For Christmas this year, I got about a million photo books. This has prompted me to start doing mini-reviews. Hope you like them.

I finished Scott Kelby’s The Digital Photography Book, Volume 1 in a few days, though it could easily be finished in one if you don’t have much to do. The reason this was such a quick read was two-fold: I knew most (but not all) of what was in it, and each page covers a different topic–a blurb about this, a blurb about that, and so on. It’s easy to read a few pages, set it down, and pick it up later without having to remember where you left off. The book doesn’t go into too much detail in any one area, but the details that are included are valuable. To the seasoned photographer, it’s a quick review (f/11 is a sweet spot for group portraits, and be sure to check the “blinkies”), while for the novice the tips may be overwhelming the first time through–but quite useful on the second.

The book is divided into eleven chapters, with almost every one having “pro” in the title: Shooting Sports Like a Pro, Shooting People Like a Pro, Taking Travel & City Life Shots Like a Pro, Shooting Lanscapes Like a Pro, etc. Kelby, through his short tips and sometimes overly-witty humor, tries to bring home that everyone can be a professional photographer (note the “Great for point-and-shoot digital camera owners, too!” quip on the cover) if they begin to think like one–and follow his advice. The subtitle on the cover, in fact, states that the book is full of “step-by-step secrets for how to make your photos lok like the pros’!” This says who he’s aiming towards: amateurs, advanced-amateurs, and maybe even pros who want a quick skim and a few refreshers.

Kelby covers the importance of sharpness, where to aim during formal portraits, tips for shooting in forests, tips for shooting on an incline, and even why sports photographers better have a pile of gold laying around. Some pages might teach you something new, and some may not (do any of us need to be reminded about carrying around extra memory cards?). But some pages featured ideas I’d never considered, such as comparing the LCD on your camera with you computer screen to see how different the colors/brightness look, and adjusting your field practices to those differences. His biggest, and probably most important tip: when you have the time, take the time. Get it right the first time, so you have less to do in the (digital) darkroom later.

Kelby explains the basics fairly well, though he expects you to know what “aperture” means, at least a little bit. That sentence alone should be able to tell you if you need to read this book. If you are new to photography, you’ll get a lot out of it, which I think is his goal–he’s not catering to the pros, though they might pick up a few tips here and there.

He caters to Nikon and Canon owners, as those are the two most widely accepted and used DSLR brands, but his tips are useful on any make or model–you might just have to search for the settings on your own more often. (And he even lets you take a peek at his gear–Nikon guy all the way. One for the home team.)

Overall, for $15, if you’re just getting interested in photography, it’s worth a look. If you shoot for a living, and are actually making a good living, it’s probably not worth your time. Once you read this, you’ll probably have a better idea of how your skills stack up against the pros. If you already know most of it, you’re pretty much set. If you don’t, you’ve got some work to do. I guess I’m in-between.