A Few Of My Favorite Books

Things are a little slow in January, so I thought I would mention some of the books that helped me early-on in my photography career. When I was just starting out, I went through a period of about 3 months where I did nothing but read about photography.

While there are tons of great resources online, here are some of my favorite ‘technique’ books of the physical kind that you can curl up with and read before falling asleep. Sometimes, they’ll even help you fall asleep!

The New Manual of Photography
by John Hedgecoe
This book is a great way to learn a broad overview of photography, the terminology, techniques, and so forth. I found myself referring to it often in the early months.

The Essential Lighting Manual for Digital And Film Photographers
by Chris Weston
Another great book, this title focuses on the differences in natural and artificial lighting, the equipment, and how to make the most of it.

How To Photograph Your Baby
by Nick Kelsh
Even though this book was written in the ‘film days’, it’s still an excellent resource and idea book for baby/children photography. You’ll find plenty of picture ideas, and it highlights the differences between amateur shots and pro shots.

These are a few of my favorite books, and there are plenty of other high-quality resources out there! Photography as an art requires continual study, so pick up a book and discover some new tricks!

Eric Doggett is a photographer in Austin, Texas. He just relaunched his new site which includes tons of images and several behind-the-scenes videos. He also runs BoxOfficeBaby.com, a site where you can order custom birth/party announcement cards and posters – including some unique sports birth announcements.You can reach him at doggett (-at-) doggettstudios.com.