Product Description

Clear, direct and guaranteed, the perfect exposure method looks at the way professionals work, and lays out the decisions and sequences with absolute clarity, while incorporating the latest, powerful post-processing techniques. Chosing the exposure for a photograph is infinitely complex and one of photography's most absorbing paradoxes because it affects everything in the image and its effect on the viewer. Understanding how and why exposure works is essential, not only because it helps you to decide what is instinctively "right," but this book will give you confidence in that decision--an invaluable skill for every single photographer. Full of beautiful photographs taken by Michael Freeman, this book will arm you with the tools you need for perfect exposure of your photographs.

* Written by world-renowned expert photographer and author Michael Freeman
* Ground-breaking exposure system for digital age photography
* Uses clear examples from real photo assignments with in-depth explanations
* Foolproof flow charts enable quick and easy comprehension

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9314 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780240811710
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From the Back Cover

Exposure is the deceptively simple concept at the very heart of photography. It has always been a subject of fascination to aspiring amateurs and professional photographers alike. Recent developments in digital technology have transformed the ways in which exposures can be manipulated, and this in turn has forced photographers to think about what they can achieve by understanding the variables of aperture, ISO and time.

In this book Michael Freeman takes you through this difficult and fast-moving area with a lucid and accessible method, using unique workflow illustrations, histograms, and clear, visual examples to explore the subtleties of the subject and enable you to shoot with confidence.

The attention to detail is given an extra angle via a Web-linked^TM internet address that allows you to see subtle details discussed in the book using the full clarity of your computer screen.

About the Author
Michael Freeman is a renowned international photographer and writer who specializes in travel, architecture, and Asian art. He is particularly well known for his expertise in special effects. He has been a leading photographer for the Smithsonian magazine for many years, and has worked for Time-Life Books and Reader's Digest. Michael is the author of more than 20 photographic books, including the hugely successful Complete Guide to Digital Photography and The Photographer's Eye.

Customer Reviews

First Intelligent Writing on Exposure in a Long Time
Freeman is one of the busiest and most versatile photographers going. He is constantly travelling the world from one assignment to the next and seems to be working simultaneously on the assignment de la semaine and on more than one book at at time: the next instructional book and probably a portfolio/thematic picture book. Either he has an outstanding team back in UK, or he is blessed with extraordinary energy. Maybe he has so much book writing time because of all the time he is in the air....

This is the most intelligent, systematic writing on photographic exposure I know of since the first two issues of Peterson's Photographic magazine in the late 1970s, when it started either as a bimonthly or a quarterly - I forget which. Those two issues carried long, detailed articles on the correct uses of reflective and incident meters in light, shade, and with gray cards. Nothing since has been as comprehensive and useful, until this book.

Freeman uses the capabilities of digital equipment as an integral part of his argument. The core of the book is his breaking the population of exposure situations into twelve categories - three groups with several types - that are easy to recognize in real shooting situations. The crux of this categorization is the histogram. He specifies what the specific characteristics are of each situation and what the most likely manipulations are that help a shooter evaluate and improve an image. I think his use of a "tonal matrix" is particularly interesting and has the potential to be useful, too, with color distribution to understand the abstract structure of an image. This section alone makes the book worth buying.

None of the other books on exposure currently in print is anywhere near so systematic. They tend to be aimed at beginning photographers and are generally presentations of pretty pictures and how the author/photographer used exposure for that image. The arrangement is generally of over/underexposing, movement, night shooting, and such topics.

I do have some concerns and wishes, though. There are a few instances where I could not quite see or understand the point of a set of illustrations and the captions. Too, I wish he would have spent a few more pages looking at exposure and specific hues/colors.

But the numbers of such instances are so few as not to threaten my judgment of the value of this book to any photographer of moderate to high sophistication. This will be a fine addition to his "Photographer's Eye" and "Color" as longstanding references. His approach is an obvious teaching method that I suspect will be taken up soon in many a class and workshop.

Superb coverage of a core photographic principle
Nothing is more fundamental to the photographic process than the concept of exposure -- the delivery of a certain quantity of light to a sensitive medium to record an image. And while there are an infinite number of factors that influence a "proper" exposure, there are still only three physical elements that control the actual dosage of a single frame...aperture, shutter speed, and film/sensor sensitivity.

"Proper" exposure, of course, is a value judgment based on the limits of the equipment, the photographer's intentions, and final use of the resulting image. Technology has a big impact in this process since varying types of recording media behave very differently with regard to color rendition, dynamic range, and other significant factors. In addition, digital post-processing now impacts exposure as well, due partly to the manner in which digital sensors record light, and the fact that some data can be adjusted (within limits) even after the original exposure is made. There is a considerable amount of information to sort through on the way to a thorough understanding of all the considerations in the decision-making process of arriving at a "perfect exposure," some of which is very technical but crucial to the process.

So, is this book a good learning tool? Yes; the best I've seen. The author, Michael Freeman, is among the most prolific writers in the photo-book industry, and possesses a style that is exceptionally lucid, accurate, thorough, and engaging. In this guide he takes on a daunting topic and delivers a gem -- a reference that belongs on every serious photographer's shelf. For those who now only understand "exposure" to be setting their camera to "P" or the "green rectangle," this will be a real eye-opener. In a nutshell, the concept of "perfect exposure" is at the very core of the technical side of the photographic process, and developing a deep understanding of it is crucial to becoming a truly competent photographer.

What makes this book stand out? Elegance of style, organization, content, and supporting illustrations. Starting with a basic decision flow, the author carefully explains the steps and the technical terms, always placing them in the context of a day-to-day professional shooting environment. He then expands the flow discussion while elaborating on additional factors right on through to describing 12 types of exposure situations that cover the vast majority of lighting circumstances with recommendations for determining the proper exposure for each. The descriptive text is excellent, the supporting illustrations superb, and all of it is wrapped up in a beautiful, high-quality imprint.

Don't expect this handsome reference to be a quick read; you'll need to really study the material to convert it to useful personal knowledge, but the exercise will be eminently worthwhile.

Very valuable information from someone with real experience
Just so that you people out there know where I'm coming from - I have made
a vow never to buy another Scott Kelby book.

Michale Freeman's style is totally different. No nonsense,fact packed, good detailed samples that convey the concepts etc. I have just had time to have a quick read but I can already see that this is a book I'll keep as a reference and get back to on a regular basis

I also own a copy of "The photographer's eye" by the same author.

Judging by these two titles I'm almost tempted to make a vow to buy every
title that this author publishes!!