Interesting Reading for Photographers

Since photography is an interest of mine, I have found several books by highly respected experts in the field that are on my "to read list". I will keep on adding new ones to this post, based on recommendations by others as well as reputations of the authors.

1. Professional Model Portfolios: A Step-by-Step Guide for Photographers is a book by Billy Pegram that reveals various techniques which photographers can implement to create high impact model portfolios. Billy Pegram shares his knowledge of the modeling industry, as well as agency requirements. With a 4.5/5 star rating on Amazon, this book can help both models and photographers achieve the results they would like.

2. Posing Techniques for Photographing Model Portfolios by Billy Pegram. This book reveals how to work with models, and how to contribute to a successful photo session. It is useful for photographers and models looking to create editorial fashion shots, athletics, glamour or nude photography, and shots designed to show curves, reveal personality, or showcase the hands, hair, or legs.

3. Christopher Grey's Studio Lighting Techniques for Photography: Tricks of the Trade for Professional Digital Photographers has been well-received by intermediate and advanced photographers. It explores the fundamentals of lighting as well as teaches how to solve various lighting problems.

4. The Digital Photography Book by Scott Kelby reveals "how to take pro-quality shots using the same tricks today's top digital pros use" (Amazon description). It has a 4.5/5 star rating on Amazon, and has achieved praise from photographers of all levels. Scott Kelby is currently President of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) and Editor-in-Chief of both Photoshop User and Layers magazines.

5. The Adobe Photoshop CS5 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter) is another book by Scott Kelby. On Amazon, a customer called it "the mother of all things Photoshop". It currently has a 5 star rating, and teaches Photoshop users how to retouch images in order to make them look their best.

6. The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter) is yet another one of the many books by the highly-respected Scott Kelby, master of retouching. This book teaches the fundamentals of Lightroom, as well as step-by-step guides to using Lightroom

7. Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera is written by Bryan Peterson, who is a professional photographer, internationally known instructor, and the bestselling author of several other photography books. This book teaches how to take great photos anytime anywhere, as well as explains the relationship between aperture and shutter speed. You will also learn how to properly expose your photos in what many people would call "impossible lighting situations".

8. Outdoor Glamour Photography: The Complete Digital Guide to Taking Successful Outdoor Glamour Photographs by Bill Lemon. Bill Lemon's book explains step-by-step how to create beautiful images when it comes to outdoor photography. Some of the things you will learn about are: lighting, location scouting for various models, and depth of field, best times to shoot, and much more.

9. The Photographer's Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos by Michael Freeman. This book explains how to create beautiful, visually-stimulating images. A well-composed shot is aesthetically pleasing, and almost anyone can learn how to see and create great digital photographs.

10. Complete Digital Photography, Fifth Edition by Ben Long.This book teaches the theory and technical skills that are needed in order to take great photos.

11.Lighting Techniques for Photographing Model Portfolios: Strategies for Digital Photographers by Billy Pegram. This book has had several good reviews by photographers who are interested in learning some lighting techniques. Billy Pegram is a well respected photographer and has written several books.

12. The Complete Photographer by Tom Ang. This book talks about how to photograph absolutely everything, from fashion to nature to architecture and everything in between. The book is based on different tutorials for different genres of photography and encourages photographers to develop their own style. Tom Ang is a highly respected photographer who has worked as a photo editor for many magazines.


If you have read any photography books that you feel should be added to this list, please let me know, either by posting a comment, or contacting me through my website. Also, please let me know why you liked and what you didn't like about the book.