Shooting with Soul: 44 Photography Exercises Exploring Life, Beauty and Self-Expression - From film to Smartphones, capture images using cameras from yesterday and today. Paperback – Picture Book, December 1, 2013

Alessandra's book sings! It is full of inspiring images, practical and creative suggestions for camera use and shooting, and beautifully inviting exercises that can be completed in sequence or in a playfully random fashion. What I love about "Shooting With Soul" is that it is full of useful, clearly articulated information that gently guides and encourages the photographer to discover her own unique style, while learning to look for the extraordinary moments in each of our days. I love that she emphasizes the importance of perceiving and framing before shooting as a way of training the eye to see with more sensitivity and clarity. I highly recommend this book!

I'm a self-dubbed "Snap Shot Hobbyist," because "professional" seems too intimidating when you're searching for helpful information regarding how to best utilize your camera. This book is the BEST I've come across. Not at all intimidating, the author does not talk down to the reader, and the instructions she provides are clear, sensible, and easy to follow. The accommodating prompts are inspiring. Excellent publication, well put together. If you're looking to take your "hobby" OR profession a step further and don't quite know where or how to get started, THIS book will certainly get you on track. So take the book and camera at hand, and have FUN "Shooting with SOUL."

So. This delightful book is unusual in that it focuses on the why and how of picture-taking. You know how you want to get that illusive photo--the one you KNOW you can get, if only?... Well, you're much more bound to get it after reading this book than others purporting to teach you the EXACT technique of it all. In Alessandra's book, you focus on telling a story--complete with feelings and emotions--and believe me, this comes across in the pictures (and the wonderful text and included quotes!). I recently met Alessandra, and she's as delightful as her book. LOVE when that happens!

As Amazon could tell you, I'm a little bit of a photography nerd, and I probably own too many photography books. I never wrote any reviews though. But this book is different. It has a soul! The author's voice is as delightful as her images, and her playful and curious study of equipment, light, composition (and more generally life!) is simply contagious... I learned a few new tips, but most importantly I felt inspired. Poetry for the eyes.I'm getting another one as a gift for my best friend :)

This is a very well-written and well-organized creative book for amateur and professional photographers alike. It has step-by-step suggestions for subject matter, composition, lighting, and use of several different camera types. It also gives prompts for furthering one's creative adventures with photography. All of the illustrations are excellent examples and the layout is superb. I hope that Ms. Cave will follow through with a sequential book in the future. I love all of the pertinent quotations throughout the book which are most inspirational!

I like the simple exercises listed in the book and the reasons why the author has chosen them. Stretchingourselves in creative exercises can often seem overwhelming, but all the suggestions and examples arefull of purpose and seem within reach.A nice combination of beautiful photographs with gently teaching.

What I love about Shooting With Soul is there are weekly excercises of taking photographs and reflection for each weeks prompts. The reflections are about you and your own life with photography assignments to tell your own story. It has beautiful photographs throughout. It is both enlightening and fun. Can't wait to see if the author turns it into an online class. If so...I'm in!

Love this book

An extremely accessible photo project book that doesn't ask the impossible. I currently have 12 exercises to go and find myself still motivated to complete them, even after using it for the past 6 months. I chose to complete the exercises out of order so they fit into when things happen for me, but completing them in order is intended. However you choose to do it, you won't regret it. I've learned so much about myself and my life from this, so it's exciting to keep going with it. I'll be sad when I complete it all so I hope Alessandra does a follow up book.

A beautiful book

Lovely inspiring book!