There's always plenty of talk on here about what books to get for various post-processing techniques, or what books to get for photoshop, lightroom, etc.

But what about photographic technique? What books have people on here purchased that they've found have helped their general photography - be it sport, landscape, portraiture, or whatever?

Looking at doing an Amazon order soon (I live in Australia, but most of the good stuff isn't available here) for some Lightroom books and I'm wondering what else to include in my order.

I suppose The Great Picture Hunt 2 could be considered a "technique" book. It's geared towards documentary, journalism type of photogs. For these genres it is considered the essential photography book out there. Otherwise, I really have no idea =)

Not sure where you are W/R/T jargon, basics, lighting, etc... what exactly are you looking for by "technique"?

The thing about photography is that you are better off learning hands on. Therefore, see if you can take a class somewhere (not at a store, but some kinds of photography course that requires assignments) and improve on technique based on coaching and observation.

The good thing about digital photography is that you can take lots of photos and get instant feedback.

Search Amazon for books by Bryan F Peterson. Understanding Exposure, Learning to See Creatively, and Understanding Digital Photography should all cover what you are looking for.

Like Elton said, hands-on is best. But a good book can help to jog ideas. I have Learning to See Creatively, Lighting Science & Magic, a few of Ansel's books (Making of 40 photographs is most directly useful in this context). Also a couple of the Amherst books on portrait photography--I don't recall the titles off the top of my head.