Best Book on Photo Composition

[cliveh]

Although books about composition and looking at the work of others helps, I think composition is an intuitive skill which can only be gained by looking at views in everyday life. Go for a walk and stop and look. Repeat 1000 times.

 

[BrianShaw]

The thing I got from reading a book and taking a class in composition was a vocabulary to discuss compositional topics. That really helped describe what I was seeing. Since I've only read one book on composition I really can't say that it was the best, but it was adequate.

 

[MTGseattle]

It's always funny to me, when the idea of cliche or tired subjects bubbles up somewhere. Sand dunes, clouds, flowers, ferns with dew on them, any large leaf with dew on it, ice formations, old, weathered siding, old, weathered hands, etc etc. You have to photograph something in order to get better at it. Maybe the instructor and/or your audience has seen "a million _______ images," but so what.

Oh, to get us on track with the thread title I saw this yesterday;

"The Enthusiast's Guide to Composition" (48 photographic principles you need to know) by Khara Plicanic Rockynook books.

I appolgize for my butchering of punctuation. My text options are deselected. Perhaps I need to ante up again?

 

[Don_ih]

Given that composition is going to vary from person to person, influenced by what they care about, what they like to emphasize, their taste in subjects and lighting, what they find meaningful, and how observant they are, I doubt there could be a single best book on composition.

 

[Sirius Glass]

If your photographs are boring, move in and cut out extraneous objects of distraction.

 

[Arthurwg]

Just read "Practical Composition in Photography," by Axel Bruck, Focal Press, 1981. Don't think it will change the way I photograph, but very interesting.

 

[Manny A]

Thanks for the recommendations. Many good points made. I believe if one studies a few great photographers work, you do develop you own style taking a little from each.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

I believe if one studies a few great photographers work, you do develop you own style taking a little from each.

I'd say study all of them . And don't underestimate the value of imitation and emulation as a learning tool.

 

[foc]

And don't underestimate the value of imitation

Imitation............... the best form of flattery.

That's how I trained my eye for composition, I tried to copy/imitate the composition of the photographers and artists (Old and new) that I liked, and eventually and slowly I began to see composition on my own.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

I found Andreas Feininger's Principles of composition (1973) very useful. He always wrote very sensibly and without fuss about all aspects of photography.

The name was unknown to me. Did a bit of research and ran into this interview from the BBC Master Photographers series.

 

[Ballinderry-Michael]

Thank you very much for finding that, Alex. I hadn't seen it before. Feininger's The complete photographer was pretty much my reference book when I started to ingest a bit more than the basics. It was a beautfully produced book as well as being a fine text.

 

[Sirius Glass]

More on perception …

Art and Visual Perception, A Psycology of the Creative Eye, The New Version, 50th Anniversary Printing, Rudolf Arnheim, University of California Press Berkley, Los Angeles, London, ISBN-13 478-0-520-24383-5, ISBN-10 0-520-243838

Perception & Imaging, Richard D. Zakia, Second Edition, Focal Press, ISBN: 0-240-80466-X www.focalpress.com

More on optics …

SEEING THE LIGHT, Optics in Nature. Photography, Color, Vision and Holography, David Falk, Dieter Brill, David Stork. Wiley, ISBN 0-471-60385-6

 

[VinceInMT]

I find that composition works because of the psychology behind it. This site is like an online book and Part 2 covers the basic basics like Rule of Thirds, etc.

https://truecenterpublishing.com/photopsy/article_index.htm

 

[cliveh]

If you are photographing a static scene (like rocks), the composition is fairly easy and you can take as long as you like, given the right light. If you are photographing a scene including movement and people, the composition is far more complicated.