Gen. Photog. textbook recommend?

[Bobby Ironsights]

Hi, My sister is getting into photography, much to my pleasure. She asked me to teach her, and after muttering some things about aperture and depth of field, I realized my skills as a teacher are limited.

I don't have the textbook I started out with, nor do I remember the title, so I'm starting from scratch, other than knowing I'll give her Light Science and Magic for the second book she'll read.

Can any of you fine people recommend me a beginners general photography textbook?

Thanks for your time,
Bob

 

[nsurit]

"Photography" BarbaranLondon, et al. This is one you can learn basics from and will keep in your library forever. Bill Barber

 

[Rick A]

I have a copy of John Hedgecoes "Complete Guide to B&W Photography" for low dollars. I only have one copy of Londons "Photography" left and I'm keeping it. I used to have a pile of them that I used for text books when I taught, I let the kids buy them when I stopped teaching.

 

[summicron1]

if you give me your mailing address and promise to donate $5 to Doctors Without Borders, a worthy charity of your chosing, or some random homeless person, I will send you free, no obligation, get these damn things out of here, a copy of "The Amateur Photographer's Handbook" by aaron Sussman, 8th edition, completely revised and updated to the late 70s, and the Kodak Darkroom Dataguide.

I'd even settle for you just thinking happy thoughts for a few minutes.

 

[laser]

Phil Davis' and another book by Charles Swedlund

Excellent "how-to" books were written by:

Phil Davis' 5th edition (University of Michigan) and another by Charles Swedlund (Buffalo State and then U of Southern IL) are excellent. These authors and their books have the advantage of having "tried and true" explanations. These authors received nearly real time feed back on how well their text was understood by real students. They then improved the text and tried it again on the next group of students. The result is their books have been fine-tuned to yield easily understood descriptions.

 

[Bobby Ironsights]

I appreciate the offer, and will gladly send happy thoughts, but I live in the frozen wastes of northern Canada, and postage is prohibitive. Thanks again for the offer, and I hope you make it again to someone in a better position to accept.

if you give me your mailing address and promise to donate $5 to Doctors Without Borders, a worthy charity of your chosing, or some random homeless person, I will send you free, no obligation, get these damn things out of here, a copy of "The Amateur Photographer's Handbook" by aaron Sussman, 8th edition, completely revised and updated to the late 70s, and the Kodak Darkroom Dataguide.

I'd even settle for you just thinking happy thoughts for a few minutes.

 

[Bobby Ironsights]

Thank you all for your time and suggestions, after much debate, I have given her Understanding exposure, and will follow with the photographers eye, and then light science and magic.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Another book to recommend: Henry Horenstein's Black And White Photography: A Basic Manual

This, and the companion "Beyond Basic..." was the standard basic black-and-white photography text at Maryland Institute College of Art when I was taking classes there.

 

[pbromaghin]

Another book to recommend: Henry Horenstein's Black And White Photography: A Basic Manual

This, and the companion "Beyond Basic..." was the standard basic black-and-white photography text at Maryland Institute College of Art when I was taking classes there.

+1. I have these and they are very good.