The high-quality and beautiful, full-color images reproduced in this book are enough to make it a worthwhile purchase. Even more, though, the information about pattern, texture, form, and shape is helpful to both beginning and experienced photographers, as are the excellent examples of compositional elements; technical tips; and practical ideas relating to portrait, nature, architecture, animal, and other types of photography. Hedgecoe gives advice on lighting, camera settings, and film possibilities, and shows the final products. "Professional Tips" highlighted in each section give suggestions for troubleshooting and for enhancing already good situations. A chapter on image manipulation that illustrates some of the latest digital work being done in photography today is included. A volume that will help students develop or fine-tune their techniques.?Julia Hoffmann, R.E. Lee High School, Springfield, VA
Generously illustrated with color and black-and-white photographs, this large-format book provides a broad overview of photography for amateurs and professionals alike. Beginning with a review of the camera itself and ending with a discussion on studio and darkroom equipment, this book is laden with good, practical advice for taking better portraits, still lifes, and landscapes. The text also includes sections on architectural and nature photography along with an entire chapter on image manipulation. Like Hedgecoe's other books (e.g., John Hedgecoe's Landscape Photography, LJ 7/94), his new book is very accessible, largely because of the clear writing style and excellent illustrations. The book may either be read from cover to cover or consulted as a reference work. An interesting and useful resource that should be considered a standard in public and academic libraries; highly recommended.