I very rarely recommend something that I have not personally tried myself. It is a personal rule that keeps customers, friends, and relatives (not necessarily in that order) from coming back and saying ... "I can't believe you recommended that to me - it was awful." However, there are two products that I am going to make an exception for.
The first is the sequel to the best photography book I have ever read. It is "The Digital Photography Book Vol. 2." Scott Kelby blew me away with the simplicity and yet effectiveness of his first book and tough I have gotten a lot out of his Lightroom and Photoshop books - there was something different about this one. He has such a unique approach to teaching photographic technique that I appeals to all skill levels. I have recommended vol. 1 to hundreds of customers at Best Buy when I was working in the Camera department and every single response I have heard has been - "thank you, has made me enjoy my camera more." Now understand that most these people are not photographers - but the book blessed them with the ability to enjoy the use of their SLR in a way that they would have missed without it. On the flip side - I have also recommended it to several advanced and semi-professional photographers who I know and they also raved about it. The book hits people at all sill levels. Book two picks up where the first left off. Scott focuses a lot on using remote flashes; a capability that is built into almost all Nikon cameras without extra stuff to buy and an ability that Canon has built into most of their flashes. Both companies are majority guilty of making it difficult to just figure out the hardware - so who is EVER going to play with it or accidentally discover the feature? I haven't read volume 2 because it isn't out yet; however, I will be picking up a copy the day it hits the shelves. Check it out on Amazon.
The seccond, is a book I just heard about today on Scott Kelby's Blog. It sounds totally amazing. Joe is one of the best instructors out there and I am super stoked to have heard about the book and you can bet I will be picking it up the minute it arrives at my local book store. I'm not going to go into detail about the book here - instead read Scott's thoughts over on his blog for info on the book.
You probably can't get either for christmas because they are going to be out till late december/early January; however, when you are looking for something to spend all that holiday cash you received - these are both great candidates.
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