Camera, Lens, Light, and Color From Shoot to Print and Everything In-Between

I wrote this book to gather in one place what I have learned about the technology of digital photography since I bought a Nikon CoolPix 950 in the late 1990s. Much of what we see in a digital camera today has a history dating back to the mid-1800s. The basic concepts of proper exposure, the science of light, or the phycology of color are not new, but digging for the basic science and history behind the appearance can be quite a task. For example, a camera’s manual will dedicate quite a few pages to a camera’s white balance settings but it will not reveal the science behind color temperature and how tremendously important this is to creating a lasting impression with a digital image.
People respond to subtle differences in light and color. That’s why all those buttons, dials, and menu choices came with your camera. Consumers pay dearly for the buttons and dials but many set their camera to “Automatic” and never discover the power they paid for. Surrendering creativity and choice to the camera so that it may guess your intent need not occur. This book will guide you toward creative freedom.
After reading this short book you will understand light more completely and use color in your digital photography more productively. You will become aware of the science behind digital photography and, consequently, make the most effective use of light and color in your scenes. Your photographs will be properly exposed and free of color casts or tints. Everyone knows that a wise choice of aperture, shutter speed and ISO, the “Exposure Triangle,” produces an acceptable exposure. But this book will aid you in producing even better exposures and more professional images. I also cover color correction and color printing using Adobe Photoshop CC. However, it is not necessary to have this program to follow the discussion. As a bonus, I have included in Appendix C a review of photographic image options and image output file formats. I think you will find this review useful for our purposes.
In sum, this text goes way beyond the manual that came with your digital camera. This book is for digital photographers who wish to take their craft to a higher level of understanding and perfection while not requiring you to be a genius during the process.