Explores and explains all aspects of photography including the essential functions of cameras, digital photography and which camera is the best for your needs.

John Garrett moved to London in 1966 working as a fashion and advertising photographer. He has worked for most of the leading magazines including The Observer, Time Life, and Stern. John has worked as a photographer, TV-commercial director, lecturer, and writer. This is his eighth book.

Part 1 Before you shoot: the history of photograpy - the birth of photography, the photography explosion, photography for the masses, keeping things simple, the modern compact; how the camera works - what is a camera?, camera basics, the aperture-shutter marriage, exposing the SLR system; which camera to choose - what camera should I buy?, but I like my current camera, in simple terms; film - film choices, film speed, colour print film, colour slide film, black-and-white film, specialist films. Part 2 The point-and-shoot: what you get for your money - what are your options?, compact camera types, what will I get for my outlay?; things you need to know - holding the camera, exposure-what the camera is doing, autofocus, loads of modes; flash - how far will the flash reach?, flash modes, thinking about ambient light, party time, flash tricks; framing - searching out the ugly, filling the frame, composing with the zoom, horizontal vertical or panoramic?, camera angles-the highs and lows; troubleshooting - problem pictures, framing foul-ups, fudging focusing, exposure accidents, obstructions, lab problems. Part 3 The arty stuff: natural light - light is everything, times of day, window light, using the weather; artificial light - before you start, tungsten light, electronic flash units, dedicated flash; lens aperture and shutter - lenses-what can you do with them?, using filters, all about aperture, getting to grips with shutters; learning to see - the alternative point of view, beauty out of the mundane, colour management, colour thinking; space and composition - thinking composition, here are the laws, photographic composition, creating visual effects. Part 4 Photographic themes: portraits - putting your subject at ease, types of portrait, black-and-white versus colour; landscapes, landscape tradition, the importance of light, choosing your film, point-and-shoot landscaping, think comfort; still life - getting inspired, considering your viewpoint, composition, light and colour, a word to the wise; children - births and beginnings, babies and toddlers, the world of the child, kiddie portraits; action - interpreting action, getting an angle on the action, the advantage of autofocus, point-and-shoot action; travel - what is travel photography?, the travel photographer, thinking equipment, land-based travel pics, extra tips for the land based, underwater and the beach, travel themes and obsessions. Part 5 Taking things more seriously: medium and large formats - why go larger than 35mm?, medium format cameras, large format cameras, comparative image sizes; seeing in black-and-white - two-tone visualization, black-and-white technique, the darkroom; working with your photographer - it's a photofinish!, choosing a lab, the minilab, the custom lab, an alternative?; digital photography - what exactly is digital photography?, the cameras, let's talk about pixels, what do I do with my images?, how does the quality compare? (Part contents)