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Master di fotografia #6
Mastering Composition
Going beyond the rule of thirds, this offers invaluable tips and tools to help the photographer take control of the creative process with emphasis on four elements: an impactful subject, dynamic composition, effective use of lighting, and an ability to invoke an emotional response in the viewer
What makes a great photo? Flicking through the pages of popular photography magazines you might get the impression that there’s only one rule of importance - the rule of thirds. Indeed it appears that some will judge the merit of a photograph based almost solely on this. Rarely do you hear discussion about visual weight, balance, negative space, depth, and so on. Author and professional photographer Richard Garvey-Williams argues that success lies in a combination of four elements: an impactful subject; dynamic composition; effective use of lighting; and, perhaps the most crucial, ability to invoke an emotional response in the viewer. Citing examples gleaned from a study of history - the Ancient Greeks' Golden Rule; Fibonacci's mathematical ratio; and the principles known as the Gestalt theory - the author analyzes the concepts, rules, and guidelines that define successful composition in photography and offers practical guidance to achieving great results. In clear, concise, and jargon-free text he also considers the role of tone and color in good composition, and offers invaluable tips and the tools to help the photographer take control of the creative process. The book is illustrated with examples of the author's own beautiful nature photography, along with diagrams and notation to explain techniques most clearly. A final chapter in this definitive guide for all serious photographers discusses photography and its relationship to art before offering a considered conclusion to the exploration of this fascinating topic.
What makes a great photo? Flicking through the pages of popular photography magazines you might get the impression that there’s only one rule of importance - the rule of thirds. Indeed it appears that some will judge the merit of a photograph based almost solely on this. Rarely do you hear discussion about visual weight, balance, negative space, depth, and so on. Author and professional photographer Richard Garvey-Williams argues that success lies in a combination of four elements: an impactful subject; dynamic composition; effective use of lighting; and, perhaps the most crucial, ability to invoke an emotional response in the viewer. Citing examples gleaned from a study of history - the Ancient Greeks' Golden Rule; Fibonacci's mathematical ratio; and the principles known as the Gestalt theory - the author analyzes the concepts, rules, and guidelines that define successful composition in photography and offers practical guidance to achieving great results. In clear, concise, and jargon-free text he also considers the role of tone and color in good composition, and offers invaluable tips and the tools to help the photographer take control of the creative process. The book is illustrated with examples of the author's own beautiful nature photography, along with diagrams and notation to explain techniques most clearly. A final chapter in this definitive guide for all serious photographers discusses photography and its relationship to art before offering a considered conclusion to the exploration of this fascinating topic.
- GenresPhotographyNonfictionArt
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
18 people are currently reading
322 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 23, 2019
I picked this up because the Bite Shot YouTube decided to do a book club and book one was this book. I am not great at composition. I tend to rush my photographs because I am worried about either the people with more becoming impatient or being seen or I’m just lazy. This is something I want to work on for sure. This book had lots of helpful points and lots of great information. I highlighted many aspects. My favorite chapter was 5 Applying the Theory, specifically on intent & mindset. Defining my mindset behind my photography has been something on my mind and so we shall see where it goes. With the photos included in this post, my intent was to capture snowflakes and my mindset was to learn macro with my new lens.
March 3, 2022
I honestly had really high hopes for this book because I've seen it in numerous lists above "best books on composition". I'm a little disappointed after going through it. There are numerous things about this book that are incredibly frustrating (borderline infuriating at times).
- The print format is square. I don't know why this was made as a decision, but it is quite annoying when reading and handling this book. It would look good placed as an accent piece on a table because the cover is visually striking, so maybe it has artistic merit. The usability of a square format is just poor though.
- The writing style of the author does a huge disservice to the content. His sentences are rather vague and frequently I had to reread certain passages just to figure out what he was trying to say.
- The entire section on Gestalt Theory feels out of place. It gets referenced in some places throughout the book, but the individual explanations could use a bit more guidance into "why" these actually hold true and aren't just a certain school of thought from 20th-century German psychologists.
There are a lot of example photos where I'm left thinking "does this photo showcase the composition principle you are explaining? This feels like a bit of a stretch".
Overall, this is an ok book. There is a very useful checklist at the end that I think is the hidden gem in this entire book. It's basically 2 pages of questions (broken down into categories) that you can ask yourself to consider different composition approaches.
- The print format is square. I don't know why this was made as a decision, but it is quite annoying when reading and handling this book. It would look good placed as an accent piece on a table because the cover is visually striking, so maybe it has artistic merit. The usability of a square format is just poor though.
- The writing style of the author does a huge disservice to the content. His sentences are rather vague and frequently I had to reread certain passages just to figure out what he was trying to say.
- The entire section on Gestalt Theory feels out of place. It gets referenced in some places throughout the book, but the individual explanations could use a bit more guidance into "why" these actually hold true and aren't just a certain school of thought from 20th-century German psychologists.
There are a lot of example photos where I'm left thinking "does this photo showcase the composition principle you are explaining? This feels like a bit of a stretch".
Overall, this is an ok book. There is a very useful checklist at the end that I think is the hidden gem in this entire book. It's basically 2 pages of questions (broken down into categories) that you can ask yourself to consider different composition approaches.
January 14, 2025
An excellent book on photography.
Recommend to anyone. There is a lot packed into this book and I’d say this would be a foundational read for every photographer.
I read this one for The Bite Shot Book Club and really gleaned a lot from it.
The Story
It was super comprehensive which I devoured every morsel of. Especially since it included vocabulary such as "emergence," "reification," "multi-stability," amongst others, which I had no idea how to construct such elements to make them come together to tell such a meaningful story.
I enjoyed the bits about image manipulation and how to relate them to the interesting concepts of right and left, balance, and overall shape.
The Writing
The theoretical concepts were explained well.
I really liked how it pointed out that in some instances, neither style was wrong but may be dependent on whether the photographer wanted to convey sense of space or sense of depth.
Illustrations
I like how it showed side-by-side examples of cropped and uncropped images.
I think I would like to try photographing more shadows. The ideas explored about them in this book was insightful.
Blog post
Recommend to anyone. There is a lot packed into this book and I’d say this would be a foundational read for every photographer.
I read this one for The Bite Shot Book Club and really gleaned a lot from it.
The Story
It was super comprehensive which I devoured every morsel of. Especially since it included vocabulary such as "emergence," "reification," "multi-stability," amongst others, which I had no idea how to construct such elements to make them come together to tell such a meaningful story.
I enjoyed the bits about image manipulation and how to relate them to the interesting concepts of right and left, balance, and overall shape.
The Writing
The theoretical concepts were explained well.
I really liked how it pointed out that in some instances, neither style was wrong but may be dependent on whether the photographer wanted to convey sense of space or sense of depth.
Illustrations
I like how it showed side-by-side examples of cropped and uncropped images.
I think I would like to try photographing more shadows. The ideas explored about them in this book was insightful.
Blog post
November 29, 2020
More theoretical than I thought it'd be, it's not always a light read.
Some concepts are quite abstract and, sometimes, feel a bit of a stretch ("does someone really pay some much attention to that very specific detail and does it make an actual difference?" is a question I had more than once). However, overall it was quite interesting and worthy, it gave a good understanding of framing and composition and of the most common mistakes photographers incur into.
The last couple of chapters include actual advice that can be implemented in the field, which is what I was mostly interested into
Some concepts are quite abstract and, sometimes, feel a bit of a stretch ("does someone really pay some much attention to that very specific detail and does it make an actual difference?" is a question I had more than once). However, overall it was quite interesting and worthy, it gave a good understanding of framing and composition and of the most common mistakes photographers incur into.
The last couple of chapters include actual advice that can be implemented in the field, which is what I was mostly interested into
March 8, 2024
It's a good book for both professional and amateur photographers. It gives insights into why we subconsciously like and dislike certain compositions. It points out all the major elements that come together to form a good photograph.
I read this book after spending some years primarily doing street photography. So from my perspective, this book would be more meaningful for readers who have experience taking and viewing photographs.
I read this book after spending some years primarily doing street photography. So from my perspective, this book would be more meaningful for readers who have experience taking and viewing photographs.
June 28, 2020
I am still reading and learning from this book, but feel i want to leave a review anyway. It is fantastic and introduces some amazing concepts and ideas into composing your photography. I am reasonably new to photography, but i feel even intermediate or expert photographers would gain extra knowledge from it. Some simply stunning images are included all throughout. Heartily recommended.
November 25, 2020
A lot of psychology and philosophy, but a good read and it inspired. I'm going to take a break, read something else, and then read it again in order to better digest this material. I recommend it for aspiring photographers.
November 3, 2018
Lots of good information and fantastic images to reference. Some of the information, I felt, went a little overboard and seemed to make a big hoopla out of nothing, but I still enjoyed it.
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January 8, 2021i will to reading this box
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 28, 2021
Must buy if you want to learn photography composition.
October 5, 2016
*** ½ Lots of good information about composition, but much of it was a repeat for me. "The best tools at our disposal for mastering composition are not bought at a camera store".
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews