Focus is an important artistic tool, directing your viewers into and around your image, but a technical challenge too. In this book, the first serious treatent of the topic in the digital age, John Neel shows how a mastery of your lens will greatly enhance the quality and 'wow' factor of your photographs. Never losing sight of what real-life photographers need to know, Focus in Photography will let you master bokeh and other focus techniques, giving you a complete understanding of optics-and what actually happens to light within the camera in your hand. Richly illustrated with John's own amazing images, and drawing on his well-known authority in the field, it will be a valuable asset to students of photography, enthusiasts looking to refine their art, product photographers and commercial shooters alike.

Taking good photographs of people is a combination of many factors: What is the best light for the subject? How should they stand? What aperture should you use for maximum impact? This easy-to-follow, highly visual guide to portraiture explains the technical and aesthetic considerations of creating great images. Step-by-step instruction, tips from an experienced professional photographer, project assignments and gorgeous photography make learning how to take good photos of people quick and easy. Aimed at beginners or amateurs toting a DSLR and wanting pointers on how to make their people photography really shine, this book offers the basics on composition, lighting, posing, street photography and post-production techniques in a fun andconversational manner.

This lively, informed defense of modern photography focuses on not focusing--and other unconventional methods that have been successfully employed by acclaimed photographers. From portraits to documentary images and from abstractions to landscapes, the author identifies 100 important images that are emblematic of innovation in modern photography, revealing the frequently complex processes involved in their composition. In so doing, she offers a provocative reminder of what makes a great photograph.

“This thoroughly absorbing narrative dazzles with the most profound investigation and research. Focus is an enthralling and riveting read.” —Tim Gunn “Smart, well-researched…engaging…canny” (New York Times Book Review), Focus is a “fast-paced—and clearly insider—look at the rarefied, sexy world of fashion photography” (Lauren Weisberger, author of The Devil Wears Prada). New York Times bestselling author Michael Gross brings to life the wild genius, egos, passions, and antics of the men (and a few women) behind the camera, probing the lives, hang-ups, and artistic triumphs of more than a dozen of fashion photography’s greatest visionaries, including Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Bill King, Helmut Newton, Gilles Bensimon, Bruce Weber, Steven Meisel, and Bob and Terry Richardson. Tracing the highs and lows of fashion photography from the late 1940s to today, Focus takes you behind the scenes to reveal the revolutionary creative processes and fraught private passions of these visionary magicians, “delving deep into the fascinating rivalries” (The Daily News) between photographers, fashion editors, and publishers like Condé Nast and Hearst. Weaving together candid interviews, never-before-told insider anecdotes and insights born of his three decades of front-row and backstage reporting on modern fashion, Focus is “simply unrivaled…a sensation….Gross is a modern-day Vasari, giving us The Lives of the Artists in no small measure” (CraveOnline).

Sharing your kitchen concoctions on your personal food blog has never been as popular as it is right now, but if you've ever had trouble getting your tasty temptations to look like pretty plates on camera, you know how difficult it can be to take amazing pictures of food. Matt Armendariz, of Mattbites food blog fame, shares his experiences and best practices for creating wonderful food photos in Focus On Food Photography for Bloggers. Written specifically for you the blogger, Matt discusses the ins and outs of equipment, lighting, composition, propping, sparking your inspiration, and getting creative, all with what you have on hand at home! Learn how to avoid common pitfalls with foods that are notoriously camera shy, how to successfully snap your dinner at a restaurant as well as on your kitchen table, and how to style your food with what you have in your cupboards. He also includes advice on post-processing, posting, and protecting your prized images. As well as on his blog, Matt's photography has been featured in The Skinny Bitch Cookbook, on Martha Stewart, Paula Deen's Best Dishes, and Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen, along with numerous food magazines and newspapers. Let this seasoned blogger give your food photography the boost it needs to really make your readers salivate!

In Wild Focus, Earl Nottingham, chief photographer for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and its magazine, provides a unique perspective on Texas featuring images of the woods, waters, and wildlife of the Lone Star landscape. Nottingham’s engaging photography—landscape, nature, and wildlife; environmental portraiture of people; photojournalistic coverage of events, including natural disasters—provides a cohesive overview of biodiversity and the state of conservation in Texas. The nearly 200 stunning photographs collected here encompass the expansive mission of TPWD, presenting traditional landscape images from state and national parks as well as from vast private lands. Cultural and historic sites are included along with environmental portraits of the people associated with those sites. From the state’s wildlife, both great and small, to nature shown in not only its beauty but also its fury—wildfires, hurricanes, and floods—Earl Nottingham offers a visual compendium of events, people, places, and things that have shaped the face of natural Texas. The author logged untold miles and wore through many sets of tires to offer timely stories that would “inform, educate, entertain, and empower” readers about the outdoors. These images that capture the richness and diversity of wild Texas inspire a greater appreciation for the state’s beauty and promote a sense of stewardship for its natural treasures.

Music legend, photographer, and artist Graham Nash reflects on more than fifty years of an extraordinary life in this extensive collection of personal photographs, paintings, and mixed-media artwork. In this curated collection of art and photography from his personal archive, Graham Nash’s life as a musician and artist unfolds in vivid detail. Best known as a founding member of the Hollies and supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash, Graham developed a love of photography from the time he was a child. Inspired by his father, Nash began taking pictures at 10 years old and would go on to take his camera with him ever since—on tour with the Hollies and later CSN and CSNY, among friends at Laurel Canyon and abroad. Many of his photographs depict intimate moments with family and friends, among them Joni Mitchell, Stephen Stills, and Neil Young. This volume presents these images alongside Nash’s own reflections, telling the story behind the pictures and giving insight into the life of one of the greatest musicians of all time.

Learn the fundamendamentals of shooting up close with this new addition to the Focus On series

After beginning his career as a photojournalist for a daily newspaper in southern California, Dan Winters moved to New York to begin a celebrated career that has since led to more than one hundred awards, including the Alfred Eisenstaedt Award for Magazine Photography. An immensely respected portrait photographer, Dan is well known for an impeccable use of light, colour, and depth in his evocative images. In Road to Seeing, Dan shares his journey to becoming a photographer, as well as key moments in his career that have influenced and informed the decisions he has made and the path he has taken. Though this book appeals to the broader photography audience, it speaks primarily to the student of photography--whether enrolled in school or not--and addresses such topics as creating a visual language; the history of photography; the portfolio; street photography; personal projects; his portraiture work; and the need for key characteristics such as perseverance, awareness, curiosity, and reverence. By relaying both personal experiences and a kind of philosophy on photography, Road to Seeing tells the reader how one photographer carved a path for himself, and in so doing, helps equip the reader to forge his own.

The founding curator of the International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House offers reminiscences about people and places in the world of photography