Digital Photography for Next to Nothing: Free and Low Cost Hardware and Software to Help You Shoot Like a Pro

John Lewell

John Wiley & Sons, Aug 26, 2011 - Photography - 384 pages

Take photos like a pro without breaking the bank by using FREE and nearly FREE software and hardware explained in this book.

• Get professional looking shots from a low-cost camera
• Save money by building your own lighting rigs, tripods, monopods and stabilisers for next to nothing
• Learn how to use older lenses on modern digital cameras, and make your own macro lens, lens hoods, flash diffusers, flash concentrators, decorative Bokeh effect lenses and more
• Use dozens of FREE and low cost photo applications for processing, viewing, cataloguing, editing, creating HDR, and photo stitching
• Build powerful photography processing and editing suites with free software and plugins that go head to head with expensive tools like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom

Contents

• TAKING BETTER SNAPS WITH A CHEAPER CAMERA: 1
• Why Most Snaps Fail to Impress: 11
• First Steps in Portraiture with FREE and LowCost Lighting: 17
• GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY: 27
• Keeping It Steady Tripods Monopods and VR Lenses: 39
• Saving Money on Lenses: 47
• KEEPING COSTS DOWN: 61
• Shooting RAW and Processing It For FREE: 69
• Shooting Macro Without a Macro Lens: 81
• DIY Cleaning Your DSLR Sensor: 91
• DIY Making Your Own Lens Hood: 97
• More DIY Photo Fun Accessories: 103
• FREE Photo Calculators: 117
• FREE and LowCost Utility Software: 127
• SCRUTINIZING SORTING AND RESIZING: 139
• FREE and LowCost Image Viewers: 151
• FREE and LowCost Photo Organizing Software: 161
• FREE and LowCost Image Resizing Tools: 171
• IMPROVING YOUR IMAGES: 181
• FREE ImageEditing Software: 191
• FREE Online Image Editors: 203
• FREE and LowCost Denoising Software: 219
• Building Powerful Software Suites with Plugins: 229
• MAKING HIRES MOSAICS PANORAMAS: 239
• LowCost Panoramic and Virtual Tour Software: 257
• Creating High Dynamic Range Images: 263
• SHARING PUBLISHING YOUR WORK: 271
• FREE Online PhotoSharing Sites: 281
• Online Photo Communities: 293
• FREE Web Publishing Software: 305
• GETTING READY TO PRINT: 319
• LowCost Online Printing Services: 327
• LEARNING MORE ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY: 333
• FREE Online Photo Resources: 343
• Index: 353

About the author

John Lewell (Framlingham, UK) A freelance author and journalist, John Lewell is an expert in digital image-creation technology and has specialized in visual technologies, computer graphics and Internet software. An experienced landscape photographer, John has produced a series of fine art cards currently sold through galleries and bookstores in the UK.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Digital Photography for Next to Nothing: Free and Low Cost Hardware and Software to Help You Shoot Like a Pro
• Author: John Lewell
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 2011
• ISBN: 0470970588, 9780470970584
• Length: 384 pages
• Subjects: Computers / General; Photography / Techniques / Digital; Technology & Engineering / Electronics / General