What is Reddit's opinion of Master Shots Vol 1, 2nd edition: 100 Advanced Camera Techniques to Get An Expensive Look on your Low Budget Movie?

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If you’re just looking to learn, check out the master shot books. Don’t just read them, read them and stop at each setup and duplicate the work. It’s a good way to learn a lot very quickly. They’re geared more toward cinematography, but they are very relevant to general videography and lighting as well.

Videography is harder in some ways because it’s often live, and you’re chasing the action without an ability to reshoot, but understanding how to do it ideally is very valuable to getting it right the first try. For product shots or promotions etc it carries over nicely.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1615930876/

Books are your friend. It's surprising how much a difference a single book can make.

This series of books is precisely for those who want to get a quick run down on professional looking cinematography: Master Shots - Christopher Kenworthy http://www.amazon.com/Master-Shots-Vol-2nd-Techniques/dp/1615930876/ref=la_B001JOXCNS_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1465496281&sr=1-1

And here is a sort of..."cheat" for reels. Pick a good angle, light it perfectly, and do one monologue (that applies to the location you choose to shoot, be it in a nice dining room or dark alley), all by yourself. It can be anything you want, look for screenplays online if you dont feel like writing or have someone write it for you. No one will care that its just a scene you shot yourself and that it's not an actual film. Simply because they can't tell. What the viewer will see is a single performance done by you under perfect conditions.

Watch a TON, I mean a FREAKING TON of films (learning the language and basics of cinema...and to be aware of some director's signature moves you shouldn't try to copy or risk being branded a hack...)

This book is interesting reading: http://www.amazon.com/Master-Shots-Vol-2nd-Techniques/dp/1615930876/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1434260250&sr=8-4&keywords=camera+shots

Using films as reference is probably the best way to learn imo. The techniques that every filmmaker uses have all come from somewhere. theres a lot of ways to go about shot composition. Wes Anderson's cinematographer - Robert Yeoman - has incredibly different ideas when it comes to composition than to say, Christopher Nolan's cinematographer, Wally Pfister. Watch films that you really really like the look of from a composition point of view, try to understand why the DoP has chosen that angle, height of the camera, and how close it is.

Theres a fantastic set of books called "Master Shots" which is very useful. I have them and refer to them regularly.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1615930876/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=H1ZP239NC25RRHWJRKYE

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1615930558/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=CXSTFSHZC79GBF8GN574

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1615931546/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=H1ZP239NC25RRHWJRKYE

Check out the Master's Shots (Vol. 1-3) Series.

If you are looking for books and need to learn the basics in a really clear and illustrated way I personally like the Master Shots series http://www.amazon.com/Master-Shots-Vol-2nd-Techniques/dp/1615930876

Cinematic storytelling is also a really good book. http://www.amazon.com/Cinematic-Storytelling-Powerful-Conventions-Filmmaker/dp/193290705X/ref=pd_sim_14_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0RSHP3YGXPCVV5TSZGSD&dpSrc=sims&dpST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_

The rest you will learn by doing and watching hundreds of films, so grab a camera and start shooting and when you take a break, watch a movie. Nothing beats that