By the end of the nineteenth century, people began to record their daily lives using small, handheld cameras. This made photography more direct, faster, and dynamic. The similarity with our time, in which more and more people are taking photographs, is striking. In this publication, Mattie Boom describes the rise of amateur photography in the Netherlands: the photographers, the photographs, the albums, the key figures, and the backgrounds. At the time, amateur photography was mainly a pastime for the wealthy: upper-class gentlemen, gentlewomen and even the young Queen Wilhelmina. Especially young entrepreneurs, however, set out to bring photography to the general public. 00Exhibition: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (15.02.-10.06.2019).

Photography is now more popular than ever thanks to the rapid development of digital cameras. Read This If You Want to Take Great Photographs is ideal for this new wave of snapshooters using DSLR, compact system and bridge cameras. It contains no graphs, no techie diagrams and no camera-club jargon. Instead, it inspires readers through iconic images and playful copy, packed with hands-on tips. Split into five sections, the book covers composition, exposure, light, lenses and the art of seeing. Masterpieces by acclaimed photographers – including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Sebastião Salgado, Fay Godwin, Nadav Kander, Daido Moriyama and Martin Parr – serve to illustrate points and encourage readers to try out new ideas. Today’s aspiring photographers want immediacy and see photography as an affordable way of expressing themselves quickly and creatively. This handbook meets their needs, teaching them how to take photographs using professional techniques.

When photographing people, you can have a great composition, perfect light, and the right camera settings, but if your subject doesn’t look right—if the pose is off—the shot will not be a keeper. Posing is truly a crucial skill that photographers need to have in order to create great photographs. If you’re looking to improve your ability to pose your subjects—whether they’re men, women, couples, or groups—best-selling author and photographer Lindsay Adler’s The Photographer’s Guide to Posing: Techniques to Flatter Everyone is the perfect resource for you. In the first half of The Photographer’s Guide to Posing, Lindsay discusses how the camera sees, and thus how camera angle, lens choice, and perspective all affect the appearance of your subject. Lindsay then covers things that ruin a pose—such as placement of the hands, and your subject’s expression and posture. Next, Lindsay dives into “posing essentials,” outlining her approach to start with a “base pose,” then build on that to create endless posing opportunities. She also discusses posing the face—with specific sections dedicated to the chin, jaw, eyes, and forehead—as well as posing hands. In the second half of the book, Lindsay dedicates entire chapters to posing specific subject matter: women, men, couples, curvy women, families and small groups, and large groups. In each chapter, Lindsay addresses that subject matter’s specific challenges, provides “go-to poses” you can always use, and covers how to train the eye to determine the best pose for your subject(s). Lindsay also teaches you how to analyze a pose so that you can create endless posing opportunities and continuously improve your work.

Bestselling author/photographer Chris Orwig offers 30 photographic exercises to renew your passion for capturing the people in your world. This is not a traditional portrait photography book. The goal isn’t flattery, but connection and depth. Whether you are a student, busy parent, or seasoned pro photographer, these exercises provide an accessible framework for exploration and growth. With titles like: Be Quiet, Turn the Camera Around, and the Fabric of Family, each of the 30 exercises encourages you to have fun and experiment at your own pace. With step-by-step instructions and using natural light, you will explore everything from street, lifestyle, candid, and environmental shots. The projects are small artistic endeavors meant to change how you see and the pictures that you make. All that’s required is a camera, an intrepid attitude, curiosity, and some imagination.

In a world where everyone is a photographer now, how do you stand out? The answer can be found in this simple but profound book. It will train your eye to see what others don't. -- David Hieatt This isn't a book about how to take the best pictures. It's not even about the technical aspects of photography or how to make it as a photographer. In fact, it argues that you should take fewer photographs. By sharing 10 practices honed over a lifetime spent behind the lens working with clients such as Adidas, Levi Strauss, and Apple, photographer Andrew Paynter encourages you to develop a more considered approach to photography so that you craft pictures with care. Do Photo teaches novice, intermediate and advanced photographers - and everyone in between - how to use their cameras to really connect with subjects, create memorable and more impactful photographs, and to enjoy the process along the way. And guess what? It all starts before you even pick up the camera.

Photographer, author, and educator Roberto Valenzuela has a proven track record for teaching and explaining difficult concepts to photographers of all skill levels. His remarkable ability to break down complicated ideas into understandable, approachable elements that photographers can truly grasp–and then use their newfound knowledge to improve their photography–made his first book, Picture Perfect Practice, a breakout success. In Picture Perfect Posing, Roberto takes on the art of posing. For many photographers, after learning to compose an image and even light it properly, a portrait can still easily be a failure if the pose is not natural, elegant, and serving the needs of both the subject and the photographer. Instead of just showing page after page of poses–like most posing books on the market–Roberto actually breaks down the concept of posing by examining the anatomy, starting with the core foundation: the spinal chord and neck. Building from there, Roberto discusses every component of what makes poses work, as well as fail. How should the model hold her hands? Bend her elbows? Position her fingers? Should the model look toward or away from the camera, and why? It all depends on what the photographer wants for the shot, and Roberto discusses the entire process, from the intent of the photographer through the execution of the pose. For those who have been discouraged by an inability to pose their subjects, or who have simply not known where to start in order to "figure it out," Picture Perfect Posing is the essential resource they need to learn how posing truly works, and how they can learn to direct the exact pose they need for the shot they want.