Foreword

What is it about taking pictures that interests us so much? There are many reasons people like photography. For starters, it’s fun! It’s exciting to capture snapshots of fascinating moments, people, animals, places, and things. When we grow older, we can look back at our pictures to remember a great vacation or a special first day of school. In some ways, photographs become our memories; they can bring the past back to life. Ask your parents if they have old photos of your great-grandparents from when they were children.

Taking photographs was a special occasion for past generations. In the picture on the right, you can see how fascinated these children are by the camera of American photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston. She was a pioneer of photography. This picture was taken around 1900.

A century has passed since this picture of a school in Alaska was taken in 1910. Even though these people are probably no longer living, the liveliness of the children makes it seem like the photo was just taken.

Photographs are made with a device that captures a real moment and portrays something that actually happened (unless the picture is changed afterwards on a computer). A photo shows a brief moment in life, like someone laughing, blowing out birthday candles, or scoring the winning goal in a soccer game.

Photos have lots of uses. Advertisements use pictures to show us what we can buy. Newspapers print pictures so we can see what happens in the world. Crime scenes are photographed so the police can save clues. We can even buy posters of our favorite movie stars to hang on our walls. And most Internet sites are filled with pictures.

What would become of stars without the photographers who follow them on the red carpet?

Taking pictures today is easier than it used to be. Modern cameras are so technically advanced that everyone can take good pictures. But we can take better pictures if we know a little about the technology of photography and the composition of a photograph. We’ll explore this throughout the book, and you’ll find lots of ideas for exciting and unusual pictures so you can have even more fun.

Photographers today follow the action everywhere, like here at a professional soccer game.