'Understanding Exposure' by Bryan Peterson

ScarySquirrel

ScarySquirrel

ScarySquirrel

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Hello everyone.

I'm considering asking for this book as a little Christmas present. I wanted to ask those of you who have read it if you think it would be suitable?

I am by no means an expert, far from it, but I feel I have a reasonable understanding of how to use a camera. However my technical knowledge is not what I would want it to be.

Will this book just tell me the basics that I already know (ie. what aperture is, etc.), or is it advanced enough to skip over the basics and really get into detail about, well....'understanding exposure'?

I hope that makes sense. Spanks.
 
Not hugely detailed but very usefull, I got my copy about 8 months after my DSLR and while I thought I knew quite a lot of it I still found it very usefull there are some gret metering tips in the book. If you've been going a cuple of years then it will probably be too basic for you, I'd probably say get it regardless as you will get 99% of your money back selling it somewhere like TalkPhotography just after christmas.
 
ScarySquirrel said:
Metering is the one area which I am pretty useless at, and would like to know more about. So it sounds like it could be quite handy.
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It really is a great book, the author does come off as a bit of an idiot at times but if you ignore that there is some really usefull info. I also have his second book on creative composition which I found equally usefull. Like I said the second hand market especially for the newbies just after christmas is great so it should be a very low risk purchase.
 
I bought a copy a few days ago, and have read about a 1/4 of it and find it very good at explaining things.

Make sure you get the 3rd edition if your asking some else to buy it :)

J
 
I have read it but I'd also recommend Freemans 'perfect exposure' more. For depth of reading Freemans book makes petersons look like a ladybird book. I'm glad I read both though as they both adopt different methods to achieve similar results.

Peterson meters off the area he deems most critical and recomposes then ignores his meter reading depending on the result he wants and where the sun is.

Freeman talks about weighing up the average light/grey and using exposure compensation to bring out the tones he wants.

Both good reads, Freemans book made me think more but as I say I'm glad I read both methods.

None of them were as good as Mastering canon eos flash photography which I can't pimp enough for someone liek yourself SS into his studio/flash lighting ;)
 
Peterson does cover exposure in fairly simplistic terms but in common scenarios (greenery, sunsets, to achieve silhouettes, etc). It's a worthwhile read and good to keep for reference anyway.

I got Digital Photography Masterclass by Tom Ang as my second book. It's technical in a pretty good way, but don't recall it covering exposure and metering in detail. Could check tonight at home though.
 
I bought this book when I first bought my camera (on recommendation from a friend) and it is an excellent book which is very good at explaining things without all the jargon (which is perfect for me as I only do simple!). I'm in the process of re-reading it actually and for the price its a bargain tbh, i'd definitely recommend it.
 
Think I'll pick this up or force someone to buy it for me as a Christmas present as I'm still feeling somewhat lost at how to use my camera properly.
 
It was the first book i got about photography and it's been by far the best for explaining things and making it clear.
 
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