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The Art of the Photograph: Essential Habits for Stronger Compositions
Learn to take better pictures in this step-by-step, how-to photography guide filled with tips on lighting, equipment, inspiration, and more.
Featuring more than 200 of master photographer Art Wolfe's stunning images, The Art of the Photograph helps amateur photographers of all levels break bad habits and shatter common yet incorrect assumptions that hold many photographers back. This is Wolfe’s ultimate master class, in which he shares the most important insights and techniques learned in four decades of award-winning photography. Along with co-author Rob Sheppard, Wolfe challenges us to stop focusing on subjects we feel we should photograph and instead, to “see like a camera sees,” seek out a personal point of view, and construct stunning, meaningful images. You’ll also learn how to:
· Reexamine prejudices that define (and limit) what you photograph
· See beyond the subject to let light and shadow lead you to the right image
· Find inspiration, including the story behind Wolfe's own photographic journey.
· Use formal art principles to build more compelling images.
· Choose the right camera and lens for the image you see in your mind's eye.
· Recognize the 10 deadly sins of composition—and how to avoid them.
· …and even get a behind-the-lens look at Wolfe’s equipment and workflow.
Featuring more than 200 of master photographer Art Wolfe's stunning images, The Art of the Photograph helps amateur photographers of all levels break bad habits and shatter common yet incorrect assumptions that hold many photographers back. This is Wolfe’s ultimate master class, in which he shares the most important insights and techniques learned in four decades of award-winning photography. Along with co-author Rob Sheppard, Wolfe challenges us to stop focusing on subjects we feel we should photograph and instead, to “see like a camera sees,” seek out a personal point of view, and construct stunning, meaningful images. You’ll also learn how to:
· Reexamine prejudices that define (and limit) what you photograph
· See beyond the subject to let light and shadow lead you to the right image
· Find inspiration, including the story behind Wolfe's own photographic journey.
· Use formal art principles to build more compelling images.
· Choose the right camera and lens for the image you see in your mind's eye.
· Recognize the 10 deadly sins of composition—and how to avoid them.
· …and even get a behind-the-lens look at Wolfe’s equipment and workflow.
- GenresPhotographyNonfictionArt
256 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2013
63 people are currently reading
141 people want to read
About the author
Art Wolfe
140 books48 followersOver the course of his forty year career, photographer Art Wolfe has worked on every continent and in hundreds of locations. His photographs are recognized throughout the world for their mastery of color, composition and perspective. Wolfe's photographic mission is multi-faceted: art, wildlife advocacy, education, and journalism inform his work.
Wolfe is the host of the award-winning television series Art Wolfe’s Travels to the Edge, an intimate and upbeat series that offers insights on nature, culture, and the realm of digital photography. It now airs worldwide. He was also featured in the 2015 Canon Australia/National Geographic Channel production Tales by Light, now streaming globally on Netflix.
Since his first publication in 1978, Wolfe has released more than 100 books in all editions; 2014 saw the release of his magnum opus Earth Is My Witness; this mega project features Wolfe's favorite photos taken so far and is garnering international accolades and awards. In 2015 it was published by National Geographic in France (Hymne à la Terre) and Germany (Eden). Published in Fall 2021 is Night on Earth.
Numerous US and international museums and galleries have featured monographs of his work as well his traveling exhibitions, Travels to the Edge, and Beyond the Lens. Earth Is My Witness is now a traveling exhibit in Europe. Wolfe has been a contributor to many group exhibitions.
Education is a major component of Wolfe’s work, whether it is about the environment or about photography. He leads photographic tours worldwide and has created the streaming course Pathways to Creativity.
Wolfe's photographs have appeared in the world’s top magazines such as National Geographic, Smithsonian, Audubon, GEO, and Terre Sauvage. Magazines all over the world publish his photographs and stories, and his work is licensed for retail products and advertising, as well as products such as USPS stamps, of which he has three, including the latest Forever Stamp commemorating the US National Parks.
Along with his numerous book and television awards, Wolfe is the proud recipient of the Nature's Best Photographer of the Year Award, the North American Nature Photography Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Photographic Society of America’s Progress Medal. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, and a Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers.
Wolfe maintains his office, stock agency, and production company in Seattle, Washington. His fine art work is available online at artwolfe.com.
Wolfe is the host of the award-winning television series Art Wolfe’s Travels to the Edge, an intimate and upbeat series that offers insights on nature, culture, and the realm of digital photography. It now airs worldwide. He was also featured in the 2015 Canon Australia/National Geographic Channel production Tales by Light, now streaming globally on Netflix.
Since his first publication in 1978, Wolfe has released more than 100 books in all editions; 2014 saw the release of his magnum opus Earth Is My Witness; this mega project features Wolfe's favorite photos taken so far and is garnering international accolades and awards. In 2015 it was published by National Geographic in France (Hymne à la Terre) and Germany (Eden). Published in Fall 2021 is Night on Earth.
Numerous US and international museums and galleries have featured monographs of his work as well his traveling exhibitions, Travels to the Edge, and Beyond the Lens. Earth Is My Witness is now a traveling exhibit in Europe. Wolfe has been a contributor to many group exhibitions.
Education is a major component of Wolfe’s work, whether it is about the environment or about photography. He leads photographic tours worldwide and has created the streaming course Pathways to Creativity.
Wolfe's photographs have appeared in the world’s top magazines such as National Geographic, Smithsonian, Audubon, GEO, and Terre Sauvage. Magazines all over the world publish his photographs and stories, and his work is licensed for retail products and advertising, as well as products such as USPS stamps, of which he has three, including the latest Forever Stamp commemorating the US National Parks.
Along with his numerous book and television awards, Wolfe is the proud recipient of the Nature's Best Photographer of the Year Award, the North American Nature Photography Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Photographic Society of America’s Progress Medal. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, and a Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers.
Wolfe maintains his office, stock agency, and production company in Seattle, Washington. His fine art work is available online at artwolfe.com.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 2, 2014
If you were to buy only one book to inspire your photography and take it to the next level, The Art of the Photograph is the book to have. This magnificent book was created by the unbeatable combination of master photographers Art Wolfe and Rob Sheppard—specifically, it offers you photos by Art Wolfe and his stories about how he learned and now approaches his craft, along with Rob Sheppard’s text. Having had personal experience of Rob’s thorough and enthusiastic teaching, I can say that he is up to form in this book.
What makes Art Wolfe’s photographs the ideal visual material for this book—aside, of course, from his being one of the most outstanding photographers in the world today—is the amazing variety of subjects he captures. He travels the world, photographing everywhere from the Palouse to Antarctica, photographing people, landscapes, even abstracts. In fact, he advises you not to limit yourself by self-identifying as a particular type of photographer but, instead, to be open to everything. One of the valuable concepts I’ve learned from the book is to be looking for the photograph, not for the subject.
The chapters are titled “Finding Inspiration,” “Discovering the Subject,” “Constructing the Image,” “Camera and Lens,” “The Elements of Design,” “Color and Black-and-White,” “Light and Composition,” “Creative Solutions,” “The 10 Deadly Sins of Composition,” and “Equipment and Workflow.” The chapters offer springboards to help you formulate your own philosophy of and approach to photographing; this is not a “how to” book of the technical aspects of photography.
One of the great strengths of The Art of the Photograph is that it is conceived, in part, as a dialogue between the authors and the reader. This is vitally important. If you’re going to teach something as complex as Essential Habits for Stronger Composition (the book’s subtitle), you have to provide the opportunity for the student to appropriate the material for themselves, to reflect on how it applies to them. This is achieved by questions for reflection at the end of each chapter. So, do keep a notebook as you make your way through the book, not only to jot down your reflections but also to make a note of concepts that pop out at you as particularly important.
One of my favorite parts of the book (as well as the most challenging) is Chapter 9, “The 10 Deadly Sins of Composition.” Here is your moment of honest reckoning, as you acknowledge which of these sins you are guilty of. Come to terms with those “sins” of yours, improve your work accordingly, and you’re well on your way.
One word of caution, and I highlight this because inevitably someone is going to criticize the book for something it wasn’t intended to do: Aside from basic exposure information, Art does not go into detail about how he captured and processed each photo. That’s not the point of having the photos in the book: the point is deftly expressed by another master photographer, Dewitt Jones, in his foreword: “Don’t analyze them, just experience them. You are in the presence of one of the finest photographers of our time; let his images instruct you. Let your eyes understand the lessons that the text will eventually teach your brain.” In other words, make the photos and their individual elements your own; let them help you to be an active learner rather than a passive recipient of information.
Not only is The Art of the Photograph an indispensable resource for the individual learn-on-your-own photographer, but it would also be an invaluable text for a college-level course on composition for photography majors. Professors in art programs, take note.
What makes Art Wolfe’s photographs the ideal visual material for this book—aside, of course, from his being one of the most outstanding photographers in the world today—is the amazing variety of subjects he captures. He travels the world, photographing everywhere from the Palouse to Antarctica, photographing people, landscapes, even abstracts. In fact, he advises you not to limit yourself by self-identifying as a particular type of photographer but, instead, to be open to everything. One of the valuable concepts I’ve learned from the book is to be looking for the photograph, not for the subject.
The chapters are titled “Finding Inspiration,” “Discovering the Subject,” “Constructing the Image,” “Camera and Lens,” “The Elements of Design,” “Color and Black-and-White,” “Light and Composition,” “Creative Solutions,” “The 10 Deadly Sins of Composition,” and “Equipment and Workflow.” The chapters offer springboards to help you formulate your own philosophy of and approach to photographing; this is not a “how to” book of the technical aspects of photography.
One of the great strengths of The Art of the Photograph is that it is conceived, in part, as a dialogue between the authors and the reader. This is vitally important. If you’re going to teach something as complex as Essential Habits for Stronger Composition (the book’s subtitle), you have to provide the opportunity for the student to appropriate the material for themselves, to reflect on how it applies to them. This is achieved by questions for reflection at the end of each chapter. So, do keep a notebook as you make your way through the book, not only to jot down your reflections but also to make a note of concepts that pop out at you as particularly important.
One of my favorite parts of the book (as well as the most challenging) is Chapter 9, “The 10 Deadly Sins of Composition.” Here is your moment of honest reckoning, as you acknowledge which of these sins you are guilty of. Come to terms with those “sins” of yours, improve your work accordingly, and you’re well on your way.
One word of caution, and I highlight this because inevitably someone is going to criticize the book for something it wasn’t intended to do: Aside from basic exposure information, Art does not go into detail about how he captured and processed each photo. That’s not the point of having the photos in the book: the point is deftly expressed by another master photographer, Dewitt Jones, in his foreword: “Don’t analyze them, just experience them. You are in the presence of one of the finest photographers of our time; let his images instruct you. Let your eyes understand the lessons that the text will eventually teach your brain.” In other words, make the photos and their individual elements your own; let them help you to be an active learner rather than a passive recipient of information.
Not only is The Art of the Photograph an indispensable resource for the individual learn-on-your-own photographer, but it would also be an invaluable text for a college-level course on composition for photography majors. Professors in art programs, take note.
December 30, 2014
I do not think it is a common occurrence for one who has enjoyed a meal to compliment the cook by saying "You must have a great set of pans!". It is not uncommon for a photographer to hear - "Hey great shot, you must have some amazing equipment!" And, while I must admit the incredible technology available today which permits the reproduction of photographs with huge dynamic range through HDR techniques and limitless depth of field through "focus stacking", I don't think handing a rank beginner an advanced camera is going to result in masterpieces his first few times out.
This book explains why. Probably one of the best books around on how to "see", how to compose and how to structure photographs in a wide variety of types of light and subject matter. Very accessible due to the lack of technical jargon and clear explanation Written by two masters of the craft, Art Wolfe and Rob Sheppard, the book goes a long way to giving the starting artist a firm grounding and the more experienced photographer a bit more insight to the craft. Certainly worth it for anyone interested in taking photography seriously. Heck, take it to heart it will even improve your iPhone shots!
This book explains why. Probably one of the best books around on how to "see", how to compose and how to structure photographs in a wide variety of types of light and subject matter. Very accessible due to the lack of technical jargon and clear explanation Written by two masters of the craft, Art Wolfe and Rob Sheppard, the book goes a long way to giving the starting artist a firm grounding and the more experienced photographer a bit more insight to the craft. Certainly worth it for anyone interested in taking photography seriously. Heck, take it to heart it will even improve your iPhone shots!
January 18, 2018
I've been wanting to improve my photography and since I've never taken a class, I read this book that offers numerous ideas on how to develop essential habits for stronger compositions. This book has many great pointers and ideas, plus shows many of the author's gorgeous photographs for inspiration. I still feel like I don't know anything technically, as I think I would need to take some photography classes and go out and practice more, but this book is inspirational and helpful. I loved it.
March 4, 2020
This is an excellent book. It offers practical help to make your photography better. Also it is just beautiful!!!!
December 28, 2015
I am a huge fan of Art Wolfe. His photography capture a time and place and mood in a manner that resonates with me.
Most photography books tend to focus on the technical details of photography: f-stops, shutter speeds, etc. and I've read my fair share of those. What I really liked about this book is that it is not about the technical details. Reading it is like attending a master class on the art of photography (hence the title ha!). Would recommend it to all amateur photographers.
Most photography books tend to focus on the technical details of photography: f-stops, shutter speeds, etc. and I've read my fair share of those. What I really liked about this book is that it is not about the technical details. Reading it is like attending a master class on the art of photography (hence the title ha!). Would recommend it to all amateur photographers.
February 13, 2014
One of the best photography books I've read in a long time. Helpful advice on composition for photographers of any skill level - and full of Art Wolfe's amazing photographs
May 6, 2014
A very strong look at the photographic composition process, from one of today's leading nature photographers. Useful for photogs in all emphases.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews