A Perfect book for people looking for colourful pictures. Ideal for amatures, and semi-pro. It has a great deal of information available, and rich in ideas for photographic techniques. Has various chapters dealing with different types of photography. Uses plain good comprehensive English. I highly recomend it to all Photography 'lovers'.

I recently made the switch to digital cameras from film cameras for many reasons. I found once I did that a large amount of the photography books out there were only applicable to traditional film cameras. Not so with this book. While there IS material in this book for traditional film photography the main focus of the book is how to take color pictures. The author divides the subject into separate sections which I have typed out below. Within each section are the related topics which contain detailed discussions for properly photographing the kind of subject matter the topic is concerned with. The book contains a nice introduction to the topic of color in the beginning and then moves into the subject matter discussions by topic. Each topic contains excellent color photographs that act as samples to both inspire and teach you how to take good color photographs. I REALLY liked this book. I highly recommend it to photographers of all levels.

Sections in this book: [1.] What is Color? (7 topics) 16pp. [2.] Working with Color (7 topics) 14 pp. [3.] Picture Composition (14 topics) 32 pp. [4.] Moods of Natural Light (18 topics) 38 pp. [5.] Using Artificial Light (4 topics) 8 pp. [6.] Subject Lighting (8 topics) 30 pp. [7.] Materials and Techniques (6 topics) 14 pp. [8.] Equipment and Darkroom (10 topics) 20 pp.

An excellent book on various types of subjects for colour photography. Almost every picture, from the sweeping landscape to the subtle close-up are of excellent quality. You get heaps of practical advice on how to make the most of colour in your photographs, and Hedgecoe takes you through the theory of colour and light, composition and technical information as well. The advice you get from this book not only takes your photography one, but several steps further. It boosts your creative thinking, gives you a lot of valuable information, and inspires you to go right out and take those great photos! Top marks!

Probably one of the best books I own. Very informative and detailed. Well illustrated. Teaches you what to look for in a picture. Gives you an idea of what you are trying to capture and how. If you are looking for a "how-to" book, then this is one of the best. Definitely a must have.

John Hedgecoe has provided many photographers (including me) with uncountable reference books on learning photography for many years. In fact, considering I had his volume on Basic Photography almost 25 years ago, he's a premier contributor to photographic education. "Photographing the Nude" continues his excellent and very in-depth style of covering a subject. As an idea and posing guide alone it's well worth the (very affordable) price. The only small criticism is that he has pulled the images from those same 25 years I've been following him. Some are dated and have the stale, British "Page Three" look. Easy to overlook considering the value elsewhere!

All in color! Capture the sensuality of the human form--male and female, alone and in couples--in artistic photographs. With expert photographer and best-selling author John Hedgecoe as your guide, you can master this difficult subject. More than 300 photographs in both color and black-and-white fire the imagination and illustrate Hedgecoe's practical advice. Explore Finally!! There are many nude books out there, but very few of them actually "teach" you how to photograph "the Nude."

Hedgecoe, bestselling photography author of many books, discusses all aspects of shooting indoors, including posing a model, lighting, choosing film, and selecting props and accessories. He also discusses outdoor shots, but most Nudes are traditionally shot indoors. (Try to find a model willing to pose in the middle of Central Park!)

This book teachs and helps you create *your own* style using unusual viewpoints, reflections, soft-focus effects, texture, and more. Also discussed is the use of special effects (body painting), depth of field, and computer images.

This is a must have for the aspiring photographer.

If you have bought a nice SLR camera (Minolta, Nikon, Canon, etc.) in the high hopes of showing your creative side on film, this is the book for you.

As with any other art, your creative side is best expressed in photography if you know the basics of how to take photographs. Many people wrongly assume that they can take excellent pictures the moment they get their hands on an SLR.

This book gives a great 101 on the various terms and terminologies used in amateur photography. The best I like about the book are the amazing illustrations and crisp explanations.

The book is not too thick or too thin - it is just right.

If you are serious about learning photography, get this book.

This is a superb book for someone just learning photography. It's quick and accessible, and not overrun with unnecessary explanations and jargon. I learned more in an hour with this book than I had in the last two months trying to read other ones. Great graphics and photos demonstrating filter use, differences in aperature, etc.

John Hedgeoce's amazing eye has captured the essence of Henry Moore's work. It is so difficult to reduce the size and shape of such monumental work to paper but for those of us who do not own one we can share them on a daily basis by way of this superb work.

The book is great! It actually came surprisingly sooner than I expected. When I got it couldn't put it down, I stayed up all night reading. The illustration and explanations are wonderful. I would recommend this book to anyone that knows the basics and thirsts for more. Thank you and Check it out!

This is a scholarly book filled with history, technique, and current methods of producing the beautiful ceramic tiles, mosaics, and utilitarian items of Morrocco. To tell the truth, it would be worth having just for the photographs. From elaborate architectural installations to simple wares, the rich tradition of zillij is documented with artful photos. This book will enhance the library of any serious student of North African art or architecture. Eye candy with intellect.

I purchased this particular book to learn techniques...not how to catagorize my pictures under certain headings. Which is what this book is about;Mr.Hedgecoe's pictures are B U Tful but I wanted to know how he got there!He had the right headings but no content. I expected techniques and numbers not "you should do this, and not that".It was like he didn't want to give his secrets away.It has nice pics but definitley not a reference book.I hope I'm not 2 hard on him.

if you want to know everything about b/w....Buy this book! You will not be sorry you did!

if you want to know everything about b/w....Buy this book! You will not be sorry you did!

I think the problem with this book is that it is too broad. It covers virtually everything you can think of and a lot you probably didn't know existed. Unfortunately this wealth of knowledge is so diverse that it only covers the very surface of most topics. If you want to know what something is or get a very rough idea of how to do it, this book is helpfull, but it certainly won't improve your photography. It is quite elaborately illustrated and provides many black and white, and color examples. It needs to be updated as technology is advancing so rapidly. I would prefer much less information on tricks and special effects, and more practical information such as exposure tables for different films and conditions.

An excellent and comprehensive text introduceing many, many facets of photography. An excellent general guide, I highly reccomend it to anyone wanting a reference text- I have learned so much from this book. My only criticism is that I would like to see it updated, it was put out in '92, since then alot of new technology worth covering has come out.

Very usefull. In fact, this book is one of three that is always by my bed stand. First published quite a while back but the information is timeless. I go back to it time and time again. If you new to photography or and old hand at it you'll find great use of this book.

Is a valuable resource book when learning the art of photography. You can learn a great deal about technique. Is a good How to book. However, is a basic guide to photography, and if you have moved past the basics, would be useless to you.

The author did a good job in meeting the purpose of the book.
This book is for those who are looking for good photography
techniques and several other aspects which usually get ignored.
Covers several aspects of photography. This is not for beginners. At the same time this is not for professionals too. This is for those who have been photographing and want to add a professional touch to it.

It is a wonderful tool for beginners who would like to understand the basic concepts of photography as well as some advanced techniques..:o) There are a lot of pictures and graphics showing the differences of the right and wrong in each situation the book describes.

I am a beginner and really want to know more about what makes a good picture under various conditions. I felt this book fell short in explaining the technical details of aperture and shutter speed correlation. The section on lenses was very brief and general. Am I missing something about learning photography?

I am a beginner and wanted a book to explain what is involved in taking a good picture. I expected a technical manual to explain the corelation of shutter speed and aperture and good detail on lenses. This book seems to touch lightly on those and spends the rest of the time talking about great pictures rather than telling you how to do it. It is not a complete guide to using a SLR camera.

Simply put, this book provides a workbook-type approach to learning photography. Not only did it provide useful background, but each "skill" has a section of explanation for use by the practicing student.

When I get better I'll need more, but right now it will take me a year to complete and master these useful, focused and achievable projects.