Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Some Photography Books

I bought three photography books in December alone. (Burning cash again ) All the books were bought in Kinokuniya Bookstore in KLCC. And all three were written by Taiwanese photographers – in Chinese of course.

Why Chinese books? Aren’t there plenty of books written in English?

Price is the major factor. (Now that’s the sad part.) All the three books I bought cost around RM50 each. A similar book written by a Western photographer easily doubles the price. As I strive to cut spending, my options are limited.

Anyway, all three books are well-written. And, as far as portraiture is concerned, I still prefer Asian style to Western one. Western photographers often draw their inspiration from Renaissance paintings. They may, for example, photograph a subject with half her face dark and the other half bright. Such portraiture tends to be very artistic. Another example is photographing a nude model – but only showing her backside. You can’t see her face. This is no pornography, but artistic nude! WTH, I studied science as a high school student. I haven’t learned to appreciate art.

By comparison, Asian style portraiture tends to be more casual, or pretend to be casual. (Don’t get it?) The kawaii poses, pioneered by the Japanese and copied by Taiwanese, are more pleasing than the Mona Lisa pose.

Hey, our London-based blogger and world-trotter Kikey Loo loves kawaii pose too

The three books I bought were:

曝光X構圖:拍出自我風格

(Exposure control & framing: Shoot with your own style)

Author: 若揚其


如何擺出好pose:美少女外拍動作圖解

(How to strike a nice pose: Pictorial guide to posing for pretty girls)

Author: 黑麵


一機一鏡走天下:DSLR出國這樣拍就對了

(Traveling with one camera and one lens)

Author: Stan Chang

34 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. RM50 for 3 books is really inexpensive. I will shop for some when I next visit the bookshop.

    一機一鏡走天下:DSLR出國這樣拍就對了seems just right for me...

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  3. Grass
    Actually it's RM50 for each of the books, plus or minus a few RM.

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  4. hahahaaaa.... so u know where everybody learn the tricks when all the pictures in FB with similar poses... XD

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  5. Wow! I used to have one book myself ... :)

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  6. 烧钱冇相干啦,只要买到自己嘅心头好就好。值得嘅。。。

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  7. 迷迭香
    Haha... everybody wants to look kawaii...

    TZ
    You threw your book away already?

    christine
    啲書都幾好,算係值得啦。。。

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  8. Wah.. RM150 gone in one go! :P

    For me, I still prefer the Renaissance/Baroque style. I'm more visual, lol.

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  9. Photography books aren't cheap. I spent quite a bit on those books this year. A very good book I started to read (and have yet to finish) is Byran Peterson's Understanding Exposure.

    You can claim tax deduction for book purchases.

    I prefer the western style of photography. Not into those kawai pose.

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  10. RM50 each? But since you said the English version from western author doubles the price, then I think it should be worth it. :D

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  11. haha.. i only know one kawaii post. maybe i should learn more. when i go back, can i borrow the book "how to strike a nice pose from you ar?" :)

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  12. I love photographing too, but have no books - just an amateur and learn along the way as my goal is just to document my posts about Norway.

    Btw: Thanks for stopping by - always great to welcome new readers and with an interesting question too :-)

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  13. Ahh the only gripe I have is too bad I can't read Chinese! :( That means I'd have to spend double your amount for a book. :( Btw, aren't these info available from the internet? Just curious. :)

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  14. RM50 can buy you a good meal too, but then that only gives momentarily joy to the stomach.

    So buy books are better. =p

    *chats non-stop*
    Pictures! Pictures! Pictures!

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  15. kyh
    You're a conservative young guy!

    Mei Ting
    I flipped through Bryan Peterson's book in bookstore, but found it to be more like beginner's level. So I didn't buy one.

    tekkaus
    Yes, I think the price is worth it.

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  16. Terella
    Would like to learn more about Norway!

    witch
    Basic photography tips are available on the Net for free. But you still need to pay for the more advanced tuition.

    shingo
    I like good meal too. Ah! So much to spend :(

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  17. Conservative? Why? LOL!

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  18. I also cannot get a nice pose. I also hope i can pose like those girls in magazines.. Yeah, indeed, I do not have such high requirement la...

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  19. Oh! I'm sure if you derive benefits from reading those books, it is not a waste of money or what you consider burning cash : )

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  20. Maybe you should translate those books into English and resell? Of course, legally. Who knows, might make some good money! Haha

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  21. I guess you are right. For the same price of 1 book in English, you get 2 in Chinese. Hopefully, learn double the tips. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

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  22. kyh
    You like everything old.

    keeyit
    Then you get the 2nd book I listed.

    foongpc
    Ya... wish to translate those books.

    Autumn Belle
    Merry Xmas!

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  23. Haha... actually I prefer those artsy/artistic/visual stuff. And at the same time, I dislike those Jappie/Korean/Taiwanese street culture. Just not my taste. :)

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  24. The differences you pointed out are interesting. I like casual poses better as well...

    kawai = 可爱 ?

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  25. kyh
    Haha... our taste are different.

    Zhu
    Yes, kawaii = 可爱

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  26. i have read the something similar to How to strike a nice pose book before (or was it the same one) and i thought it was really useful...even not for pretty girls :P

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  27. xin
    Some books teach us how to hide our shortcomings, so a fat person will look slimmer.
    But of course, a lenglui like you will look even better with classy pose :P

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  28. 一机一镜走天下.. was it goodas a reference? I am asking my friend in Taiwan to buy few for me too.. if this one is ok then can add in the list. ;))

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  29. 彬天雪谛
    The book is a good reference for me. What's your level?

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  30. hey i think i need to learn to pose to look slimmer..........please show me the tips!

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  31. xin
    Shoot at 45 degree. Wearing black helps too.

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