Don't you just hate it? You just bought this nice camera, you have been working with it, you feel comfortable using it, you purchased a number of books on how to use it to do different things, and you have studied them diligently. Now that you're on vacation or on a business trip, you want to use your camera but can't seem to remember what you need to do to take good shots in that museum or how to properly bracket a shot because the light is just not right. There might even be a great opportunity to do a panorama, but since you have never done one you are just not certain.

Sure, you read about how to do each of these things, but you can't carry all of your books with you wherever you go. You can, however, take along Derrick Story's easy-to-carry new book, The Digital Photography Companion. It contains all of these answers and much, much more. At 8.4 x 5.5 inches in size and under nine ounces, it can slip into almost any bag you have on hand when you need it. The Digital Photography Companion is 230 pages in length and is divided into five chapters.

Chapter 1, "What is It?," begins with a feature and comparison listing for the different types of cameras and accessory equipment. The first step to taking control of your camera is to know what your camera is capable of. Here you will learn about every feature of your camera. If you have not purchased a camera as yet, you will find out the kind of features you should look for in a camera - even the ones you don't need. This isn't intended to replace your manual, but rather work in concert with your manual to explain things in terms that are easier to understand.

Chapter 2, "How Does it Work," will have you taking control of buttons, dials, and menus. Where chapter 1 told you what your camera has on it, or should have on it, this chapter will tell you how to use it. Many times when people first get a camera, the camera is in control via automatic settings. Here you will learn how to use those deceptively simple buttons and dials to move you to the next level of picture taking creativity. Now you will get the power to take control and create even better pictures.