I arrived home from Texas to find a big box on my front step. I hefted it into the house and popped it open and found brand new copies of my latest book, Nikon D5000: From Snapshots to Great Shots, all bright and shiny in their shrink-wrap. I knew the book was at the printers but I didn’t quite know when they were going to hit the streets. My guess is that they are on their way to the Peachpit warehouse where they will be distributed to a bookseller near you.
If you are a D5000 owner, you might be wondering why you should by my book from among the other offerings out there on the market. That’s a good question so let me see if I can give you some insight into what this book is all about (this also includes my Canon 50D book as well).
When I first began researching the camera-specific book market I found that there was a bit of a hole in the current market. There were a lot of books out there for specific cameras but none that really guided the reader through the process of making great images with their cameras. This is where my books come in. See, I didn’t want to waste a lot of ink telling you things that were already covered in your camera manual. I’m a big proponent for reading manuals but all they really do is acquaint you with the buttons, knobs, and menus. They are all about function but not purpose. So, while I do cover some of the basic camera features, the big key to my books is the application of those features in the making of better photographs.
What’s in the book -
The first chapter covers my Top 10 list of things to know or do when you get your camera. These are usually the little “gotcha’s” that I have experienced when using a new camera. Things like turning off the feature that let’s you shoot without a memory card in the camera or turning off the Auto-ISO feature so the camera doesn’t start jacking up the ISO to levels that quickly lead to noisy images.
From there I move to some basic camera, photography, and video info. It’s important to understand what the camera is doing when you push that shutter release button so that you can start to control things and really get the results you want. New DSLR cameras are really smart but they can’t read your mind, at least not yet, so they don’t always choose the settings that are right for your particular situation.
The next couple of chapters explore the different shooting shooting modes, what they do, and how you can best use them for your particular style of shooting. When you are done reading these chapters you should have a better understanding of what the modes control and how to choose the one that is right for you.
The final chapters will guide you through different types of photography and how you can use the features of your camera to get great portraits, sports and action, landscapes, and low-light and flash photography. The final couple of chapters are meant to give you some ideas on how to improve your images by applying some basic principles of composition and even some advanced techniques like spot-metering and bracketing.
What you won’t find in the book -
There are a few things that I don’t cover in my books. The first is image processing. There are a ton of great books out there on image processing and since I wanted to keep the book’s focus on photography, I completely left out any reference to Photoshop, ViewNX, iPhoto, etc. This book is all about the photography and not the processing.
You also won’t find references to a bunch of equipment that you probably don’t own yet. I could have included a section on shooting with studio strobes but the chances are that you don’t own any of that equipment, at least not yet. The one thing I tried to stay focused on was the camera and lens that you got when you purchased the system. I do make some recommendations on some equipment that will definitely improve your photography like a decent tripod or a shutter release cable but all-in-all, everything covered in the book, including the flash, is contained in the camera that you already own.
Also, you will find when reading the book that I don’t cover every single feature built into your camera. To do so would make the book about twice its current size. What I did include were those features that I use in my photography and that I felt would help you get the most from your camera right away. Remember, you already have a book that explains every little feature. It’s called the owner’s manual.
Bonus Chapters -
I wanted to keep the book focused on photography but there was some information that I really wanted to give you so I have written a couple of bonus chapters that are available for download from Peachpit. Once you buy the book, you will be instructed on where to go to register your book and gain access to these chapters. The first one is called Pimp My Ride and is full of all sorts of accessories and photo gear that will help you expand on your photographic capabilities as you move forward with your photography.
The second bonus chapter is entitled D5000 Video – Beyond the Basics. Its purpose is to give you more information on the video capture capabilities of the D5000 and how you can improve the look of your video and add some creativity to your movie making.
You can order the book from your favorite booksellers like Barnes&Noble, Amazon
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Congrats Jeff – another book under the belt! Very nice work – I keep meaning to pick up a copy of the 50D for some reading material and just haven’t found the time yet. Should make for good reading fodder when I go on vacation in a few weeks here! Keep on it, you might catch Scott at this rate!