The title alone of this book from Focal Press’ Essential Skills series makes me hopeful for the fate of my photography. To me, shooting in available light means getting some great candid shots at events, the occasional unplanned portrait, and a few environmental shots that are stunning without big lighting setups or major corrections later—tasks that are quite difficult for many beginning photographers. It turns out that my idea of the topic was a bit different than the Mark Galer’s, but I learned a huge amount of valuable photography tips all the same in an easy-to-read, activity-filled format.

Overall, I was immediately taken by the sheer number of inspiring photographs from various photographers that appear throughout this book, including author Mark Galer. How-to books usually tend to go with a single writer/designer/photographer’s view on a topic, and here it’s fulfilling to get more perspectives.

The book began with the obligatory first chapter on cameras: wouldn’t be a photography book without it! Many photographers already devoted to their camera of choice could, and probably would, skip this chapter, but there are actually some great, honest tips here about specific models and how well (or badly) they work. The next section on asset management works similarly. It’s a topic on which many folks are set in their ways, but you can still learn quite a lot about managing your RAW files and creating an efficient workflow with Galer’s tips.

From here, much of the book (which is a very friendly, accessible read) is devoted to true photography essentials, from understanding exposure and histograms, to framing and the rule of thirds. And, if you’re not using RAW and Photoshop’s Camera Raw interface yet, you’ll learn why and how here, and be a forever changed photographer.

The second half of the book begins with a lengthy discussion on light: sources, contrast, filtration, color, and so on. Peppered throughout are handy activities, and ideas on what to shoot to better understand light and how your camera records it. You may have taken pictures in many of the proposed activity situations before, but not actually studied the results or how they can impact your future photographs. Even if some of the topics are not new to you, you’ll likely begin thinking about light much differently on your next shoot.

While reading, I started to realize that my idea of “digital photography in available light” is different from Galer’s. There are fantastic tips for using flash and other implements to improve the light of a given location, and walkthroughs using Photoshop (and Photoshop Elements) to improve the shots in post-production. All of this is very valuable, especially to serious beginning photographers, but I must admit I wanted a little more. I would have loved to know more about how to get great shots when you have no choice but to make do with the light you have, in addition to the information on adjusting the available light on-site and on-screen.

The book wraps up on an extremely inspiring note with an extensive section on specific shoot types: portraits, landscapes, photo essays, and more. Light, composition, and even emotion are also discussed, helping you create shots that are meaningful, not just technically good. Best of all, Galer offers more activity ideas for each shoot type, providing a great springboard to get you out and taking better shots right now.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 11th, 2007 at 2:28 pm and is filed under Book Reviews, Photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.