Confessions of a Compact Camera Shooter (Rick Sammon)

Confessions of a Compact Camera Shooter
Rick Sammon
Wiley Publishing
Nonfiction, Photography
***+ (Okay/Good)

DESCRIPTION: Once upon a time, no professional photographer would admit to using something so lowly as a simple compact camera. In recent years, however, digital compacts have come up in quality as more and more features become standard. With a little forethought and education, any amateur shutterbug can get excellent results without breaking the bank on a high-end dSLR. Professional photographer Rick Sammon explains some of the features and options available on today's powerful compact cameras, offering tips and tricks on everything from camera selection to the "digital darkroom" of Photoshop Elements.

REVIEW: A reasonably fast read, this book demonstrates the power and versatility of today's smaller cameras. Sammon compacts plenty of information in a fairly small amount of text... perhaps too small. Or maybe he simply assumed that most of his readers would be pros, or at least more experienced amateurs than I am (being closer to the clumsy hack end of the skill scale.) He also focuses exclusively on Photoshop and related plug-ins; I understand that that platform is the industry standard, but there are plenty of powerful (and cheaper) alternatives for those on a tighter budget, and it might've been nice to acknowledge some of them in a book touting the wonders of thrifty photography options. Overall, though, Simmons presents some interesting hints alongside his inspiring work; I think I just need to read it a few more times before the information can truly sink in.

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