Like many others out there, I’ve recently purchased a copy of Scott Kelby’s most recent release, The Digital Phtotography Book, Volume 2 - I was expecting a lot and wasn’t disappointed!

Many other reviews on the web right now recommend this as a beginner’s book. I agree that beginners would get the most out of it, but I believe that any photographer should own a copy. The sheer number of tips and the spread of subjects make it applicable anyone.

Read on for the top 9 reasons you need to purchase this book.

• It covers around 200 tips in 7 categories (Travel, Macro, Weddings, Landscapes, Portraits, Studio, Flash – with a few general tips chapters thrown in). It doesn’t matter how good you are – I doubt anyone is the best in so many areas – there is something to learn for everyone.
• For the amount of great information you get, it’s cheap at an MSRP of $25 and a price several dollars below that on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
• You can read it very quickly.
• Online companion material. The book has several online resources that enhance some of the tips nicely.
• Scott Kelby’s writing style. Oddly, some folks think his humorous and engaging style is too much. I disagree. I’ve read my share of text books in my life and I’m done with all that. I really enjoy someone who can have fun with communication – and it makes it MUCH more accessible to newcomers out there.
• The tips are short and the pics are great. I really enjoy that each tip is very short and easy to remember. He also scatters great photos throughout.
• Product recommendations. Some might see this as trying to promote certain products or breaking folks’ pocketbooks. Personally, I really appreciate the honesty and information around what it takes from an equipment standpoint to make it happen.
• One of the best reflections on this book is that it will continue to sit in my continuously referenced stack. There isn’t a much higher compliment than that on a book.
• It just works. My wife just asked “Have you ever dragged the shutter before?” After putting on my shocked look, I explained that that is what I’d explained at least a dozen times before and what I knew she was actually doing on our shoots. It turns out she’d been using this practice for a while and didn’t know what it was called. My upteen explanations didn’t do the trick. Reading one page in this book did.

Thanks Scott for another great book!