A Short Course in A Short Course in Nikon D50 Photography 147 pages, 8.5 x 11, b&w book, book and full-color eBook package at a special price, or eBook alone. For more info and to order online NEW 55 Animations explaining the core concepts of digital photography
INTRODUCING ANIMATIONS The eBook version of this book has 55 interactive animations that illustrate and explain the core concepts of digital photography. Integrated throughout the eBook, these animations help you understand your camera better, and they are also a lot of fun. To use the animations you need the eBook version of this book on a CD and an Internet connection.	TRY A FEW Click to explore the light path through an SLR like the D50. Click to see how full color images  are created from only three colors. Click to see how you lighten or darken  images using exposure compensation.

Introduction

New:a Short Courses digital photography book for people who own the Nikon D50 digital camera and want to get better pictures. This beautifully written and illustrated guide, drawing on the much more comprehensive information on the the ShortCourses website, pulls together answers to the questions you might have about using the 5D, including the following:

The book is designed to work with the Short Courses site. The book explains how to get better pictures but you'll find more on that subject on the site. In addition, there is lots of information on the site about what you can do with your pictures after you've taken them.

Contents

Preface

A great photograph begins when you recognize a great scene or subject. But recognizing a great opportunity isn’t enough to capture it; you also have to be prepared. A large part of being prepared involves understanding your camera well enough to capture what you see. Getting you prepared to see and capture great photographs is what this book is all about. It doesn’t matter if you are taking pictures for real-estate ads or self-expression, there’s a lot here to help you get better results and more satisfaction from your photography.

To get better, and possibly even great photographs, you need to understand both concepts and procedures; the "whys" and "hows" of photography.

• Concepts of photography are the underlying principles that apply regardless of the camera you are using. They include such things as how sharpness and exposure affect your images and the way they are perceived by viewers. Understanding concepts answers the "why" kinds of questions you might have about photography.

• Procedures are those things specific to one kind of camera, and explain step-by-step how you set your camera’s controls to capture an image just the way you want to. Understanding procedures gives you the answers to the "how" kinds of questions you might have.

This book is organized around the concepts of digital photography because that’s how photographers think. You think about scenes and subjects, highlights and shadows, softness and sharpness, color and tone. The procedures you use with the Canon EOS 5D camera are integrated throughout the concepts, appearing in those places where they apply. This integrated approach let’s you first understand the concepts of photography and then see step by step how to use the 5D in all kinds of photographic situations.

To get more effective, interesting, and creative photographs, you only need to understand how and when to use a few simple features on your camera such as focus, exposure controls, and flash. If you’ve previously avoided understanding these features and the profound impact they can have on your images, you’ll be pleased to know that you can learn them on a weekend afternoon. You can then spend the rest of your life marveling at how their infinite variety of combinations makes it possible to convey your own personal view of the world. You’ll be ready to keep everything in a scene sharp for maximum detail or to blur it all for an impressionistic portrayal. You’ll be able to get dramatic close-ups, freeze fast action, create wonderful panoramas, and capture the beauty and wonder of rainbows, sunsets, fireworks, and nighttime scenes.

As you explore your camera, be sure to have fun. There are no "rules" or "best" way to make a picture. Great photographs come from using what you know to experiment and try new approaches. Digital cameras make this especially easy because there are no film costs or delays. Every experiment is free and you see the results immediately so you can experiment step by step.

This book assumes you’ve mastered the mechanics of your camera. It’s about getting great pictures, not about installing batteries and connecting your camera to your computer. That information is well presented in the user guides that came with your camera, however it is summarized in the Appendix of this book.