A general reference to all aspects of photography for the beginner through to the intermediate photographer. Covering all the basic questions from explaining what the different types of camera are and how they work, to different techniques for shooting various subject matter, to darkroom methods and how to manipulate and print digital images. Designed to appeal to anyone who owns a camera, it is an attractive, comprehensive manual for all photographers and the perfect gift for anyone interested in photography.

2006-06-21 Good reference book, but already somewhat dated

My overall impression of "The Photography Bible" is quite positive.

There are three major sections in the book:
- Technical descriptions of cameras and other photographic equipment and how they work.
- How-to-do-it advice about how to take pictures and how to become a better photographer.
- Descriptions of specialized techniques that can be used in certain circumstances.

All three sections contain a wealth of interesting information, and the book is well-written and well-illustrated with sample pictures and technical drawings.

The first section (about equipment) is perhaps a bit too long. This emphasis on equipment might unfortunately encourage some people in their mistaken impression that to take better pictures all they need is more and better gear.

The second section about basic picture-taking principles is the most important part of the book. This part should be read with your camera in your hands so you can try things for yourself. In this way you will really learn the important lessons taught here.

The third section (specialized techniques) should just be scanned, as it is reference-style material and need not be learned all at once. You should then put the book on your shelf and take it down from time to time when you want to learn about a certain specialized technique.

The book ends with a 2-page history of photography, a 4-page glossary and a 3-page index.

The subtitle for "The Photography Bible" is "A Complete Guide for the 21st Century Photographer". Unfortunately, in spite of the book being published in 2004 it is already somewhat dated in two different ways.

In the introduction Daniel Lezano writes that film cameras are on their way out, and he compares the current situation with what happened to vinyl records (LPs - does anyone remember them?) after CDs hit the market. A very apt comparison.

Despite this, Mr. Lezano tries to give equal time in the book to both film cameras and digital cameras, and in my opinion this was a mistake. Quite a few pages are wasted on discussions of ordinary film cameras, specialized film cameras, darkrooms, color filters, infrared film and special processing techniques for film. I think the book would have been better if it had focused 100% on digital photography.

The other way in which the book is dated is simply due to the tremendous development of digital photography. Some of the things that Mr. Lezano says about digital photography was cutting-edge in 2003 but is already obsolete in 2006.

I did notice a few typographical and minor factual errors. Better proofreading should be done if/when an updated edition is produced.

Despite the above reservations I did really like this book and recommend it highly.

Rennie Petersen