did, but the monitors then were nowhere near as large or as crisp as the stunning displays we now enjoy.

I could go on, but I think you get the point: Digital photography has come a long way since its early years. What remains the same, however, is that figuring out how to use all the features on your camera can be intimidating, to say the least. How many megapixels do you really need, for example? What's ISO? And are your pro photographer friends right when they insist that you shoot in the Raw format (whatever that means)?

The other thing that hasn't changed is that Digital Photography For Dummies has the answers to these questions and more. Completely updated to cover the latest tools, tricks, and techniques, this eighth edition spells out everything you need to know to make the most of your digital camera. Whether youre taking pictures for fun, for work, or for both, youll find answers, ideas, and solutions in the pages to come.

Digital Photography For Dummies, 8th Edition, covers all aspects of digital photography. It helps you assess your current digital photography needs, determine the best gear and products to suit your style, and combine the newest digital innovations with tried-and-true photography techniques. In addition, this book explains what happens after you get the shot, detailing the steps you need to take to download your picture files, produce great-looking prints to hang on the living room wall, and share your favorite images online.

Unlike other books on the topic, this one does not assume that you have any preexisting knowledge about photography, whether digital or film. Everything is explained in easy-to-understand language, with a little humor thrown in to make learning a bit more enjoyable.

I do assume, though, that if you're into photography enough to pick up this book, you probably own a regular camera that is, one designed solely to take pictures, as opposed to a cellphone or tablet with a built-in camera. Keep in mind, though, that a digital photo is a digital photo, no matter how you capture it. So, many of the tips and technical details I provide apply as much to shooting with a cellphone as they do to taking pictures with an expensive, pro-level camera.

As much as possible, this book is put together in a way that doesn't require you to read it in the traditional order, from front to back, in order to make sense of things. Instead, you can dip in and out of various chapters to get help with a specific topic. However, if you're brand-new to photography (or to digital photography), you may find it easier to explore the first part of the book, which explains fundamentals, before moving onto the advanced topics I cover later in the book.