The Photographer's Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos

Composition. In the eye of the beholder or the artist, or quick rules like thirds or golden mean... Unteachable, you either have it or you don't.

Nope, the author shows it to be more than just that eye of self-expression. The principals can be learned, reinforced, and communicated. Who said, "Once you know the rules, you can break them?" I don't know, but I do know that this book helped me be a better photographer.

I cannot give this book and its author enough praise. This book is outstanding in its breadth of coverage of the many components of composition. The author is extraordinarily articulate, without being verbose or too wordy in his delivery. He is also not overly "artsy" and very pragmatic.

He writes clearly and logically of the visual and resulting psychological impact of various elements of design, such as the image frame, contrast, balance, rhythm, pattern, visual weight, content, single vs multiple points, horizontal/vertical/diagonal lines, curves, triangles, circles, rectangles, vectors, focus, motion, moment, optics, exposure, perspective, composing with light and color, understanding various types of "intent", and the process of composing. He accomplishes all of this in a very organized and concise manner. He is also not just an academic, but a real photographer and so each point is relevant and practical.

The book is filled with wonderful photos (mostly from the author) that do a superb job of exemplifying each of the author's points. The book is well organized into 6 logical chapters with many short sections within each chapter.

I recommend this book not only for photographers, but for anybody who is interested in what types of visual stimuli and elements would cause certain somewhat predictable emotional responses from viewers. This would be useful for anybody interested in design.

This is a great book...But if you already have Freeman's "the image" you might expect more from this one.

This book is excellent for introducing a large number of Composition theories and providing a large variety of examples. This book would not address the needs many new photographers have such as digital work flow, equipment selection, etc.

I own a fair number of photography books and have become a it jadded: I no longer expect much from the books I order; a few nice pictures (maybe) and perhaps one or two useful points. But this book is not like that: It is a well-written gem with many, many useful points that, for me at least, helped to clarify many concepts. It is among one of the best photography books I own.

This book is not a collection of recipes or "how to" guides designed to get your shots hanging on a museum wall. Rather, it examines core design principles from a photographic perspective: Composition, balance, contrast, and more. It is not a book by a designer about photography, but a book by a photographer who understands design, how it impacts our photographs, and knows how to clearly convey the implications.

I heartily recommend this book.