Table of Contents -- Introduction -- Chapter 1 The Joy of Digital Photography -- The Key to Successful Photographs Is Seeing Both the Light and the Subject-Your Way -- Photography Takes Many Forms -- The Need for Speed... -- ...And a Sense of Timing -- Sun, Shade, and Shadows: About the Quality of Light -- Equipment Matters-Yes and No, Where and When to Shop -- Good Stores and Shopping Sites -- Chapter 2 The Digital SLR: Demystifying the Magic Black Box -- The Basic Black Box: Light Control and Capture -- The Sensor and the Shutter -- Sensor Resolution and Image Size -- The Eye of Your Camera: Its Lens Assembly -- Using Lenses: Wide-Angle, Normal, Telephoto, and Zoom -- Getting Subjects in Focus and Well-Exposed -- In-Camera Processing and Previews -- Chapter 3 Basic Camera Technique for DSLRs -- Your Camera as a Picture-Taking Platform -- Customizing the Basic Shooting Settings -- A Simple Menu Choice-RAW or Processed? -- ISO Sensitivity-Less Is More -- White Balance: Not All Light Is Created Equal -- Working in Mixed Lighting Conditions -- Getting a Grip on Things -- The Basic Hold -- Additional Support: Tripods, Trees, and Knees -- Keeping Your Gear in Working Order -- Never Use Force -- And Be Careful When Handling Glass -- The Gadget Bag and Proper Storage -- Learning to See -- Chapter 4 Mastering Exposure and Contrast -- The Myth of the Perfect Exposure -- ISO, Going Outdoors, and the Sweet-16 Rule -- Understanding Sky Conditions and Light Levels -- Playing with the Numbers -- Working with Light Meters -- Enter the Matrix -- Highlights, Shadows, and Points in Between -- Softer Light, Fewer Shadows, More Saturation -- Almost Another World: Taking Pictures Inside -- Going to Extremes -- Adjusting the White Balance -- Chapter 5 Lenses and Perspective: A Photographer's Point of View -- Lenses: Wide, Normal, Long, and Zoom.

Normal Is a Relative Term -- Fun with Focal Lengths and Focus -- Going Wide While Getting Close -- Perspective: Looking High and Low -- A Bit of Moderation -- F/Stops: Understanding the Numbers -- F/Stops, Maximum Aperture, and the Need for Speed -- The Sweet Spot and the Art of Stopping Down -- Going Long with Telephotos -- A Bit About Bokeh -- Going with the Action -- Vibration Reduction and Those Extra Buttons -- To Infinity and Beyond -- Lens Flare, Lens Shades, and Filters -- Getting Close: Macro Photography Tools -- The Craft of Close-Up Photography -- Steady and Smooth -- Choose the Focus Point and Watch the Background -- Learning to "Look Close" -- Chapter 6 Capturing the Moment: Shutter Speed and Focus -- Freeze Frame: How Fast Is Fast Enough? -- Picking the Point and Moment -- Panning for Pictures -- Sometimes Blur Is a Good Thing -- A Note About Flash -- Chapter 7 The Big Picture: Light, Color, and Composition -- Observing the Qualities of Light -- Intensity, Quality, and Contrast -- Direction, Texture, and Tone -- Working with Light: Modifiers and Filters -- Optical Filters -- Controlling Light: How Many and How Much -- The Naming of Names -- It's All Relative to Intensity -- Adding a Fill Light the Easy Way -- Bounce Light-a Reflector by Another Name -- Wrap-Around Light -- Using Flash as a Main Light Source -- Using Flash and the Sun as a Fill Light -- Is the Flash a Fill Light, or the Sun a Background Light? -- Give Me Just a Little More Time: Dragging the Shutter -- It's Always about Seeing the Light -- Chapter 8 Crafting Compositions: Putting It All Together -- Self-Assignment: Looking at Pictures -- Perspective: A Personal Point of View and a Sense of Timing -- People-Watching and Watching People -- Perspective as a Point of View -- Low Key, High Key, and Points In-Between -- Not Quite So Extreme -- Controlling Shadows and Contrast.

Another Three-Point Lighting Example -- Working in Available Dark -- Low-Light Exposure Guidelines -- The Art and Practice of Self-Assignment -- Chapter 9 A Day in the Life: Telling Stories with Pictures -- A Wealth of Picture Possibilities -- Getting Ready (Photographer and Subject) -- Warming-Up Exercises -- Never Say Smile! -- Details, Details, Details -- A Matter of Perspective: The Guys Getting Ready -- Not Quite Posed -- Thinking in Scenes -- Working All the Angles -- The Artful Segue -- Follow the Action -- Working with (Changing) Light -- More About Angles -- Moving Indoors Presents New Challenges -- Sometimes Two Heads Are Better than One -- Chapter 10 Images into Pictures: Processing and Printing Your Files -- From RAW to Refined: Processing and Editing -- First Steps First -- Working with RAW Images -- Basic Image Processing -- Adjusting the White Balance -- Cropping and Adjusting the Picture -- Adjustments: A Bit of This and a Little of That -- Overcoming the Limits of Technology -- Noise Abatement -- Correcting Lens Aberrations -- Picture Perfect: The Art of Retouching-Part One, LightZone -- Exporting Your Pictures -- Retouching, Part Two: Adobe Photoshop, et al -- Output and Printing Options -- Chapter 11 The Digital Photo Album -- FotoFusion and Digital Album Design -- Pictures and Pages First -- Then the Layered Look -- Adjusting and Editing Pictures and Text -- The Proof Is in the Printing -- Some Final Suggestions When Outputting Collages -- Just a Starting Point -- Chapter 12 Beyond Printing: Multimedia Photography Using Slide Shows -- The Multimedia Environment -- Assembling Images and Creating a Basic Slide Show -- Setting Transitions, Timing, and Previewing the Show -- Adding and Editing Soundtracks -- Adding Motion and Special Effects to Your Slides -- Creating a Simple Motion Effect.

Visual Magic with ProShow Producer's Adjustment Effects -- Working with Captions -- Screening Your Shows -- Choosing the Output Format -- Setting Options and Creating a Menu -- Photodex Online Sharing -- A Closing Note -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U-V -- W -- Z.