Shot Doctor,The: The Amateur's Guide to Taking Great Digital Photos

The Shot Doctor is a new kind of digital photography book that focuses on the “how-to” and less on the “how it works” or the technology behind the camera. This book is designed to be small enough to fit in your back pocket or in a camera bag. It is aimed at everyday parents, students, sporting enthusiasts, and average joes who just want to take decent pictures at their kids’ soccer games and dance recitals and who don’t aspire to make digital photography a hobby.   • Easy-to-follow when-why-how “recipes” help you set your camera to get great shots right away • Beautiful full-color interior • Step-by-step instructions for conquering everyday photography challenges, including sporting events, school recitals and performances, vacations, babies, children, and special events • Simple explanations of camera controls help you understand when to use them, why they work, and how to use them • Compact, stays-open design means you can carry it everywhere and refer to it while you’re taking pictures • Visual before and after examples of common photography problems help you choose the right solution for your photography challenges   Mark Edward Soper has been using adjustable cameras since 1971 and digital cameras since 2000, for a total of more than 37 years as an enthusiastic and serious amateur photographer. Mr. Soper’s when-why-how approach to photography, which combines picture-based methods (take a picture, change settings, see how the picture improves), has been tested through years of teaching photography as well as by the hundreds of photographs he has taken for many of his books. Mark is the author of Easy Digital Cameras and Unleashing Windows Vista Media Center, as well as books on corporate and home networking, PC upgrades, home automation, and PC troubleshooting.     Category: Digital Photography Covers: Digital Cameras User Level: Beginner-Intermediate  

Table of Contents:
Part I Solutions to Common Photo Problems Chapter 1 Quick Reference to Common Photo Problems Part II Easy Camera Settings and Their Limitations Chapter 2 Quick Tour of Typical Digital Cameras Nikon Coolpix L3 Canon PowerShot A580 Kodak ZD8612 Canon Digital Rebel XTi/EOS 400D Chapter 3 Top Ten Problem Photo Situations—and How to Get Better Photos Snow/Beach/Water Graduation Birthday Candles Sparklers and Celebrations Concerts and Stage Shows Children at Play and in Groups Sidelighting and Backlighting Wedding Day New Baby Sports Part III Recipes for Better Digital Photos Chapter 4 What You Can (and Cannot) Do in Auto Mode Selecting Auto Mode What Auto Mode Does When Auto Mode Shines When Auto Mode Has Problems Evaluating Your Photos Going Beyond Auto Mode Chapter 5 Using Scenes Understanding Scenes     Types of Scene Settings How to Use Scenes Sunrise, Sunset Night Snow Interiors Other Scene Modes What Scenes Can’t Do Part IV Recipes for Better Digital Photos Chapter 6 Recipes for Better Indoor and Night Pictures Why You Need This Chapter Choosing the Right ISO Choosing the Right White Balance Using Electronic Flash     Too-Dark Flash Photos     Too-Light Flash Photos     Off-Color Flash Photos Available Light at Home     Birthday Candles     Group Activities Without Flash     Group Activities with Flash     Playtime Window Light at Home     Dealing with “Spotlight” Effect from Direct Sun, Dark Background     Dealing with Backlit Subjects Indoor Sporting Events     Prefocus on Where Your Subject Will Be Instead of Trying to Track Them     Use Panning If You Can’t Use a Really Fast Shutter Speed     If You Have an Add-on Flash, Put It to Work     Choose the Right Autofocus Method to Track a Moving Subject Night Sporting Events     Look For Shots that Capture the Mood if You Can’t Capture the Action     Prefocus on the Playmaker     Use Manual Focus if Your Camera Supports It Churches and Museums Concerts and Performances Fireworks Portraits Campfires Pets Mixed Lighting Chapter 7 Recipes for Better Daytime Pictures Why You Need This Chapter Choosing the Right Aperture     Portraits     Landscapes Choosing the Right ISO     When to Use a Higher (Faster) ISO     When to Use a Lower (Slower) ISO Choosing the Right White Balance Choosing the Right Shutter Speed Landscapes     Directional Lighting Buildings and Architecture     Why Details Matter     Shooting From the Inside to Capture Special Details Children     Get Closer…and Use the Right Framing     How to Unclutter the Background Shooting at Dawn and Dusk     Sunrise, Sunset     Buildings at Dusk Better People Photos     Avoid Overhead Lighting     Backlight Is Flattering, But Watch the Exposure     Distracting Background? Blur It Away Action Air-Land-Water     Using Smoke     Using Panning Vacations     A New Take on Disney World     At the Zoo Chapter 8 Recipes for Better Event Pictures Weddings     Before the Wedding     Shooting the Ceremony     Shooting the Reception Holidays, Showers, and Birthdays New Baby in Town Baptisms and Christenings Reunions and Meetings     Restaurants and Dining Chapter 9 Introduction to Creative Control Modes Why You Need This Chapter Benefits of Creative Control Modes     Better Colors in Any Light     Just-Right Exposures in Tricky Lighting     Control What’s in Focus     Control How Action Is Captured     Control How Photos Are Stored Using Program Mode     When to Use Program Mode—and Why     How Program Mode Works     How to Use Program Mode     Program Mode Photos Using Shutter Priority Mode     When to Use Shutter Priority Mode—and Why     How to Use Shutter Priority Mode     Shutter Priority Mode Photos Using Aperture Priority Mode     When to Use Aperture Priority Mode—and Why     How to Use Aperture Priority Mode     Aperture Priority Mode Photos Using Manual Mode     When to Use Manual Mode—and Why     How to Use Manual Mode     Manual Mode Photos Viewing Photos     Photo Viewing Modes     Why Use Different Viewing Modes?     Using Standard Viewing Mode     Viewing Photos in Other Modes Storing Photos in JPEG Format     When to Use JPEG Format—and Why     Selecting JPEG Size Settings     Selecting Quality Settings     Comparing JPEG Image Size and Quality Settings Storing Photos in RAW Format     When to Use RAW Format—and Why     How to Use RAW Format     RAW Format Photos Chapter 10 Improving Exposure Why You Need This Chapter Using Exposure Lock     When to Use Exposure Lock—and Why     How Exposure Lock Works     How to Use Exposure Lock     Before and After Exposure Lock Using EV Adjustment     When to Use EV Adjustment—and Why     How EV Adjustment Works     How to Use EV Adjustment     Before and After EV Adjustment Using Spot Metering     When to Use Spot Metering     Why Use Spot Metering?     How to Use Spot Metering     Before and After Spot Metering Using ISO Adjustments     When to Use ISO Adjustments     Why Use ISO Adjustments?     How to Use ISO Adjustments     Before and After ISO Adjustments     Don’t Use Too High an ISO Setting Improving Exposure in Histogram View Chapter 11 Improving Color Why You Need This Chapter Why Use White Balance Settings? How to Change White Balance Settings Using Daylight White Balance     When to Use Daylight White Balance—and Why     How to Use Daylight White Balance     Before and After Daylight White Balance     When to Use Incandescent White Balance—and Why     How to Use Incandescent White Balance     Before and After Incandescent White Balance Using Fluorescent White Balance     When to Use Fluorescent White Balance—and Why     How to Use Fluorescent White Balance     Before and After Fluorescent White Balance Using Cloudy/Open Shade White Balance     When to Use Cloudy/Open Shade White Balance—and Why     How to Use Cloudy/Open Shade White Balance     Comparing Daylight, Cloudy, and Open Shade White Balance Using Custom White Balance     When to Use Custom White Balance—and Why     How to Use Custom White Balance     Before and After Custom White Balance Using Color Settings     When to Use Color Settings—and Why     How to Use Color Settings     Color Settings Compared Chapter 12 Stopping Action Why You Need This Chapter Shutter Speeds 101 Avoiding Camera Shake Selecting the “Right” Shutter Speed     Candids and Portraits     Sports and Action     Water and Rain     Ice and Snow     Children Playing     Amusement and Theme Parks Selective Blur Panning Capturing Peaks of Action Using Continuous Shooting/Burst Mode Chapter 13 Using Electronic Flash Why You Need This Chapter Using Built-in Flash     When to Use Built-in Flash     Controlling Built-in Flash     Why Use Built-in Flash?     How to Use Built-in Flash Using Fill Flash     When to Use Fill Flash     Why Use Fill Flash?     How to Use Fill Flash     Before and After Fill Flash Using Add-on Flash     How to Use Add-on Flash Using Bounce, Swivel, and Diffuser Options     When to Use Bounce, Swivel, and Diffuser Options     Why Use Bounce, Swivel, and Diffuser Options?     How to Use Bounce, Swivel, and Diffuser Options     Before and After Photos (Bounce, Swivel, Diffuser) Using Flash Exposure Compensation (EV)     When to Use Flash Exposure Compensation     Why Use Flash Exposure Compensation?     How to Use Flash Exposure Compensation     Before and After Flash Exposure Compensation Chapter 14 Controlling What’s in Focus Why You Need This Chapter Understanding Depth of Field     Using Tripod or Tripod Substitutes     Using a Self Timer Using Focus Lock     When to Use Focus Lock     How to Use Focus Lock     Focus Lock Photos Using Different Autofocus Methods     How to Use Face Detection     How to Use Multiple Area Focus Selection     Using User-Selectable Focusing Zones/Points     Different Autofocus Modes Controlling Focus with Aperture Selections     When to Use Wide Apertures     When to Use Narrow Apertures     Selecting Apertures     Wide Aperture (Selective Focus) Photos     Narrow Aperture (Deep Focus) Photos Using Depth-of-Field Preview     When to Use Depth-of-Field Preview     How to Use Depth-of-Field Preview Using Manual Focus     When to Use Manual Focus     How to Use Manual Focus Preventing Camera Shake     When to Use a Tripod or Tripod Substitute     Using Tripod or Tripod Substitutes     Using a Self Timer Chapter 15 Using Zoom and Interchangeable Lenses Why You Need This Chapter Zoom Lenses     Zoom Ratios     Optical Versus Digital Zoom     Zoom Lenses with Variable Apertures Using “Normal” Zoom Lenses Using Medium Zoom Lenses Using Long Zoom Lenses Shooting Portraits with Zoom Lenses Using Fast Lenses Shooting Ultra Close-ups in Macro Mode Using Filters     When to Use UV and Skylight Filters—and Why     When to Use a Polarizing Filter—and Why     When to Use Neutral Density (ND) Filters—and Why     Adapting Filters to Your Point-and-Shoot Camera Using Anti-Shake Technologies Part V: Appendixes (on the Book's Website) Appendix A: Glossary Appendix B: FAQs     9780789739482     TOC    4/23/2009  

About the Author :
Mark Edward Soper has been using adjustable cameras since 1971 and digital cameras since early this decade, for a total of more than 37 years as an enthusiastic and serious amateur photographer. Mr. Soper’s when-why-how approach to photography, which combines picture-based methods (take a picture, change settings, see how the picture improves) with just enough photographic theory to help users understand why as well as what to change, has been tested through years of teaching photography to enthusiastic adults and senior adults, as well as by the hundreds of photographs he has taken for many of his books. Mark is the author and co-author of many other technology books, including Easy Digital Cameras and Unleashing Windows Vista Media Center, as well as books on corporate and home networking, PC upgrades, home automation, and PC troubleshooting.