Really, really good overview of all aspects of composition. I am an
amatuer photographer who is 8 months into using a DSLR. I bought
this book because I found many interesting places to take pictures,
but all of my pictures seemed boring. I've noticed a difference
already.
Key areas covered by the book include elements of design - line,
shape, form, texture, pattern, and colour. The book also does a
very good review of compositional topics such as the rule of
thirds, filling the frame, right v left positioning of the subject,
working with your subject, and breaking the rules. There is a short
review of the light.
For me, the strongest aspects of this book were it's good coverage
of the elements of design, particularly ones that I didn't think
much about such as texture, pattern, form, and line. The section of
composition is also very strong - particularly the lesson on
filling the frame to create interest, and horizontal v vertical
shooting. The recommended exercises are also very good and helpful
to start 'seeing creatively'. In summary, this is a very good
overview of all aspects of composition and it's enough information
to give a newcomer a lot to think about and practice.
The only negatives of the book are it's relatively light treatment
of colour (it is covered for 10 pages, but I thought it could have
been twice as long, particularly on colour combinations and
relative weighting of colours in a composition to create interest
(e.g., equal or unequal weighting of contrasting colours). The only
other area I found lacking was a section on how to pick a
compelling subject/composition. I did pick up inspiration to
photograph many of everyday things I would not have otherwise
thouht of. I would have liked a more specific treatment of the
author's thought process for how to choose a subject and the
combination of the elements of design (e.g., is combining 2 or more
create a more compelling image).
Overall a very good read for someone who hasn't been introduced to
composition