The book Get the Picture You Want, Essential Digital Photography Techniques. was just what I needed. The book covers everything related to digital photography; just name the topic. It easily applies to both Macs and PCs. The only software needed might be one of Adobe's Photoshop applications (Photoshop Elements or Photoshop 7 or Photoshop CS), for image correcting and another for burning CDs or DVDs. The book has a table of contents, an index, illustrations, and a fine glossary section. There are 4 sections to the book.

The first one is all about digital photography and the camera basics. It talks about digital vs. film and why use digital. It also covers what to look for when buying digital cameras. The authors even talk about: camera care; accessories and add-ons, and the need for them.

Section two is about: shooting techniques (people, portraits, pets, and outdoors); resolutions; shutter speed; ISO; using flash; using tripods and getting proper white balance by using the gray card. The authors have included illustrations, which greatly aid the reader's understanding.

Section three is about storing digital images. It includes renaming files using one of Adobe's Photoshop applications mentioned above. Instead of using the camera's default settings, use a name so you know what you took. This section also discusses many different storage devices, such as, CDs, DVDs, and external hard drives. It discusses why you should be concerned about properly storing your images.

The fourth section is about making your digital images "tangible." A subset of the topics covered: image resolutions and sizes; types of printers; what paper works best; creating T-shirt transfers; and setting up document and adding text. In addition, it covers how to deal with low-resolution images; and how to get the most out of your printer, plus online picture services.

The book's strengths are: its illustrations, found throughout, which are very helpful; and the fact that it's very easy reading. I found only two weaknesses: In the last section, I wish they covered more about what else one could do with the images, besides printing or creating T-shirt transfers. The other weakness was the book's large size, 7 X 9 inches; I wish the book were small enough to fit into a camera bag to take on the road.

I agree with their assessment that this book would benefit beginners and intermediate photographers. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends and family. It impressed me so much that I am also going to recommend it to a digital photography teacher. The book is also a great tool for those who want to teach themselves digital photography.

It's well worth its price.