Not what I expected. It just gave ways to EDIT your photos in Photoshop instead of ways to improve HOW you take the photo. It wasn't what I expected. ( )

As I've mentioned before, photography is one of my life long hobbies. It's an art form I picked up from my grandmother, who long before I knew her, had her own dark room. The technology of recording photographs has evolved through a variety of different media, now to digital. A combination of digital bringing down the price of technology and being an adult with access to more money has finally given me the chance to explore some of the types of photography I've wanted to do since childhood.

But it's only been two years since I've seriously started to pursue digital photography as an art form more so than a I hobby and I still feel like a newbie. So I've been reading up on the subject when I can, mostly through my local public library.

A recent book that caught my eye was The Complete Guide to Digital Photography (2nd edition) by Michael Freeman. It's sort of an encyclopedia of all things digital photography (for better or worse). For someone starting out from scratch with a camera, looking to buy some equipment and software, it's a good start. For someone who has already started and has learned a thing or two, the book is more hit or miss.

For my needs and background, I found the first third of the book, namely, the discussion on different types of digital cameras and their pros and cons, the most useful. Before reading the book, I had already settled on a 3/4 micro digital camera. Freeman's book covers the development of this camera type and the technologic compromises made to make it affordable, lightweight but still capable of using different lenses.

The final third which covers post production wasn't my cup of tea, mostly because I have more experience with the post production side of photography than the I do with the fancy equipment side of the equation. Also, I've recently moved away from doing a lot of the Photoshop specific stuff, preferring instead to try to get closer to what I want at the camera end. ( )

Everything you need to know about digital photography.