Afew months ago, while cleaning my office in an attempt to put off sitting down to write, I came across the first edition of Digital Photography For Dummies, published in 1997. Flipping through the pages, I was struck by how much digital photography has changed in the intervening years. Consider these snippets from that first edition:

• “For $800 to $1,000, you get a pixel count in the 1280 x 960 range.” Pixel count refers to resolution, which determines how large you can print a digital image. With a resolution of 1280 x 960 pixels — about 1 million pixels altogether, or 1 megapixel in today's terminology — the maximum print size is 4 x 6 inches. If you needed more resolution back then, a Kodak/Canon hybrid model offered a 6-megapixel resolution for $29,000. (No, that figure is not a typo.) Today, even sub-$100 cameras offer resolutions of 6 megapixels or more.
• “Some cameras suck the life out of a set of batteries in just a few hours.” This issue was a huge problem, and one that manufacturers have done a good job of resolving. Today, you can shoot for an entire day, or even days, without needing a recharge.
• “On cameras that have LCD screens, battery consumption is even higher.” Wait — what? Digital cameras didn't have monitors back then? Well, some higher-priced cameras did, but the monitors then were nowhere near as large or as crisp as the stunning displays we now enjoy.

I could go on, but I think you get the point: Digital photography has come a long way since its early years. What remains the same, however, is that figuring out how to use all the features on your camera can be intimidating, to say the least. How many megapixels do you really need, for example? What's ISO? And are your pro photographer friends right when they insist that you shoot in the Raw format (whatever that means)?

The other thing that hasn't changed is that Digital Photography For Dummies has the answers to these questions and more. Completely updated to cover the latest tools, tricks, and techniques, this eighth edition spells out everything you need to know to make the most of your digital camera. Whether you’re taking pictures for fun, for work, or for both, you’ll find answers, ideas, and solutions in the pages to come.

About This Book

Digital Photography For Dummies, 8th Edition, covers all aspects of digital photography. It helps you assess your current digital photography needs, determine the best gear and products to suit your style, and combine the newest digital innovations with tried-and-true photography techniques. In addition, this book explains what happens after you get the shot, detailing the steps you need to take to download your picture files, produce great-looking prints to hang on the living room wall, and share your favorite images online.

Unlike other books on the topic, this one does not assume that you have any preexisting knowledge about photography, whether digital or film. Everything is explained in easy-to-understand language, with a little humor thrown in to make learning a bit more enjoyable.

I do assume, though, that if you're into photography enough to pick up this book, you probably own a “regular” camera — that is, one designed solely to take pictures, as opposed to a cellphone or tablet with a built-in camera. Keep in mind, though, that a digital photo is a digital photo, no matter how you capture it. So, many of the tips and technical details I provide apply as much to shooting with a cellphone as they do to taking pictures with an expensive, pro-level camera.

How This Book Is Organized

As much as possible, this book is put together in a way that doesn't require you to read it in the traditional order, from front to back, in order to make sense of things. Instead, you can dip in and out of various chapters to get help with a specific topic. However, if you're brand-new to photography (or to digital photography), you may find it easier to explore the first part of the book, which explains fundamentals, before moving onto the advanced topics I cover later in the book.

The next five sections offer a brief preview of the information you can find in each of the book’s four parts, plus the appendix.

Part 1: Exploring Digital Photography Basics

As the part name implies, chapters in Part 1 are designed to make it as easy as possible for you to get better results from your camera — even if you’re a complete novice:

• Chapter 1 helps you assess your current camera and decide whether it has the features you need to shoot the kinds of pictures you want to take. If the answer is no, I offer some advice on finding the right new camera in the seemingly endless array of models.
• Chapter 2 kick-starts the creative side of your brain, providing an introduction to photographic composition and explaining which camera features affect picture characteristics such as how much of a scene is in sharp focus.
• Chapter 3 offers tips for getting the best results when you shoot in your camera's fully automatic exposure modes, including scene modes such as Portrait mode and Sports mode. In addition to explaining when to use these automatic modes , I walk you through the steps of framing and focusing your first shots.
• Chapter 4 explains some critical camera options, including shooting mode, shutter-release mode, resolution, and file type. Although the default settings for these options work well in most cases, you may need to adjust them for some shots, and this chapter explains the whys and wherefores.

Part 2: Taking Your Photography to the Next Level

When you're ready to take the next step in your photography journey, Part 2 helps you take more control over your pictures by taking advantage of your camera's more advanced options:

• Chapter 5 covers exposure, explaining fundamentals such as f-stops, shutter speeds, and ISO, and offering tips on related subjects such as using flash to light your subject.
• Chapter 6 introduces focus techniques that can help you add drama to your pictures and also looks at options that enable you to manipulate color.
• Chapter 7 wraps up all the previous chapters with a summary of the best settings and techniques to use for specific types of pictures, from portraits to landscapes to action shots.

Part 3: After the Shot

After you fill up your camera with photos, you need to get them off the camera and out into the world. Chapters in Part 3 show you how:

• Chapter 8 introduces you to some common picture-playback options and then explains the process of transferring pictures to your computer.
• Chapter 9 reviews your printing options and provides advice to help you get the best prints from your digital originals. This chapter also helps you prepare your photos for online sharing, whether you want to post them on a social media site or send them via email. Additionally, look here if you shoot your photos in the Raw file format and need help converting them to a standard format for printing or online use.

Part 4: The Part of Tens

In the time-honored For Dummies tradition, information in this part is presented in easily digestible, bite-size nuggets:

• Chapter 10 shows you ten accessories that can make your photography life easier, more fun, or both.
• Chapter 11 provides a photography troubleshooting guide, discussing ten common picture problems and how to avoid or repair them.
• Chapter 12 describes ten critical steps you should take to protect and maintain your gear — and offers advice about what to do if disaster strikes.

Beyond the Book

When you have a minute or two to go online, visit www.dummies.com and enter the text Digital Photography For Dummies Cheat Sheet in the search box. The search should point you to a handy reference guide to the most important camera settings and terms. You can print the Cheat Sheet and carry it in your camera bag or download it so that you can read it even if you don't have Internet access.

Icons Used in This Book

Like other books in the For Dummies series, this book uses icons to flag especially important information. Here’s a quick guide to the icons used in Digital Photography For Dummies, 8th Edition:

This icon represents information that you should commit to memory. Doing so can make your life easier and less stressful.

Text marked with this icon breaks technical gobbledygook into plain English. In many cases, you don’t need to know this stuff, but boy, will you sound impressive if you repeat it at a party.

The Tip icon points you to shortcuts that help you avoid doing more work than necessary. This icon also highlights ideas for creating better pictures and working around common digital photography problems.

When you see this icon, pay attention — danger is on the horizon. Read the text next to a Warning icon to keep yourself out of trouble and to find out how to fix things if you leaped before you looked.

Where to Go From Here

The answer depends on you. You can start with Chapter 1 and read straight through to the index, if you like. Or you can flip to whatever section of the book interests you most and start there.

The one thing this book isn’t designed to do, however, is insert its contents magically into your head. You can’t just put the book on your desk or under your pillow and expect to acquire the information by osmosis — you have to put eyes to page and do some actual reading.

With our hectic lives, finding the time and energy to read is always easier said than done, but if you spend just a few minutes a day with this book, you can increase your digital photography skills tenfold — heck, maybe even elevenfold or twelvefold. Suffice it to say that you’ll soon be able to capture any subject, from a newborn baby to an urban landscape, like a pro — and have a lot of fun along the way.