Book: Digital Photography: an Introduction
Author: Tom Ang
Wait a minute. This is a knitting blog… why am I reviewing a photography book? If you’re a self-publishing designer, then the process of ‘design’ includes a lot more than just writing a pattern and knitting/crocheting the sample. You’re also in charge of marketing (which, for online sellers includes lots of web coding), formatting your pattern and photography (some designers hire professional photographers… but that’s just not in my budget!). So, if you want to self-publish, you may find yourself needing to know a thing or two about photography. Hence, the book review!
I’m a point-and-click kind of girl… maybe one day I’ll get a really fancy camera, but (like hiring a professional photographer) it’s not in my budget. Many books on digital photography are completely over my head… they’re full of details about focal length, selecting different lenses, etc. that just don’t apply to point-and-shoot cameras. Ang’s book has loads of information that is relevant, no matter what your equipment is.
He focuses on not only details about using your camera to create a shot, but also artistic elements that create great photographs. Topics such as picture composition, close-ups and color composition are a few that will be of interest to designers. Additionally, a full chapter is dedicated to ‘image manipulation’, or Photoshop-ing. The entire book is full of great examples (the book is published by DK Publishing… you may be familiar with their fabulous photograph-filled travel guides), and is quite inspiring.
Clearly, when your subject is knitwear, some aspects of photography are more important than others. In subsequent blog posts, I will write more specific photography tips that help me take pictures of my designs. In the meantime, grab yourself this great intro book, and start reading. After all, your designs won’t garner much interest if no one can see how beautiful they are!
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