The Best Digital Photography Books

What are the best digital photography books? Learning photography can be a time-consuming and complex task so to help you choose the best books, I've put together my choice of the top five currently available. All of them have solid information in an easy-to-follow format with great pictures by well-respected authors. And all of them have been given good customer reviews on Amazon. Each one will guide you securely to becoming a better photographer.

If you mouse-over the link (where it says 'here' underneath each review) you will find more details appear in a pop-up such as price etc. Or click the link to go to the Amazon page where you can then look at pages from the book.

Top of my list of best digital photography books has to be The Better PhotoGuide to Digital Photography which gets rave reviews. It's a practical workbook to help novices get great shots from their digital camera.

The author cuts through the jargon and guides the beginner gently and in plain language to an understanding of topics such as exposure, file formats, the characteristics of light, how to compose your shot.

There are assignments throughout the book to deepen your understanding , a glossary of terms, and of course lots of great shots throughout, but not the kind of shots that make you think "wow I wish I could do that" but the kind of shot that inspires you to say "wow I think I can do that". Click here to look inside the book.

This list of best digital photography books doesn't only include books on techniques and which button to push. Within the Frame: the Journey of Photographic Vision by David DuChemin's is the result of the author's travels through five countries: Cuba, Egypt, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam but the book is more than a collection of great shots. DuChemin's real desire is to communicate the need for vision as well as skill.

He says: "As we gain new tools and skills with which to better express our vision... so our vision is given the room to grow deeper and more complete." For the author, the photographic life is all about discovering the vision that is uniquely yours and expressing it in purely visual terms.

He offers instruction on which tools and technology to use but more importantly he invites you to "consider the look of your image beyond just getting the exposure right". This book will guide and inspire you to find and express your own unique photographic vision. Click here to look inside the book.

In The Photographer's Eye, Michael Freeman communicates powerfully his understanding of composition and design, in such a way that you can't fail to make better photographs.

There are chapters on design basics such as pattern and texture, framing and cropping, how to compose with light and color, and the use of graphic elements such as lines and motion. It's packed with great shots and pages with multiple images showing which ones work and why the others don't so you learn visually as well as by the text

Learning design and composition is fundamental to making good pictures and his book will teach you just that and with great depth and clarity. Click here to look inside the book.

Portrait and Candid Photography by Erin Manning covers everything you need to know to create wonderful people shots.

The author starts the book with a chapter on the importance of connecting with people and how to direct them so you get the best out of the situation. She goes on to cover light and how to use it to bring out the best in your subjects; how to compose your picture so that it tells a story; how to choose the right lens for portraiture; all about various accessories which you might find useful such as reflectors, tripods, memory cards and so on.

There are chapters on working with children and babies and finally editing, sharing and storing your digital images. Phew! Enough for a morning's work! There's also a glossary and a good list of resources. Cick here to look inside the book.

The Digital Photography Book by Scott Kelby is claimed by Amazon as one of the world's best digital photography books of all time and they have 632 customer reviews to prove it! There are also two more volumes which follow on from this one, both hugely successful, so if you buy this one you can choose to pursue Kelby's unique style further at a later date.

Volume One is a bit like a recipe book, with one photograph plus tips on each separate page covering one single concept to help you improve your photography. Kelby's books tell you which setting to use and when to use it, without loads of technical explanations or theories. The books 'speaks' to you as if you are there right by his side on a photo shoot but in a friendly, informal way.

Kelby's style and humour is not to everyone's taste though, so check it out before committing to buying. Nonetheless, there are lots of great shooting tips in this book but if you are a complete beginner I would suggest getting The Better PhotoGuide to Digital Photography first (reviewed above). Click here to look inside Kelby's book.

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