Photography "How To" Book with Assignments

[keith_bogut]

<p>Does anyone know of a ‘photography course’ type book that explains a concept, then give you a photo assignment that develops your skill at emphasizing that particular concept?</p>

[simon_hickie1]

<p>I have an old John Hedgecoe book which did that kind of thing - based around film though.</p>

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>Depends a bit on what kind of concepts you are looking for; a book as <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-Photographs-Digital-Updated/dp/0817463003">Understanding Exposure</a> (Bryan Peterson) does give very practical real-world examples, and describes importance of the key variables in exposure - with enough emphasis on normal day use. Not assignments as such, but ideas on which you can fairly easy base your own assignment.<br>

If it's more about style/choice of subject/composition etc, it's more complicated as it's not as well defined as technique; <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Learning-See-Creatively-Composition-Photography/dp/0817441816/ref=pd_sim_b_3">Learning to see creatively</a> (same Bryan Peterson) comes to mind, but it might not work for everyone (it didn't for me; nice ideas and concepts, but too little background theory). For this, I did get a lot from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Photographers-Eye-Composition-Digital/dp/0240809343/ref=pd_sim_b_1">The Photographer's Eye</a> (Michael Freeman), but I don't think that book really gives assignments. It did, however, give me a lot of drive to go out and shoot :-)<br>

You might want to check with a college, if they have specific learning books with assignments - enough courses are set up that way after all. Or hopefully a teacher will jump in here.</p>

<p>Another thing to consider here is that ideally somebody reviews your assignment work too, somebody who can give constructive feedback.</p>

[mrp-images]

<p>A suggestion and one that I have found to be not only interesting but also a real social experience, is join a local photography club, they typically have seminars, photo shoots with models, contests etc. Not only do you get to hone your skills, you also get to enjoy the company of fellow enthusiasts.</p>

[J.W. Wall]

<p>"Light, Science and Magic" is an excellent book. <br>

You might check into photography courses at your local community college. Also, call and ask what book(s) they use. </p>

[dave_wilson1]

Search out some of the Leon Kennamer stuff, you can learn SO much from it. There was a book back in the late 80s with

four photographers in it with their styles and lessons, two in that book were Leon on subtractive lighting and Monte Zucker

on portraits. Fantastic material if you can find it.

[rick_jones5]

<p>Back in the late 70's Peterson's Photographic came out with a series of how to books/magazines. One that relates to your inquiry was "Photographic Self-Assignments - A complete Course in the Art of Photography - How to See Photographically - Creativity". There were 30 assignments. As stated in the foreword - each chapter deals with a particular aspect of (analogue) photography. The subject is first discussed in detail and then an assignment is given which, if carried out, will advance your skills in that particular area of photography. Much would relate to digital as well. Author - Ben Helprin</p>

[mark_pierlot]

<p>Tom Ang's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Photography-Masterclass-Tom-Ang/dp/0756636728"><em>Digital Photography Masterclass</em> </a>has been recommended to me, but although I bought my brother a copy awhile back, I haven't read it myself yet.</p>

<p>It's just the kind of book you're looking for. As a reviewer says, "Tom Ang gives you an assignment after each chapter, which gives you a chance to do it yourself. The assignment always has to do with some lesson from the chapter."</p>

[david_stanton1]

<p>There is a very old book, Photo Vision by Bethers which has assignments and examples. Photo School by Michael Freeman has assignments to reinforce the lessons in the book. Photo Idea Index by Jim Krause is a great source for ideas. Two Kodak publications with text giving techniques and ideas are "Joy of Photography" and "More Joy of Photography." Freeman Patterson has a series of books with ideas, primarily based on nature photography. Most of these books, if not all of them, were written with film in mind, prior to digital, but the principles are the same.</p>

[rose_wooster]

<p>www.ed2go.com offers various photography classes online for $79 (6 weeks-12 lessons) through participating HISD sites. They offer terrific, immediate feedback, many resources, assignments, and you can save lessons on your computer. Rose</p>

[bob_ogden]

<p>See if you can find a copy of Aaron Sussman's <em><strong>The Amateur Photographer's Handbook</strong></em>.<br>

It's not a "Do this and the result will be" kind of book. There's a lot of basic principles of photography and solid technical information. The kind you truly learn from. Once again, it's pre-digital, but what's film but another type of sensor? It's all about capturing light and shadow.<br>

It's out of print, but good copies can be found on Amazon or ebay.</p>