Black-and-white photography poses unique challenges; without color to guide the eye, contrast, lighting, and composition take on even more importance. Renowned photographer Harold Davis explains these elements and demonstrates the basic rules of black and white photography as well as when and how to break them. He breaks through the complexity of this photographic medium, explores opportunities for black-and-white imagery, and shows how to capitalize on every one.

Richly illustrated with the author’s own images, this beautiful guide presents the skills needed for great black-and-white photos while encouraging your confidence and creativity.

• Goes beyond basics to teach photographers how to conquer the challenges posed by black-and-white photography
• Appeals to professionals and serious amateurs who are interested in exploring creative black-and-white imagery
• Presents photography fundamentals and shows how black and white requires some of the rules to be bent
• Encourages creative thinking and confidence
• Lavishly illustrated with Harold Davis’s outstanding monochromatic photos

Whether you’re a professional just venturing into black and white or a serious amateur, Creative Black & White will both educate and inspire you.

Black-and-White Photography Tips from Author Harold Davis

Black-and-White Photography Tips

Photos by Harold Davis

Tips for Seeing in Black and White [PDF]

Since Lightroom first launched, Scott Kelby’s The Lightroom Book for Digital Photographers has been the world’s #1 best-selling Lightroom book. In this latest version for Lightroom 3, Scott uses his same step-by-step, plain-English style and layout to make learning Lightroom easy and fun. Scott doesn’t just show you which sliders do what. Instead, by using the following three simple, yet brilliant, techniques that make it just an incredible learning tool, this book shows you how to create your own photography workflow using Lightroom:

1) Scott shares his own personal settings and studio-tested techniques.  He trains thousands of Lightroom users at his “Lightroom Live!” tour and knows first hand what really works and what doesn’t.

2) The entire book is laid out in a real workflow order with everything step by step, so you can begin using Lightroom like a pro from the start.

3) What really sets this book apart are the last two chapters. This is where Scott dramatically answers his #1 most-asked Lightroom question, which is: “Exactly what order am I supposed to do things in, and where does Photoshop fit in?” Plus, this is the first version of the book that includes his famous “7-Point System for Lightroom,” which lets you focus on mastering just the seven most important editing techniques.

The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Book for Digital Photographers is the first and only book to bring the whole process together in such a clear, concise, and visual way.

National Geographic Simply Beautiful Photographs takes readers on a spectacular visual journey through some of the most stunning photographs to be found in National Geographic’s famed Image Collection. Award-winning photographer Annie Griffiths culled the images to reflect the many variations on the universal theme of beauty. Chapters are organized around the aesthetic concepts that create beauty in a photograph: Light, Composition, Moment (Gesture and Emotion), Motion, Palette, and Wonder.

Beyond the introduction and brief essays about each featured concept, the text is light. The photographs speak for themselves, enhanced by lyrical quotes from scholars and poets. In the chapter on Light, for example, we read these words of whimsical wisdom from songwriter Leonard Cohen: “Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That’s how the lights get in.” And then the images flow, of light entering scenes via windows, clouds, and spotlights, from above, alongside, and behind, casting radiance upon young ballerinas and weathered men, into groves of autumn trees and island-dotted seas, revealing everything it touches to be beautiful beyond expectation.

To illuminate the theme of Wonder, Griffiths chose a wish from Andre Bazin: “If I had influence with the good fairy…I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life.” This thought is juxtaposed with an exquisite vision in white, a frame filled with the snowy-pure dots and rays of a bird’s fan tail. And on it goes, picture after tantalizing picture, alive with wondrous beauty.

When she created National Geographic Simply Beautiful Photographs, Annie Griffiths set two goals: to maximize visual delight, and to create a book unique in the world of publishing–one in which many of the photographs could be purchased as prints. She has succeeded on both counts. Many of these stunning images are available for order, and there can be no doubt as to the visual delight. You must open this book for yourself, and take in its radiant beauty.

Photography has been the business and the passion of LIFE since the original weekly magazine’s inception in 1936, and it continues to be the business and passion of LIFE Books and LIFE.com in the new millennium. But photography has surely changed during these many decades. The rigs and gear of old have given way-first slowly, then all at once-to sleek miracle machines that process pixels and have made the darkroom obsolete. The casual photog puts eye to lens, sets everything on auto and captures a photograph that is . . . perfectly fine.

One of LIFE’s master shooters-in fact, the final in the long line of distinguished LIFE staff photographers-was Joe McNally, and he has always believed that with a little preparation and care, with a dash of enthusiasm and daring added to the equation, anyone can make a better photo-anyone can turn a “keeper” into a treasure. This was true in days of yore, and it’s true in the digital age. Your marvelous new camera, fresh from its box, can indeed perform splendid feats. Joe explains in this book how to take best advantage of what it was designed to do, and also when it is wise to outthink your camera or push your camera-to go for the gold, to create that indelible family memory that you will have blown up as large as the technology will allow, and that will hang on the wall forevermore.

As the storied LIFE photographer and photo editor John Loengard points out in his eloquent foreword to this volume, there are cameras and there are cameras, and they’ve always been able to do tricks. And then there is photography. Other guides may give you the one, two, three of producing a reasonably well exposed shot, but Joe McNally and the editors of LIFE can give you that, and then can show you how to make a picture. In a detailed, friendly, conversational, anecdotal, sometimes rollicking way, that’s what they do in these pages.

Prepare to click.

A great photograph has the potential to transcend verbal and written language. But how do you create these photographs? It’s not the how that’s important, but the who and the what. Who you are as a person has a direct impact on what you capture as a photographer.

Whether you are an amateur or professional, architect or acupuncturist, physician or photographer, this guide provides inspiration, simple techniques, and assignments to boost your creative process and improve your digital images using natural light without additional gear.

Chris Orwig’s insights—to reduce and simplify, participate rather than critique, and capture a story—have made him an immensely popular workshop speaker and faculty member at the prestigious Brooks Institute. His engaging stories presented as lessons follow his classroom approach and highlight what students say is his contagious passion for life.

In this accessible and beautifully illustrated four-color guide you will:

• Discover visual poetry in the creative process
• Use less to say more with your subject matter
• Learn to see light, color, shape, and expression
• Understand what gear is essential
• Create compelling portraits
• Make lasting memories of your family and kids
• Capture the outdoors and adventure
• Begin the transition from amateur to professional

Chris also includes exclusive interviews with such photographers as: Steve McCurry, Chris Rainier, John Sexton, Rodney Smith, Joyce Tenneson, John Paul Caponigro, Marc Riboud, and Pete Turner.

Share your work with the author and other readers at www.flickr.com/groups/visual-poet and visit the Web site: www.visual-poet.com.

History and Practice of the Art of Photography is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Henry Hunt Snelling is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of Henry Hunt Snelling then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection.

This title is fully illustrated in color with examples of great and not-so-great photographs. It offers new tips on the latest digital techniques: noise reduction and sharpening to minimize image degradation; adjustment layers and layer masks; and use of the flash outdoors.It also offers expanded coverage of recent features in Photoshop including the Spot Healing Brush, Image Processor, High Dynamic Range (HDR), and Lens Correction menu. The title presents a description of the latest equipment options such as sensor cleaning tools and the Lensbaby option for selective focus and artistic blurs elsewhere.A long-time mountaineer and wilderness traveler, Jim Martin is uniquely suited to show us how to make the most of digital photography’s advantages for outdoor photography. In this expanded second edition, Martin gives us the latest in technique and equipment innovations while still sticking to the basics: how a digital camera works, special considerations for use and maintenance in the field, and selecting the best equipment and most useful accessories for capturing outdoor action and storing images safely.Martin presents the new rules of digital photography (why overexpose?) and reminds us of old rules that still apply (light and good composition remain key). He covers the fundamentals of digital editing, including selecting software tools, applying filters, creating the illusion of movement, and stitching photos together to create panoramas.

About this Digital Photography Book:

This book is perfect for the novice photographer as well as the professional. It offers up practical advice on everything from taking portraits of friends and family to shooting the perfect sports photo. You’ll learn how to shoot landscapes that will take away your breath and so much more!

We give you over 25 tips on how to set up the perfect portrait, 17 tricks for shooting beautiful landscapes, and 32 pieces of advice on making your pictures pop with life. Nowhere else will you find so much information in just one place!

There are many places you can go to for advice on taking great pictures. You can ask family or friends, read several books, buy a bunch of magazines, or surf the Internet. Why would you want to waste your time when I’ve got everything you need right here.

It’s a Comprehensive How-To Guide!

Are you wondering just what we can offer you in this book? Look at some of what’s inside the pages:

* Finding the right digital camera for you
* Suggestions for your experience level
* Staying away from scams and shoddy product
* The rules of composition in photographs
* Savings your pictures in the right file format
* Using imaging software to make your photos perfect
* What goes into choosing the right photo printer
* And more!

In the digital age, pictures are no longer a question of whether or not we can get the right shot. Almost all digital cameras today come with LCD screens that allow you to view the pictures and delete them if they aren’t what you wanted. Plus, if your pictures come out with excessive background images and distortions, you can use software on your computer to correct anything that’s wrong.

My own mother has finally come into the digital age of photography. Being a baby boomer, she resisted cell phones, then computers, and then digital cameras. But now that she’s exposed herself to these new tools, she’s so glad she did.

When I found this book, she was eager to see what it had to say. And here’s what SHE had to say:

“I didn’t realize that I could actually take better pictures with a digital camera. I figured that what I saw on the screen was what I was stuck with. After seeing the information in this book, I realized that with a few key- strokes, I could make my pictures so much better!”

What’s even better is that you can take your pictures and have a little fun with them. Pose your family in an old-fashioned pose then make the picture itself look like it’s antique! Add some fun borders or some text to your photos so you can always know when and where the pictures were taken.

Within the Frame is a book about finding and expressing your photographic vision, specifically where people, places, and cultures are concerned. A personal book full of real-world wisdom and incredible images, author David duChemin (of pixelatedimage.com) shows you both the how and the why of finding, chasing, and expressing your vision with a camera to your eye. Vision leads to passion, and passion is a cornerstone of great photography. With it, photographs draw the eye in and create an emotional experience. Without it, a photograph is often not worth—and can’t capture—a viewer’s attention.

Both instructional and inspirational, Within the Frame helps you on your photographic journey to make better images of the places and people you love, whether they are around the world or in your own backyard. duChemin covers how to tell stories, and the technology and tools we have at our disposal in order to tell those narratives. Most importantly, he stresses the crucial theme of vision when it comes to photographing people, places, and cultures—and he helps you cultivate and find your own vision, and then fit it within the frame.

Nylon Girls are revealed to you through the camera of Christine Kessler. She takes you on an erotic journey in the company of a harem of stunning beauties. Nylon Girls exposes the intimate secrets of these most sensual starlets. Erotic and daring, with a pinch of fetishism, for extra spice. A dish to be savoured over and over.

Take great pictures of people–beyond portraits, photos that capture a moment
* Bryan Peterson’s books have sold more than 200,000 copies
* Specific enough for beginners, insightful enough for professionals
* Wonderful book for scrapbookers, parents, teachers

Great portraits go beyond a mere record of a face. They reveal one of the millions of intimate human moments that make up a life. In Beyond Portraiture, renowned photographer Bryan Peterson shows how to spot those “ah-ha!” moments and capture them forever. A teary child…old people laughing together…a smiling girl with big, big hair. Everyone remember pictures like these, usually taken by a mother, a father, a friend holding a camera, forever preserving small yet revealing vignettes of our personal histories. But we always relied on pure luck and chance to catch those moments. Peterson’s approach explains what makes a photo memorable, how to spot the universal themes that everyone can identify with, and how to use lighting, setting, and exposure to reveal the wonder and the joy of everyday moments. Beyond Portraiture makes it easy to create indelible memories with light and shadow.

While digital technology has made acceptable photos easy to achieve, this book is about taking exceptional photos that preserve the essence of childhood.You?ll learn to trust your instincts and your own unique vision and discover how to create beautiful photographs in a variety of lighting situations, all while sharpening your observation skills and learning how to involve your subjects. Plus, insightful tips on understanding what equipment is right for you will help you get great results when working with any age group.

Ansel Adams (1902-1984) was a pioneer of landscape photography, whose imagery-especially his iconic views of the American National Parks–is widely published and instantly recognizable. While he is undoubtedly one of the best-loved and best-known visionaries of American art, photographers also recognize him as a pioneer of technique, a theoretician, and as one of the great teachers of the craft of photography.

His zone system has been widely adapted, but Adams unique imagery also relied on his determination and application at every stage of the photographic process; he spent years in his darkroom, as well as out in the open air. For decades, this kind of attention to detail required the kind of equipment, time, and facilities that were out of the reach of most photographers–but now, in the digital age, technology has finally made his techniques accessible.

This book will show you what can be learned from Adams working process, and how these lessons can be applied today. The craft of Adams photography is discussed, and the ZONE SYSTEM is related to the digital age. Sections on light, composition, mood, and the darkroom all show what can be achieved today using and understanding his thinking. Michael Frye’s own photography provides many stunning examples of the results that can be achieved and, as one of Adams’ natural successors in the field, he is well placed to analyze the inspirational shots which open each chapter.

* Demystifies the art behind the iconic shots * Contains a number of breathtaking works by Ansel Adams and other landscape masters such as Edward Weston and Elliot Porter * Written by one of the most reputable fine landscape photographers, who (like Ansel Adams) uses Yosemite National Park most frequently as his subject * Breaks the zone systems (famous to Adams) down in a way that digital photographers can use