I am new to photogrpahy and ended up buying so many books. But this one is really amazing, the way author has explained the exposure and its three components is very helpful.No other photographer is so comfortable/open to discuss in detail how they took those pictures. I also read his blog and the way author describes how to take pictures with creative exposure and enhance those pictures in Photoshop is also examplary... no one else tells the whole story.Though I am a starter, I am sure even the pros would find those things very helpful.
His knowledge of nature and science is also wonderful and he relates it to photography really well.
I wish i had bought this book earlier, and also that those camera companies contact him to write their extended user manuals.

This is a beautifully printed book, but I found it way too technical for me. Much too much information on the subject that I didn't relate to. Plus, I was not attracted to the photograph examples at all. I don't particularly enjoy abstract art and the very arty look that leaves out the realism that I do enjoy. So, I did not find this book very helpful and would definitely not have purchased it if I had held it in my hands in the store and looked through it.

Modern digital cameras offer lots of sophistication but if you want to produce memorable results, you can't rely on automated exposures alone. Photographer Harold Davis here provides exposure principles to take great photos, supplementing his tips with eye-catching examples created from his own techniques. The photos offer lessons on applied techniques and this is a perfect choice for any library catering to pro or neo-pro digital photographers.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I am an amateur photographer, I care about it, and I enjoy reading about it. I find the discussion of the mechanics of getting a good shot in most photo books, and especially those with "digital photography" in their titles, really frustrating. I find they either explain how typical generic controls work (I can read the manual, thanks, and get that information about the actual camera that's in my hands), or they give a dry discussion of the relationships among the various factors and choices, without relating it meaningfully to the picture that comes out. Sometimes they are mostly a gentle introduction to Photoshop.

The least satisfying books, and there are lots of them, are the ones whose authors approach digital photography as simply a logical continuation of film photography. This happens in every field in which there is a "paradigm shift" and, believe me, digital photography is a paradigm shift. It's almost as if they do a "search and replace" on their old knowledge. Really, things are different here and, except for a couple of cultural artifacts (like the fact that we get a handful of F-Stops instead of the continuous aperture function digital could offer), one needs to start fresh.

The reason I'm griping about other books is to contrast them with this terrific and refreshing book. Although the book covers lots of other topics, the main theme is exposure (and thus light). Davis clearly correlates what you do with the dials with what comes out in your shots, and he illustrates the correlation with his own beautiful pictures. He expresses technical details and concepts clearly, and writes intelligently without ever talking down to the reader. And he does so from the perspective of true digital photography.

We all know that there are plenty of aspects of artistry that have little to do with the word "practical". But with photography, the practical side of artistry is 90% the use of light. Unless you are very lucky, you will not get that special shot unless you know how to turn those dials. Davis does a marvelous job of teaching just that.

I had the good fortune to read this book before it was published and offer comments to the author on some of the technical aspects. I recently saw the reviews on Amazon, and was delighted--but not surprised--that they were so positive. This is a book I'm really glad to own.

This is a nice coffee table book with some very nice images, but really doesn't contain much of value to anyone other than a rank amateur. Let's face it. There's a limit on how much you can write about the interplay of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO, and that's pretty much all this book covers for the aspiring photographer.

While too basic for the experienced photographer who already understands the interplay of focal length, aperture, shutter speed, and ISO settings, this is an excellent primer on these subjects for the new photographer. As the title indicates the focus is on teaching the reader how to work with light and exposure to get the results they want, and the results can be stunning. Harold Davis is at the top of his game as a master photographer with this book. For the new photographer who wants to move up the quality of their work from the photograph category to the art category these are the most critical things to understand and this is one of the easiest to understand books on the subject. After providing a strong understanding of these items Mr. Davis teaches how to use them to get the effect you want. He includes intentional over and underexposure, depth of field and focus, macro photography, longer exposures, and white balance. Throughout the book you will find example photographs with complete detail of what he did to achieve the effect. Pick up a good book on composition and you have the complete package to top level photography. Light and Exposure for Digital Photographers is highly recommended.

In the old days (before cameras had built-in light meters) every photographer had to understand the relationship between ISO, shutter speed and aperture. Then cameras got automated and photographers began to forget about this relationship. But any photographer who wants to advance in his or her skill as a photographer had better learn about this trio. This book is aimed at teaching this subject and its corollary, the nature of light.

After a general chapter on understanding exposure, the author deals with aperture, shutter speed, ISO (and the related topic, noise), light, and finally the digital darkroom. The author writes in clear easy to understand style, and the book is illustrated profusely with the author's pictures. Each picture is annotated with the image's shooting information and any special exposure considerations the author had.

Any book on exposure that I read aimed at digital photographers must pass a litmus test: Does the author show how to use the histogram? Unfortunately, other then a brief two-paragraph reference, Davis does not. Nor does he discuss the overexposure indicator (the "blinkie"). There is no reference to exposure compensation.

Some of the author's comments are a bit misleading. He says to always turn off vibration reduction when using a tripod unless the lens has a special tripod mode, which suggests that there may be some kind of tripod setting on a lens. But at least some lenses sense the lens is mounted on a tripod and thus can be left in image stabilization mode on a tripod. (To be fair, Davis does say to check the documentation.) He says ISO 1000 captures 10 times the light of ISO 100. While that is true, the faster speed only results in an increase of 4 and one third f/stops which is the traditional way that photographers consider exposure. It's too bad the author didn't try to be a little more precise about the relationship of f/stops and exposure, which some photographers refer to as reciprocity. He says that adjusting a single RAW image is better then processing in HDR for a large dynamic range. Often multiple processing of a raw image can capture the range of light in a scene. But sometimes the range of light exceeds the range that can be extracted from a single raw image.

Sometimes the author misses the opportunity to discuss important considerations that an amateur should know, as when, in his discussion of depth of field, he fails to point out that for a particular image size of a subject, the depth of field is the same for a particular f/stop regardless of focal length; or that bright light can be controlled with neutral density filters; or that the fall off of light from a flash can create dark backgrounds.

As part of my campaign against the use of the word "artistry" in book titles, I'll just note that the closest the author comes to teaching artistry is to suggest that controlling exposure can lead to more creative pictures.

It's a shame that a book with so many beautiful pictures does such a poor job of explaining such an important topic. Readers interested in a better explanation should consider "Exposure and Lighting for Digital Photographers Only (For Only)" by Michael Meadhra and Charlotte K. Lowrie.

Davis' book provides something for every type of photographer, from beginner to advanced. He not only presents good, helpful details on exposure and lighting controls for each image in the book, but includes a number of inspiring images that should encourage readers to experiment with different subject and techniques. And there are lots of images! He covers many lighting situations: landscapes, night shots, macros and some studio shots (though not as much studio examples as I would have liked).

The book may seem a bit thin for the topics covered (176 pages), but Davis covers all the necessary details in a comprehensive, easy-to-read manner. Davis' book can be a bit of a "tease"; I realize that this is not a book about Photoshop (thank heavens!), but there are occasions when Davis invokes some unique post-processing (such as when he blends an image that's been treated multiple ways for white balance), but he doesn't give any details.

If you have any questions about lighting and exposure, or creating images like the ones Davis show in the book and on his blog, get this book! You won't regret it.

In the old days (before cameras had built-in light meters) every photographer had to understand the relationship between ISO, shutter speed and aperture. Then cameras got automated and photographers began to forget about this relationship. But any photographer who wants to advance in his or her skill as a photographer had better learn about this trio. This book is aimed at teaching this subject and its corollary, the nature of light.

After a general chapter on understanding exposure, the author deals with aperture, shutter speed, ISO (and the related topic, noise), light, and finally the digital darkroom. The author writes in clear easy to understand style, and the book is illustrated profusely with the author's pictures. Each picture is annotated with the image's shooting information and any special exposure considerations the author had.

Any book on exposure that I read aimed at digital photographers must pass a litmus test: Does the author show how to use the histogram? Unfortunately, other then a brief two-paragraph reference, Davis does not. Nor does he discuss the overexposure indicator (the "blinkie"). There is no reference to exposure compensation.

There are also several significant mistakes. For example, he says to always turn off vibration reduction when using a tripod, unless the lens has a special mode for tripods. Not so. Check the lens manual for the specific lens. He says ISO 1000 captures 10 times the light of ISO 100. Not so. It captures 4 and one-third times the light. He says that adjusting a single RAW image is better then processing in HDR for a large dynamic range. Not so. Sometimes the range of light in a scene exceeds the range of light that even a RAW image can capture.

Sometimes the author misses the opportunity to discuss important considerations that an amateur should know, as when, in his discussion of depth of field, he fails to point out that for a particular image size of a subject, the depth of field is the same for a particular f/stop regardless of focal length; or that bright light can be controlled with neutral density filters; or that the fall off of light from a flash can create dark backgrounds.

As part of my campaign against the use of the word "artistry" in book titles, I'll just note that the closest the author comes to teaching artistry is to suggest that controlling exposure can lead to more creative pictures.

It's a shame that a book with so many beautiful pictures does such a poor job of explaining such an important topic. Readers interested in a better explanation should consider "Exposure and Lighting for Digital Photographers Only (For Only)" by Michael Meadhra and Charlotte K. Lowrie.

Being fairly new to the arena of digital photography, beyond point and shoot cameras, I often found myself underwhelmed with a lot of the pictures I have been taking. I understood what all of the settings on my camera did, and what their effects on the resulting image where, but things just weren't coming together for me. This book has helped me understand that digital photography, really is a process. From choosing the scene, and exposing for the portions that are important, all the way to loading the RAW image into processing software to put on the "finishing touches." While it doesn't teach you how to go out and shoot an award winning photo, it does give you the knowledge you need to correctly use your camera and computer as a tool to create that photo.

Each Chapter of Mr. Davis' book reads very well, and provides interesting dialog that doesn't seem to speak over my head. It's written in a clear concise manner that goes into just enough detail to help you understand why each step is important. I'm sure that each chapter in this book could probably be a book on its own. There are times that I found myself wishing to know more about a particular topic in the book, but adding such content to it would probably take away from the flow as a whole. The many sidebars in the book give you that extra bit of information you may be looking for, or just urge you to do more research on your own.

In my opinion, the best part of this book is all the wonderful examples that Mr. Davis provides in his discussion. For every concept, idea, and method that is discussed in the book there is at least one, if not multiple images detailing the application of each. Each image has an explanation of why the particular setting in discussion was chosen, along with all of the other settings used to compose each image. Simply browsing through the images and their narrative alone is inspirational and fun.

I often found myself reading this book with my camera on one side of me, playing with each setting as I read about them, and a book about my particular camera on the other side. I would often take breaks between each chapter to explore the ramifications of changing each setting on my camera and learning how it affects different outcomes.

All in all, I would say this book is aimed at people exactly like myself. New to photography as something more than just a point and shoot for the family scrap book, and eager to learn more. It contains just enough detail to help you understand what's going on inside the little box without boring you, and provides real life examples the illustrate them. It provides a window into the mind of a professional photographer willing to share important informational details into what makes a picture good.

Are you a digital photographer who is looking for a creative way to explore your world? If you are, then this book is for you! Author Harold Davis, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that treats the techniques of classical photography and the tools of the digital artist holistically.

Davis, begins by explaining that the aperture (one of the three components of an exposure) refers to the size of the opening in the camera lens. Then, the author discusses how it is important to have a good general sense of how aperture relates to the depth of field. Next, he discusses how the shutter speed does not set a speed; but rather, this setting controls a duration of time; specifically, the duration of time that the shutter is open. The author also discusses digital's powerful and flexible ability to dial in light sensitivity. He continues by showing you how correct creative exposures can be used to expose for one area of a subject, with the understanding that other parts of the photo will be adjusted in post-processing. Finally, the author discusses post-processing in the digital darkroom.

This most excellent book aims to present the best practices of the craft of photography in the context of the digital era. But, more importantly, the author designed this book for you on a number of different levels.

First, in the interest of full disclosure, I must note that a) having recently discovered Harold Davis' blog, I have already become a fan, and b) through the blog I was fortunate to receive a complimentary copy of this book for review. Secondly, this is not, by far, the first book on exposure and lighting I have read!

Light & Exposure is a terrific resource for any photographer from the beginner to the advanced amateur. While I suspect that the true "pro" photographer will find this book too elementary for his/her purposes, nonetheless there are a plethora of those little "pro" tips that sneak in and make this book worthwhile for any photographer to read. For instance, the fact that when you are shooting a reflection, the camera to subject distance is much greater than the distance to the object making the reflection (Davis uses a water drop in his example, but any reflective surface applies here) and that affects your decision on depth of field. Obvious - sure. Had I ever thought of it before? Nope.

This book is filled with terrific photos to illustrate each concept. One of my pet peeves is instructional photography books which provide little or no technical info on the pictures. Here, each photo is annotated with full exposure information (including ISO setting, often not specified in other books), lens/focal length data, etc. Davis explains his exposure choices, as you would want and expect in a book on this subject which is enormously helpful in learning. The photos alone are worth the price of the book, even if you don't read the technical data.

Each topic is handle in a brief, but effective manner, with enough information to obtain understanding without so much that information overload occurs. Interestingly, Davis manages to address concepts of exposure thoroughly and yet in an entirely different manner than Peterson's classic "Understanding Exposure;" if you've read that book, you'll find Light & Exposure a worthwhile and complementary read, giving a new and different perspective.

If I have one complaint, it would be with a few technical issues, that may well not bother other readers overly much. For instance, while mentioning the minimal depth-of-field obtained in macro photography, Davis does not explain why this is the case, and explanation that would be of benefit to the beginning or amateur photographer who stands to gain so much from reading this text. The sidebar on "focal length" equivalence of lenses on digital SLRs with non-full frame sensors hits one of my personal tripwires, as I would have preferred to see this discussion focus (pun NOT intended) on the correct description of of the dependency of lens angle of view on image size (or crop factor, if you prefer) rather than the incorrect implication that the focal length of a lens depends on the camera on which it is mounted. However, these are minor points, and do not detract from the overall value of this excellent text.

One final point: some photography books are written in such a dry style as to be unreadable. Light & Exposure is an enjoyable read; I carried it with me to work so I could sneak in a chapter whenever free time arose.

As Harold Davis so aptly demonstrates in this brilliant book, the modern photographer has to be "one part artist and one part photographer." Thus, it falls on the photographer to have a strong understanding of light and exposure in order to create memorable works of photographic art.

For newcomers, this book can provide a wealth of information about how it is not the camera, nor the lens, but the use of light that separates the amateur from the pro. Mr. Davis has written this book with the digital photographer in mind, and it surely will become the classic treatise on the subject for digital imagery.

The book is richly illustrated with great photography by the author, but what I really enjoyed was that each of the subjects - white balance, creative exposure, shutter speed, etc. - was explained in detail and then a representative photo was used to "show" the effect of decisions that the photographer can make as they compose the shot. Whether you are a visual learner or prefer to read well written prose, this book delivers each in a well thought out manner that is easy to understand.

I also found the author's discussion of how to use the RAW digital format to capture the true nuances of light and color to be particularly informative. Initially, the RAW format can seem mystifying to a digital photographer who has not experienced the power that RAW can bring to a situation, and this book does as fine a job as any I've ever encountered at explaining how to harness RAW for best effect.

Additionally, I found that the three chapters on front, back and side lighting to have the best explanations I have ever read on the differences each of these lighting situations brings to an image.

I would heartily recommend this terrific book to any photographer - from the newcomer to digital imagery to the advanced pro - because it captures wonderfully the true building block steps that can turn a simple image into a true work of art.

Light and Exposure for Digital Photographers delivers today's digital photographer a fascinating, one-stop source for achieving superior photographic results. The photographs contained in the book are gorgeous and they alone are worth the price of the book. However, it is the step by step instructions, written in simple enough language for a novice, that ensure the reader will be able to create photographs of quality, like those in the book.

Anyone who has taken photographs is familiar with the experience of seeing one thing through the lens, clicking the shutter, and obtaining an entirely different, often disappointing, result. Many of us who are fond of taking digital photos and working with Photoshop, or the like, are used to attempting to make our average photos into something special by doctoring them with the digital dark room. Once in a while we get lucky. Light & Exposure takes the luck out of it and replaces it with the knowledge necessary to get the photo we wanted in the first place and the tools to enhance them afterward.

Harold Davis offers an array of in depth facts and instructions for serious photographers, insights and observations for the more artistically inclined, and hints and tricks for the dabblers like myself to enable the reader to create works of art in photography.

Any modern photographer utilizing a digital camera will find the
information and photographs in this book invaluable. Developing a strong foundation with an artistic bent is desirable asset to a photographer. Light & Exposure for Digital Photographers is the one, essential resource for any photographer's library.

I guess I'm not an unbiased reviewer, because I love Harold Davis' Photoblog 2.0 and never miss a day of reading it. I am always amazed by his vision, intelligence and passion for photography. If his recent blog entries are still available on this page, you no doubt have noticed he's a gifted photographer to say the least.
Now, imagine that blog expanded, illustrated; illuminated. "Practical Artistry: Light & Exposure for Digital Photographers" is filled with helpful suggestions, practical tips and just plain common sense advice. And that's just the text! Harold's photography is superb, and this is evident even in the sometimes-limited format of a book.
I believe you will enjoy and learn from this book; Harold is a natural instructor. I thoroughly enjoyed and heartily recommend this book!