In our section of literary recommendations I bring you today an essential, José María Mellado is one of the references of our country in photography and teaching, his books are always a safe bet, the fundamentals of photography were not going to be less.
In this article I tell you its contents, for who it is and why I recommend it, so that you decide if this will be one of the next books that occupy your photographic shelf.
- Anyone who wants to learn photography.
- If you have ever flirted with photography and want to learn and improve.
- Here’s your book.
- If you need to improve your photos.
- Both in terms of execution and development.
- Here you will find the answers.
?Your thing is not to edit. If you think that editing and development programs like Lightroom or Photoshop are loaded by the devil and that the photo has to leave the camera already finished, this is not your book, you will be disappointed because much of this book is dedicated to this topic.
I don’t think it’s for you if you start from scratch, if this is the first thing you read about photography you might be overwhelmed by so much information, or I recommend the desire and motivation to learn, or it can be a little difficult.
Personally, I would recommend starting with something lighter (like this one) and if you later feel like continuing to progress in the art of photography and devote time and effort to it, start with The Fundamentals of Photography.
It is a book conceived as a step-by-step guide and consists of eight chapters, in addition to the introduction and an alphabetical index as a closing point. Let’s see one by one.
After a brief introduction, you will find a first chapter in which the author proposes the basics to begin to understand the concepts, talks about image formats (RAW, JPEG, etc. ), color space, sensor characteristics (size, noise, tremor ) and lenses. As for optics, check the types of lenses (zoom and fixed) and then focus on aspects such as bokeh, depth of field, hyperfocal, sweet spot, etc.
Choosing a camera is an overwhelming task, as there are as many options on the market as there are types of photographers, and it is important to find the most suitable for everyone at all times, Mellado presents this chapter with an analysis of the different options: mobile phone cameras, compact cameras, mirrorless cameras or SLR cameras.
In a second section, it stops to review basic questions about camera settings and settings.
Complete the chapter with exposure: exposure triangle, exposure modes, histogram, and measurement modes.
In this third chapter, José María Mellado enters the visual language, because a photograph goes beyond exposure or the correct approach. To seduce the viewer, move him and evoke memories, we must know the keys of this unspoken language.
After a brief initial reflection, the author explains some basic principles regarding composition (perspective, focal, format types, space, interest, etc. ) and then tell how to enhance them all with image processing.
We’re getting into another kind of problem. Specifically the laboratory, we take the analog photographs (and keep taking them) to the lab to reveal them, with digital photography the journey is the other way around and it is the laboratory that goes home, but of course, it has to be put together. and work it yourself ?. In this chapter you will find the keys, eye, do not worry that to get started you do not need all the recommended equipment, over time you will see what you need. Now, if you want to become a pro, this is a good place to start.
Computer settings, monitors, color management, file organization, or workspace are just a few of the topics covered.
With the lab ready, we can start developing. In this chapter, you’ll learn how to get the most out of your photos.
Start by syncing Camera RAW, Lightroom, and Photoshop to continue working files, workflow, and basic development. The following pages are about local settings (tone curve, filters, thumbnails, etc. ). It concludes with a presentation of other tools (detachment, noise reduction, etc. ) and a case study.
Sometimes development is not enough and the image requires special processing, area treatment and 3D light. This is what Mellado explains step by step in this nearly 90-page chapter.
A complete chapter focused on techniques dedicated to solving certain problems, such as excessive contrast between light and shadow, fusion and distortion and image repair. Step by step in about 40 pages.
The last chapter is also the last step in processing an image. It doesn’t matter if it’s for screen printing, printing or paper-revealing. Does the author tell you what tasks are necessary to make your photograph perfect, ready to go out into the world?.
With more than 200,000 followers on social media, he is the most successful Spanish photography author with his bestseller “High Quality Photography”.
His artistic work is collected in four books: “Silence and Light”, “Iceland”, “Landscape”. The eternal return? and “From heaven to earth”. He has been awarded more than a hundred times and his works are in important collections and museums, among them: Reina Sofca National Museum, Borusan Contemporary Museum of Istanbul, Chazen Museum of Art (Wisconsin-USA), Collection of Contemporary Art of the Community of Madrid, Artium (Basque Museum of Contemporary Art), Santander Museum of Fine Arts, etc.
He has regularly participated in the most important international art fairs such as ArtBasel, Art Brussels, Art Cologne, Art Karlsruhe, Photo Miami, Pulse, SCOPE, ArteLisboa or ARCO. It is currently represented by galleries in Germany, Belgium, Turkey, Switzerland, Panama and France.
The fundamentals of photography have many advantages. It is a very complete and well written work, the experience of Mellado as a photographer and as a communicator is a guarantee that can be breathed at all times.
It’s a book full of colorful examples. Each explanation is accompanied by examples of images, all steps are illustrated with screenshots, graphics and other examples.
In the book you’ll find tasks that will help you practice and consolidate the concepts you’re learning. It also offers the possibility to follow the steps with the same photos of the book, since these are available for download.
Well, it’s not exactly a paperback, it’s not to read at the same time, or to make the subway ride a more entertaining moment.
It’s one thing to be written in a pleasant way and another to be a nice book for long summer afternoons. If you’re looking for something like that, isn’t it time to read this book?
The only thing we can put aside is that these are books that need to be updated over time because Lightroom and Photoshop are up to date and their manuals are, logically, late, this is already an update that you wrote years ago. Will it happen to you with this and any other book that will tell you about a computer program ?.
In this video, José María Mellado, in addition to giving a master class, presents and his other book that we review in his time, and that completes this, entitled My best techniques and tips:
It’s definitely a manual that should be on the bookshelf of any photographer who decides to really delve into this art. A complete and entertaining work (with quite a few touches of humor), full of images, examples and screenshots so you can follow in the step of explanations. step by step, as well as tasks to consolidate knowledge and put them into practice.
Do I also recommend it to make a good gift, or to make a good gift ?
Can you tell us what you think?
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