Rating: 
Summary: Confused photographer's guide
Review: I have been photographing for over 30 years so when it comes to exposure I feel comfortable with my hand held meter. It was then that I bought Mr. Farzad's book and I admit that it is the simplest, most comprehensive book on exposure that I have ever read. Simple but excellent explanations on how a meter works and how to use it correctly for perfect exposures every time.It has certainly reinforced my previous knowledge on this basic area of photography.
Mr. Farzad has done a remarkable job of presenting, in a simple manner, all you need to know about exposure and exposure meters.
William Rodriguez, MD
Miami, Florida.
Rating: 
Summary: Finally, I Get It!
Review: I have long been trying not only to understand this wonderful technique but also apply it. Mr. Farzad has given me the secret keys to understanding the zone system in his unique style of teaching. For the first time, I now am more confident in my picture taking skills and no longer just take "average" photographs. I am now a work in progress thanks to this book. A MUST read for anyone serious about going to the next level.
Rating:
Summary: You will understand the zonesystem after reading this
Review: I must say, that after reading you will know what your camera does an what is does wrong. He simplifies it so that everybody can understand it. A nice book, one point is that the example pictures could be somewhat smaller in stead of a whole page, this will spare some trees... but that all.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely un-confusing!
Review: I've been taking photos for 20 years, on and off. Only very few were to my satisfaction. So I started reading books on exposure but couldn't really understand them. I read Bahman Farzad's book during one quiet weekend and now I do not only understand exposure but also the other books I couldn't understand before. I'm not a professional photographer so I could only put so much time into figuring out the mysteries of exposure - therefore, this book is really ideal for those who want to finally understand things but with a limited investment of time. After explaining the fundamentals (most important) there are numerous special examples like photographing moonlit scenes etc. Highly recommended! Sometimes, there is too much repetition for my taste and sometimes the analogies might be a bit far-fetched. Also, I missed special hints on taking landscapes. But this question was promptly answered by Bahman trough email!
Rating:
Summary: I wish I had this book before I bought my photo gear!!
Review: If you are just getting into Photography as a hobby and haven't bought your gear yet, buy this book. It will save you hundreds (literally!) of dollars. If you want to burn films to collect satisfactions rather than headaches, frustrations and unnecessary expenses in film and film developing, this is the book for you.It will take you step by step in a familiar language (not that techno jargon to confuse readers and impress people like you and I, without a degree in Photography, and, in a logical and simple manner will get you into the basic and most proven techniques to achieve decent pictures. It will show you what you need to know about your camera and about light, films, exposure and about the camera features you need to be looking for to do the job just right. Once you've learned what he wants you to learn and practice, then you'll be in a comfortable position to be more creative and be on your own to do your best in this beautiful hobby. I highly recommend this book, and I do it with the same pleasure and enthusiasm as the other reviewers. They have made a great job in pointing out how good it was for them and what it can do for you as a novice shutterbug.
Rating:
Summary: These are must read books!
Review: If you rely on the camera to find the exposure for you, or you tend to use the automatic modes, or if you have a feeling there's something the photographers you admire do that you're not doing... you NEED read Mr. Farzad's books!
I started off trying to figure out what it was that the photographers I admire were doing that I was missing, and discovered his website. Immediately, I knew that here was an example of a photographer whose work I really admired.
When the box of books arrived, I was surprised how heavy it was. I kind of expected the books to be of a lot less substance than they were. These aren't booklets, as has been the case when I bought some "books" on photography in the past. These are full sized and well made books, and they are full of exactly the information you need to figure out how to expose pretty much anything correctly.
When I first learned what the technique was and began to understand it, I must say it was a little scary to disregard the camera's reccomendations. Then, after a bit of experimentation, I started realizing that I actually could get the same sort of gorgeous exposures that Mr. Farzad was getting. Now, I feel confident that I can expose correctly for pretty much anything. I almost never use the exposures recommended by the camera, and I almost never use automatic modes anymore. I'm also getting some very positive comments since I started applying these techniques. And after a little practice, I know exactly what adjustments to make simply at a glance at the subject!
Mr. Farzad is very obviously a teacher. The books do not assume you know anything about the subject, so they begin at the beginning. That, coupled with the proper teaching techniques (repetition, approaching the concept from multiple directions, and working to get people with different learning styles to understand) can make the books a bit slow to read if you are already familiar with some of the basics. However if you stick with it, you'll end up like me, confident and achieving much better photographic results! I truely believe that nobody can be a top notch photographer without applying this knowledge.
There have been other reviews that said that if you buy one book, you shouldn't buy the other. I disagree. While the spotmetering book does share some information with the zone system book, there is enough different information that I personally was glad to have them both. Also, I disagree with the reviewer who said that these techniques do not apply to other films besides slide film. On the contrary, there are explanations for all films, color negative, bw negative, slide and digital! Remember, there is sometimes a difference between "correct exposure" and "desired exposure".
After learning this, I have achieved a whole new dimension of skill. With these books, a decent lens and some practice, you too can be producing fantastic photography!
Rating: 
Summary: An OK Photo book
Review: Not really the zone system, but more adjusting what you meter is showing as 18% gray. (Ex.= If a person takes a picture of snow, one should open up the apeture or decrease the shutter speed a full two stops to get a natural white. If no compensation takes place, the snow will look gray (hense 18% gray)). One of the first things an amateur photographer needs to understand is how the camera's meter takes light readings. The book goes over some of this, but in a different way. Also, he completely leaves out how to compensate when using flash. His suggestions only work with slide film and maybe a little with digital photography. If you use this system with negative film, the lab will over-expose it every time. I've also noticed my digital camera over-exposes some subjects if I use this system. A better book in my opinion is "Understanding Exposure", by Bryan Peterson. I have referred to Bryan's book many times and keep it in my library of Photo books.
Rating:
Summary: An OK Photo book
Review: Not really the zone system, but more adjusting what you meter is showing as 18% gray. (Ex.= If a person takes a picture of snow, one should open up the apeture or decrease the shutter speed a full two stops to get a natural white. If no compensation takes place, the snow will look gray (hense 18% gray)). One of the first things an amateur photographer needs to understand is how the camera's meter takes light readings. The book goes over some of this, but in a different way. Also, he completely leaves out how to compensate when using flash. His suggestions only work with slide film and maybe a little with digital photography. If you use this system with negative film, the lab will over-expose it every time. I've also noticed my digital camera over-exposes some subjects if I use this system. A better book in my opinion is "Understanding Exposure", by Bryan Peterson. I have referred to Bryan's book many times and keep it in my library of Photo books.
Rating:
Summary: Simple Concepts For Simple People
Review: then this is the book for you. Most people will find the book quite repetitious and rather basic in parts, but if you read it cover to cover, you will understand how to correctly expose an image, no matter how much difficulty you may have had in the past grasping the concepts of exposure. One key thing to note -- the book is written for photographers who shoot slide film. The author has added a few "digital footnotes," but it is still a book about correctly exposing slide film.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent exposure overview for the novice photographer
Review: There are a lot of photography books available, but very few good ones for a beginner. This one is just excellent. It covers all aspects of correctly exposing a photograph using both in-camera and handheld exposure meters. If you are just getting into serious photography, this book will save you a lot of frustration and give you a foundation you can build upon.
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