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Charles Moore Reviews Shooting Digital: Pro Tips for Taking Great Pictures with Your Digital Camera
In the foreword to Mikkel Aaland’s “Shooting Digital,” Leo LaPorte relates that in the early ‘80s, the late, legendary, landscape photographer Ansel Adams told Aaland that if he were beginning all over, he’d be shooting digital. That advice inspired Aaland become one of the very first to use and write about digital photography. Mikkel Aaland is now an award-winning photographer and author of eight books, including Digital Photography, Photoshop for the Web, and Photoshop Elements 2 Solutions. His photography has been published in Wired, Newsweek, and several European periodicals. His work has also been exhibited in major institutions around the world, including the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris and the former Lenin Museum in Prague. Twenty-odd years on, Aaland is still using and writing about digital photography, and “Shooting Digital” is one of the results -- a book for people who love photography and have had their passion for shooting photos rekindled by buying and using a digital camera, and to want to learn how to get the most of it. 
Aaland notes that the book, for which he first wrote the outline in 1997, is actually a compilation of the work and collective wisdom of more than 30 contributors -- all professional photographers who use digital equipment exclusively, and who are credited in the back of the book. Aside from the wealth of information and tips “Shooting Digital” contains, there are also dozens of beautiful reproductions of photos taken digitally by these pros, which attest to the fact the digital photography has arrived, and doesn’t have to take a backseat to film any longer. I have in the past made my living as a photographer, shooting mainly weddings and portraits. I love film and I enjoyed darkroom work in black and white as a hobby immensely when I had a darkroom. However, as wonderful as film photography is, it is also an environmental nightmare, eating up vast quantities of silver and requiring the use of toxic chemicals for processing. While I miss my darkroom, I don’t miss breathing chemical fumes. Digital photography is superior on both counts, allowing you to take photos without using silver, and employing no chemicals unless you want to get your shots printed on photographic paper. Most people using digital cameras today were introduced to photography through the film medium, and many of the principals are similar, although some are quite different. In Chapter 1 of Shooting Digital, “Before You Shoot” Aaland walks us through a concise but thorough tutorial on the distinctions between film and digital photography -- things like the fact that the 50 mm lens considered the normal focal length for a 35 mm film camera is a telephoto for many digital cameras, although because the sensor panels in digital units have no standard size, the effect of different focal lengths may vary considerably. He also reviews the rough categories of “consumer,” “professional,” and “prosumer,” cameras noting that the boundaries can be quite soft, and observes that while film has reached close to the limit of its development potential, electronic imaging is still in its infancy. There are also sections on choosing the right digital camera for you, getting to know your camera once you’ve made a choice, and an overview of accessory options. Chapter Two, “Shooting Great Portraits”, notes that “digital cameras can fundamentally change the way portraits are made, because the ability to instantly display results can improve the relationship between photographer and subject.” The chapter proceeds with an excellent tutorial on portraiture, with tips on posing, setup, using flash and other light sources, lens choices, environmental portraiture, and group portraits. Chapter 3, “Photographing Children, Pets and Social Events” continues in tutorial mode. A lot of the information in this book could apply to film photography as well, but the particular nuances of using digital equipment are strongly emphasized, such as determining and compensating for shutter lag. There are sections addressing the respective issues encountered and photographing kids, cats, and dogs, as well as tips on shooting weddings digitally. Chapter 4, “Shooting Action,” covers the challenge of shooting subjects in motion, addressing the topic of shutter speed and ISO sensitivity of the sensor (which roughly corresponds to film speed in film cameras), and discusses selection of the ideal digital camera for action shots, composition, and recognizing the “decisive moment.” Chapter 5, “Shooting Digital Minimovies ,” takes us beyond the single frame, noting that “the distinction between digital cameras and digital camcorders is diminishing and continues to blur, -- and will continue to do so until someone creates one multi-purpose digital camera that does it all.” There are many movie shooting tips and a section on editing and sharing minimovies, as well as tips on editing, adding titles, converting to other formats, and putting movies on the Web, including creating animated GIFs from frames. Chapter 6, “Shooting Digital on the Road,” discusses what to pack in your camera bag, troubleshooting camera problems in the field, storage and archiving in transit, including a sidebar on backup devices, tips for shooting in weather extremes from dry cold to humid heat, and much more. Chapter 7, “Shooting Interiors and Exteriors,” is about imaging buildings small and large, inside and out, composition of architectural shots, choosing light and location, playing with scale and dealing with “keystoning,” using tripods, and the differences between interior and exterior light and tips on mixing them. Chapter 8 moves onto one of my favorite types of photography, “Shooting Beautiful Landscapes,” and there are some gorgeous ones depicted. Indeed, as I noted above, one of the great pleasures of reading this book is the wonderful photographs that illustrate it. Aaland discusses what makes a good landscape, various approaches to determine the correct exposure, bracketing to be sure, getting maximum depth of field, using neutral density filters, using external light meters, composition and content, and fixing exposure errors using software. Chapter 9, “Shooting Panoramas and Virtual Reality,” goes beyond straight shots to composite panorama shots and object movies. This chapter also includes a two page sidebar on lenses. Chapter 10, “Shooting Your Stuff,” is about taking digital photos of inanimate objects, such as something you might be selling on eBay or recording valuable personal effects for insurance verification. It includes a section on creating a basic digital photography studio, and a sidebar on various types of artificial lighting, tips on composing object shots, and on “pushing the envelope. “ The latter theme is carried over into Chapter 11, “Shooting Past The Borders,” which explains how digital cameras make it possible to do old things in new ways, such as shooting beyond visible light. There is a section on shooting digital underwater, another on digital aerial photography, and another on night photography, as well as digital grid photos and things like adjusting white balance. Chapter 12 is on “sHaring Digital Photos” via various media and formats, making prints, downloading shots to computers, storing and managing digital photos, emailing photos and posting them to personal websites, and even a section on digital frames.’ There is also an appendix entitled “Zooming In,” which provides an in-depth look at Digital photographic technologies and procedures, such as the RAW data format, reading histograms, fine-tuning white balance, sensors, and extending exposure latitude with software. Finally there is a 10 page index and the aforementioned list of contributors. If you’re interested in photography, you will find this book a definite pleasure to read and a feast for the eyes, as well as an authoritative and useful guide to getting the most of your digital camera. At $35, it’s in the mid-price range, but the quality of photographic reproduction, and the books size format (disease about 8 in. by 10 in.) would not come cheap. The publisher, Sybex, currently offers it on their Website for an online price of US $24.50. I think you’ll find it worth the money. There is also a companion Website for the book, which provides the latest and up-to-date information on digital cameras, accessories, software, and more. It is also an educational site devoted to all aspects of digital imaging. Topics include shooting, acquiring, using and sharing digital images. In addition to resources from Shooting Digital, this site contains material Mikkel Aaland has created for other projects over the years, including his books Photoshop Elements Solutions, Photoshop for the Web, and Still Images in Multimedia. The Shooting Digital book companion includes a chapter-by-chapter guide, information about contributors and reader comments. You can navigate directly to much of the information from the Shooting Digital and my other books — including links to the software and hardware you need plus a collection tips & tricks to help you get the most out of your digital camera You can check it out at: Shooting Digital: Pro Tips for Taking Great Pictures with Your Digital Camera For more information, visit: Appendix: Shooting Digital: Pro Tips for Taking Great Pictures with Your Digital Camera Table Of Contents Chapter 1: Before You Shoot Chapter 2: Shooting Great Portraits Chapter 3: Photographing Children, Pets, and Social Events Chapter 4: Shooting Action Chapter 5: Shooting Digital Minimovies Chapter 6: Shooting Digital on the Road Chapter 7: Shooting Interiors and Exteriors Chapter 8: Shooting Beautiful Landscapes Chapter 9: Shooting Panoramas and Virtual Reality Chapter 10: Shooting Your Stuff Chapter 11: Shooting Past the Boundaries Chapter 12: Organizing and Sharing Digital Photos Appendix: An In Depth Look at Digital Technologies and Procedures Index
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