Camera Ready: How to Shoot Your Kids

By: Arthur Elgort

Book Overview

Collects the author's photographs of his children, with advice on film speed, lighting, and technique, and offers anecdotes about the pictures themselves. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0789301032
• ISBN13: 9780789301031
• Release Date: September 1997
• Publisher: Universe
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 1.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.0" x 1.0" x 7.3"

Customer Reviews

Learning by Doing

This is a fantastic book that I return to again and again for inspiration. Granted, there is not a lot of text, not a lot of "how to". But, as with anything one tries to do at a high level, photography is mostly art and not science. You can read lots of books with f-stop measurements, shutter speeds, etc., but those won't teach you nearly as well as looking at good pictures, and taking lots of pictures. Elgort's text provides the basics, all one really needs. By studying this book, you get the same lessons as Kelsh's book: Get Close, Study the Light, and Use Lots of Film. You don't get to be a great music composer by reading books on composition, you get better by listening to music and studying scores. Most "how to" photo books are like reading books on bicycle riding -- this book has you actually get on a bicycle and ride. In addition, Camera Ready is a beautiful coffee table book -- the subtitle "How to Shoot Your Kids" also gets a lot of smiles.By the other reviews, I can see that this may not be a book for everyone: not for techie photographers, not for absolute beginners, etc. But with a little knowledge, this book can really help you with your most important pieces of photographic equipment: your mind and your eye.

A reader from California

I love photographing children and found this book to be very inspiring. I purchase this book as a gift for every friend or family member who has a baby, and I always receive rave reviews. This book is about inspiration and getting your children to a place where they are comfortable and familiar with having the camera around. This way you will have candid photographs of your children where they are natural and unaffected - by capturing their true essence. ... By following Arthur Elgort's simple advice, my photographs of children have improved tremendously.

more than a book for parents

More than a unique gift for new parents (I've given this several times), the book is an inspiring refresher for informal portrait photography, whether or not children are the subject. Moreover, Elgort gives us a visual lesson in loving fatherly attentiveness.

a great book

i first discovered this book in a book store while looking at photography books, browsed through it, and left. but i kept thinking about it, and came back again, and again, to look at it. the pictures are really good and inspire you to take pictures of any kid that comes your way. he proves that the best pictures of kids are those that are candid and taken often...this book really inspired me to take pictures of children i know, and by just looking at the many pictures in the book, i got a better idea of how to do it.

a funny, smart must-have for anyone taking pictures of kids

this book will inspire you to take pictures of your kids. if a famous fashion photographer -- with a great sense of humor -- prefers to take candid pictures of his own kids than fashion models, you can do it, too. he also tells you which kind of camera to buy, the best ways to get your film developed and how to get over the fear that your kids are not as photogenic as his. a fantastic baby shower present, especially for anyone with an interest in fashion or design (it's designed by the extremely fashionable art director and photographer, steve hiett). if you have kids, you should have this book.