Review by Brian Whitehead
(Mitchell Beazley 2003, ISBN 1 84000 683 8, £20.00)
For an amateur photographer such as myself, the advent of highly advanced digital camera technology and the associated availability of low-cost entry level equipment means that it is possible to achieve impressive photographic results with little effort or experience. For more experienced photographers, many of the very same cameras are now also completely user-adjustable, enabling them to compose shots according to their own precise preferences.
All of this means that much of the emphasis and skill in producing artistically pleasing images has moved from the camera itself to the digital processing and manipulation on a computer. Tom Ang?s contribution to this aspect of the creative process is therefore well-timed. Without being overtly oriented to any one brand of camera, software or computer system, he deftly takes the reader through from the first principles of how digital photography works, to an advanced understanding of complex image manipulations. His new book offers a simple-to-follow approach which explains all the necessary ?techie? definitions and provides countless examples in full colour throughout its 144 pages. My only criticism is that in its title, this book undersells itself. It does indeed cover some quite complex digital photography techniques, but by slapping the word ?advanced? in its title it may inadvertently put off other plodders such as myself who could usefully benefit from moving up a gear when they tire of the simplicity of a ?point and shoot? approach.