Learning Digital Photography

Reviewed by Tara Conant, Adjunct Faculty, Westfield State University on 5/29/25

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The textbook contains 9 chapters, and has exercises and examples. The chapters themselves are very concise and to the point providing the basic information about photography. This can help to keep the technical information provided in a no nonsense way which can help to simplify difficult topics. I feel that this can be helpful but also feeling a bit sparse for some. If the text is coupled with in class lecture & other materials, then this would be beneficial as it could explain the concepts even more.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The information I reviewed all seemed right on point and extremely accurate. There didn't seem to be any bias contained in the information.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The material is up to date with camera & photography information. The text does not cover software aspects of digital photography, which could put a hamper on the relevance of materials since this is constantly updated.

Clarity rating: 4

The text is very clear and concise explaining the information. Any beginning student in photography would have an easy time understanding the material. I think this text would be useful in high school as well as college level courses. But someone wanting to know more & have in depth information might feel it is a bit lacking. There are areas that do need further information such as the lens, and more on the digital camera itself (file types, sensors etc...)

Consistency rating: 4

The text keeps a relative consistent flow of information. Although some chapters have more information and examples than others. Perhaps with time and an updated edition, more will be added.

Modularity rating: 5

The textbooks modularity is broken up into the basic areas of the camera, which would be where any photography class would begin. Any instructor or student would have an easy time referencing the material that is presented and working along with it for a class.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The contents are clear and in a logical order. Very easy to follow

Interface rating: 5

There were no issues with navigation, or viewing any material on the sight. The book comes in several formats as well which can be very useful.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The grammar is clear and there did not appear to be any issues.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

There was no offensive material, examples were diverse.

Comments

I think the book is a wonderful edition to open sourced textbooks. I have been teaching photography for 20+ years, and I believe that this is the first one I have been able to find. I will definitely recommend it to my students as it can be a valuable resource for them. I and looking forward to using it in the fall and to upcoming editions where hopefully even more material will be added to the text. Thank you Eric Demattos for putting this together and writing this textbook!