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Composition ? Photography Focus Guides No 2 (8/10)
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Composition ? Photography Focus Guides No 2 (8/10)
I?m not quite sure whether everyone would regard this as a book. It is the second in a series of booklets produced by Digital Camera magazine and sits somewhere in the middle ground between books and magazines. (The first in the series was Landscapes and the next is Portraits, due out on August 26th).
Many magazines give a fairly lightweight explanation of technical issues. That?s fine for beginners, but intermediate and advanced users really have to buy books to get the level of information they need. This book is different, and will provide even intermediate users and camera club members with some good guidelines and tips. It has 130 pages and a free CD. The CD has videos of some of the Photoshop tutorials, free software, filters, and the usual stuff. The CD is good, but the best part is the book itself. It covers rule of thirds, symmetry, lines and shapes, perspective, focal points, filling the frame, patterns and then has three further chapters on specific themes like landscapes, portraits and still life/macro composition. The book is an easy read – the explanations make sense – and it is amply illustrated with good images. One of the most useful things about the book, in my opinion, is the practical way the author discusses when rules don?t always work, can?t be combined and should be broken. In some other books on composition (I have 3 others) the reader can be left with the impression that he/she should slavishly apply the rule or the photo will be a failure. This can lead to rather contrived, formulaic compositions.
I found the book very useful. Composition is a topic that is more about creativity than technicalities. I find that technicalities can be studied and learnt but creativity is more elusive, so any book that can help shed some light on the creative side of photography is very welcome.
Petersen?s book on composition “Learning to See Creatively” would be slightly more comprehensive but, at ?7.99, many will find that this book is both an ideal introduction to the subject and a practical guide that continues well through to intermediate level photography.
It should be in the shops for another week or so. I got my copy in Easons.
BTW, any feedback on book reviews would be welcomed. I have about 60 photography-related books and would add a few more reviews if anyone was getting any benefit from them.
Thanks for this. The more book reviews the better to be honest. Always very helping in my opinion.
Cheers
MarkLorraine
Hope you managed to get your hands on a copy. I thought it very good and will re-read it a few more times.
Mark
Thanks, I’ll add another few reviews shortly.
Cheers for the tips Bertie. Now, let’s see how my account is with Amazon… 8)
the new focus guide issue has just come out and its theme is portraits if anyone is interested. :D
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