Practical camera advice

Press, 3 August 1985, Page 20

Practical camera advice

Collins Concise Guide to Photography. By Michael Freeman. Collins, 1985. 176 pp. $24.95. (Reviewed by Rod Dew)

As a working guide for the amateur photographer, this book with its hardwearing plastic cover, is first-class. It presents the essentials of photography in a form which is compact, and easy to understand. Most practical aspects of indoor and outdoor photography are covered, and potential problems are identified.

Michael Freeman, a professional photographer based in London, is the author of successful books on various aspects of photography. This one, because of its general appeal, might well prove the most popular. The book is sensibly divided into six main sections: light, film, cameras, subjects, preparation, and technical information. Within these sections are further subdivisions which tell the reader how to use filters, flash, tungsten film, and how to obtain

special effects and get the best out of all types of lighting conditions. That old problem, depth of field, gets the inevitable airing. Portraits, studio work and even a piece on how to look after your camera is included.

Every aspect considered in the book is also accompanied by splendid photographs, which help greatly in the understanding of the text. For once, the rapidly advancing photographic technology takes a back seat. Too great an emphasis on equipment and technical knowledge tends to produce results which show competence rather than imagination, says Freeman. This is a point being echoed by other leading photographers. Photography should not be dominated by equipment. Truly successful photography still depends on the ability of the photographer to convert his visual sense and imagination into a photograph. In this day of super, swept-up, electronic, automatic cameras, this is good advice.