Bryan Peterson is a phenomenon in how-to photography and has sold more than half a million books. A professional photographer and internationally known instructor, he is the author of Learning to See Creatively, Understanding Digital Photography, Beyond Portraiture, among others. He is also the founder of the online photography school The Perfect Picture School of Photography (www.ppsop.com).

Review

So, you've learnt how to compose the photo. You need to understand how to capture what you see, or to create something from what you see. This book works through the photographic triangle of aperture, shutter speed and ISO in clear language. The best thing is that every picture has the settings that the author has used. It is so frustrating that most other books don't do that. Sure, by experimentation you can learn the ideal settings yourself. But in my view you, armed with the knowledge of how the author achieves his effects (eg creamy waterfalls) helps put you in the right ball park for the settings while you are learning, which means you shouldn't be making basic mistakes while taking photos of stuff you really want to capture. Which, let's face it, is why we are taking the photos in the first place. The book encourages you to move away from using the auto settings and be more in control of the shot and acheive better outcomes.