How to Photograph Cars - James Mann - Tony Baker : Book Review

             

How to Photograph Cars by James Mann. Motor Books International 2002. 142 pages
How to Photograph Cars: An Enthusiast's Guide to Equipment and Techniques by Tony Baker. Haynes Publishing 2002. 159 pages

Both books are written by Brits. (Why doesn't Peter Vincent write a book like this?) Baker is more pronounced in his Englishness in that he misspells "colour," says things cost many "pounds," talks about the "bonnet" and warns about "flattening" the battery. Actually, both authors use that last phrase. We Americans "kill" the battery. Not that we advocate violence. The only Baker phrase that really threw me as an American hot rodder was "..the vibration of the car as it ticks over..." TICKS OVER! Maybe European cars "tick over" but American cars rumble, buddy! OK, at least my 1958 Pontiac Bonneville does. My minivan may not rumble, but I wouldn't say it "ticks over." A phrase like that makes me want to advocate violence.

While there are, of course, many similarities, each book stands on its own and has things to teach. In general, Mann assumes an audience that is going to be going out lugging equipment around. Baker writes toward those who really enjoy taking pictures of cars and perhaps hope to make a few dollars (pounds) while they are at it. At least that is the impression I got.

If you are serious about photographing automobiles as a profession, then you should get the Mann book. Actually, if you are serious about taking pictures of cars as a profession, then you should get both books. But the Mann book goes into more length about shooting at motorsport events, has more details about set-up techniques, and is slightly more technical about apertures and stuff. He also discusses bolt-on cameras and archiving your photographs, neither of which Baker even mentions. I would say Baker is more for the serious amateur. Not that there is anything wrong with that. In fact, there is probably more of a market for a book aimed at that audience.

The Baker book is helpful for the beginning photographer. Each topic is covered in a two-page spread or mini-chapter. For example, under Action Photography, Baker has Panning 1, then turn the page and there is Panning 2, then turn the page again there is Panning 3, and finally Panning 4. No topic has more than 4 "chapters." While I am not fond of that format (just call it Panning and make it 8 pages long), it is easy to digest. Mann has longer chapters, but ends each section with a short review sidebar (a grey box) and sprinkled throughout are red-titled sidebars for highlights.

One nice touch in the Mann book is that he gives Levels of Difficulty in the Action Photography section. The levels range from 1 (easy) to 10 (difficult). For example, "Rear Three-Quarters Tracking" Level of Difficulty: 4; "Cornering" Level of Difficulty: 7. The idea here is that you can begin easy and work your way up to the more difficult shots, rather than try that really cool shot that is also really hard and so, get discouraged. It is good to get a realistic picture of how hard some of these shots can be.

Mann is more accepting of digital. Something both should be more in line with, but seeing how the publication date for the books is 2002, I can see why they are so film-centric. Digital has come a long way in the last few years, including a long way down in price. If you, like me, use digital, don't let that discourage you from buying the books, the techniques are the same: light, shutter speed, composition. These things don't change from film to digital, though the focal length of the lens is different. For example, on my camera the lens says 6.0-72mm, but the 35mm film focal length equivalent is 36-432mm. Check out DP Review or Photoxels for more information on that topic.

For digital users, even discussions of film can be instructive however. My digital camera has an ISO setting, which is similar to "film speed." For my old point-and-shoot 35mm film camera, we use 200 speed film. I could also choose 100 or 400 speed. These are the kinds of things photographers talk about, and we need to learn how to transfer that to digital and ISO settings, because they do make a difference to how the picture turns out. So do not ignore the parts of the book that discuss film choices.

As to specifics, next to his photos Mann labels lens, f-stop, and shutter speed; while Baker names car make, location of shoot, camera type, lens, filters if used, and film type(which if you know about film, will tell you the ISO or speed of film). Sometimes in the description he says which aperture or shutter speed he used.

The Mann book had five obvious typos. Not a big deal, but when "-rain" instead of "grain" appears, or in a chapter review sidebar, "cl" instead of "close" pops up, one thinks a proofreader would choke on his Pepsi and immediately get it fixed.

As a disclaimer here, I am a beginner. I bought my first "fancy" camera last July, so I am just learning what an f-stop is. So, for me, the Baker book was my favorite, because of where I am and what I need. Baker gave the best description of aperture related to depth-of-field I have seen: "Lens aperture controls the depth-of-field in the finished image; that is, the amount of the subject in front of, and behind, the point of focus that will appear sharp." He goes on to discuss how lens focal length also affects depth-of-field.

I like both books and got good information from both. Of course, there are overlapping ideas, but there is enough original in each that I would recommend both to anyone who wants to do much with car photography at all. If you are too cheap to spring for two at once, get one for your self now and ask for the other for your birthday.

Robert M. Lindsey
© February 2007