Book excerpt: Advancement of Optical Methods & Digital Image Correlation in Experimental Mechanics, Volume 3 of the Proceedings of the 2018 SEM Annual Conference & Exposition on Experimental and Applied Mechanics, the third volume of eight from the Conference, brings together contributions to this important area of research and engineering. The collection presents early findings and case studies on a wide range of optical methods ranging from traditional photoelasticity and interferometry to more recent DIC and DVC techniques, and includes papers in the following general technical research areas: New Developments in Optical Methods & Fringe Pattern Analysis; DIC Applications for Challenging Environments; Optical Methods in SEM: History & Perspective; Mechanical Characterization of Materials & Structures with Optical Methods; Bioengineering.