Books by Our Instructors
Looking for some national park and night photography inspiration and education that you can always have at your fingertips? Choose from one of the several written by members of the National Parks at Night team, available in both paperback and electronic formats.
HDR Photography:
From Snapshots to Great Shots
by Tim Cooper
Are you an aspiring landscape, architecture, interior or real estate photographer? Do you struggle with a lack of detail in the highlight or shadow areas of your scene? Then the world of high-dynamic range (HDR) photography is for you. This guide by pro photographer Tim Cooper will help you understand how to capture your subjects and process them for amazing, realistic results.
Magic of Light Painting
by Tim Cooper
Painting with light is magical. The flashlight is your brush and the scene is your canvas. Imagination and experimentation are your workflow. You control how long the beam strikes the subject, which angle it comes from, the color and softness of the light, and which part of the scene is illuminated. Few other forms of photography allow this level of creativity.
Whether you’re shooting starry landscapes or urban architecture, pro photographer Tim Cooper will help you create and capture high-quality light painting images. In this detailed step-by-step guide you will:
understand how to focus and set your DSLR camera settings while working in the dark
learn how to calculate ambient exposure, ISO, aperture, shutter speed and white balance
discover light painting accessories and pro techniques for controlling the angle of light, intensity, beam width and filtration
extend your night vision by preparing and processing your images in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, including blending multiple images
Night Photography:
From Snapshots to Great Shots
by Gabriel Biderman & Tim Cooper
Night Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots published by Peachpit Press brings readers an introduction to taking photographs after the sun has set. This 240-page book by photographers Gabriel Biderman and Tim Cooper provides many of the basics for shooting at night. This includes scouting, exposure, composition and lighting. Additionally, the book is filled with large photos for inspiration and examples.
Buy at B&H (e-book)
Buy on Amazon (English)
Buy on Amazon (Italian)
Night Photography and Light Painting: Finding Your Way in the Dark
by Lance Keimig
Authored by expert Lance Keimig, this second edition of Night Photography & Light Painting: Finding Your Way in the Dark from Focal Press will provide photographers with an excellent introduction to the world and history of night photography. The 248-page softcover was published in 2015 and features many practical techniques of shooting along with theory and history and clear illustrations throughout. It tackles urban and landscape shooting in addition to providing information on light painting for adding another element to your images.
Buy at B&H (English, 2nd Edition)
Buy on Amazon (1st edition)
Buy on Amazon in Chinese, German, Spanish
Buy from Author (signed)
Photographing National Parks:
A Guide to Scouting and Shooting America’s Most Cherished Lands
by Chris Nicholson
From sea to shining sea, the national parks preserve some of the country's most unique wilderness areas. As such, they are a gift to nature photographers everywhere. In the pages of Photographing National Parks, Chris Nicholson delves into what all the parks offer to the photographer, and how to best research and prepare for a trip to explore the artistic opportunities within.
Learn how to travel safely and photograph in the various environments found in the park system, including desert, alpine, forest and coastline.
Discover where to find valuable information about iconic and secret photo locations, how to stay powered up in the outdoors, and ideas for ancillary gear that will make a photo project more efficient and productive.
Chris details each national park and reveals what photographers will find there for inspiration and subject matter.
Photographing Lighthouses: A Guide to Shooting the Sentinels of the Sea
by Chris Nicholson
Lighthouses have long been a nostalgic subject for the photographer, standing sentinel against time and the relentless ocean, as beacons of both danger and hope, firmly planted in the sands of seafaring and Americana.
But photographing them at night? Aye, them seas can be choppy!
In this upcoming book, author and photographer Chris Nicholson will discuss the basics and the advanced methods of photographing lighthouses in both day and night conditions. From tricky exposures, to challenges with perspective, to issues with timing and more.
Different types of lighthouses come with different sets of advantages and hurdles, and this book will cover them all, offering techniques to meet those challenges and create your best lighthouse photos ever.
Release date: September 5, 2023
Sign up for release announcement at photographinglighthouses.com
Realistic HDR Image
by Tim Cooper
Creating a realistic HDR image with multiple exposures depends on your ability to analyze a scene and translate your impressions into a photograph. Today’s digital camera sensors capture quite a bit, but still fall short of what your eyes see. Lightroom, Photoshop and Photomatix software provide a more accurate and elegant solution to this the age-old problem.
Whether you’re shooting wild landscapes or calm real estate interiors, pro photographer Tim Cooper will help you capture and process HDR photographs that represent the reality you see, with subtlety, depth and staying power. In this detailed step-by-step guide you will:
learn how to approach exposure and your DSLR camera settings
understand bracketing, ISO and white balance
discover pro HDR tips, such as using a tripod and cable release for perfect alignment of multiple images
prepare and process your images in Lightroom and HDR Pro in Photoshop
use Photomatix to align and merge your final HDR photograph
