Turn ordinary photographs into striking works of art Mastering the craft of composing a photograph is all about having a trained eye. Digital Photography Composition For Dummies helps emerging photographers create stunning and compelling photographs by teaching the elements, techniques, and conventions used by skilled and successful photographers. It helps advanced beginner to aspiring professional photographers gain an understanding of the basics of composing a stunning and compelling photograph, as well as the parts, functions, and capabilities of their camera. Determine the point of interest in a photo and how significance is achieved Use the "Rule of Thirds" to create better photographs Manipulate the viewpoint and understand the subject's direction of movement Master depth of field, framing, and diagonals Includes suggested exercises to apply as you become more comfortable with composition techniques Complete with full-color examples and technique comparisons, Digital Photography Composition For Dummies allows you to take the high-quality photos you've always wanted!

50 Principles of Composition in Photography will reveal how to capture more creative, imaginative and inspired photographs using both film and digital photography. With Klaus Bohn's clear and practical guidelines you will discover how to heighten your visual acuity and take more artistic, appealing and captivating images.These principles of composition have been gained from a lifetime of learning and thousands of dollars spent in attending private courses given by the world's top professional photographers including: Joe Zeltzman, Monte Zucker, Donald Jack, Rocky Gunn, Yousuf Karsh, Arnold Newman, and many more.Learn the techniques to distinguish yourself from the photographers who simply take snapshots. Acquire the skills to give form and balance to your photographs by combining the elements harmoniously in order to see a subject in the strongest way. This book is sure to become a valued resource in your personal library, to be consulted and relied upon for many years to come.Klaus Bohn is a Professional Photographer with a Masters of Photographic Arts. He has been teaching the art of photography since 1984 to amateurs and professionals alike. Klaus has been commissioned to photograph many notable people over the years, a few of whom include: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Norman Vincent Peale, Art Linkletter, Anne Murray, author of the best selling "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books Mark Victor Hansen, NHL All-Star of the Calgary Flames Theoren Fleury, and World Class Cyclist Roland Green."Just for a little while, let Klaus be your mentor. His struggling for creativity is revealing, is so evident. Reach out to grab it. Resolve to integrate this highly saleable touch of class into your daily output."Jack Curtis, author, "Wedding Portaits and Photography World""I was so impressed with what Klaus had to say that I had to restrain myself."Paul Castle, author, "Promoting Portraits""Klaus has been quite successful... and both he and his Photography must be given better than average marks. What follows are epitomized abstractions of some of Klaus' comments on how he operates, and I feel they could be of practical value to you."D. H. Moore, author, "The Practice of Modern Photography"

Own composition, use composition, and make composition your own in your photographs!

Of all the magical elixirs that make up a successful photograph, composition is perhaps the most fundamental, and at the same time the most elusive. What makes a composition “good”? It’s hard to define exactly, but we instinctively recognize good composition when we see it. There is an undeniable emotional response when a composition resonates with and complements the subject matter of an image.

But traditional attempts to define “good composition” and to pass on rules for good compositional construction are often doomed to failure. The truth is, there are no hard and fast rules. Rules eliminate experimentation and spontaneity, which are crucial for creating compelling, dynamic, and exciting compositions. The best compositions contain an element of the unexpected. “Expect the unexpected!” is perhaps the only viable “rule” of composition. To create exciting compositions, you must have a willingness to embrace serendipity and change as part of your artistic practice. After all, composition is a process, not a result.

In Composition & Photography, photographer and bestselling author Harold Davis teaches you how to perceive patterns and abstractions and incorporate them into your image-making process. If one of the goals of photography is to show viewers things that are new, or things they haven’t seen before, or things they have seen many times but need to see anew, then it’s with the thoughtful and considered use of composition that you do that.

In this book, you’ll learn how to reduce your subject matter to the fundamentals, and to show familiar subjects in unfamiliar, novel ways. Harold covers topics and themes such as:

▪ Lines and circles

▪ Rectangles

▪ Combinations

▪ Repetition

▪ Symmetry and asymmetry

▪ Abstraction

▪ Entering and exiting

▪ Vanishing points and perspective

▪ Emphasis

▪ Designing within a frame

▪ Creating order from chaos

Composition & Photography will help you find the tools and visual vocabulary to creatively design your photographs. Regardless of the genre and kind of photography you practice, you’ll learn to create powerful compositions that incorporate structure and form into your work in ways that best support your images. Along the way, Harold shows and discusses his own work relating to each compositional element or theme he’s exploring. And featured throughout the book are exercises about flexibility and process, designed to spur your creativity and help you begin an internal creative discussion.

“My goal as a photography teacher and writer about photography is to inspire and to help you become the best and most creative photographer and image-maker that you can be.”
―Harold Davis

“Harold Davis is a force of nature―a man of astonishing eclectic skills and accomplishments.”
―Rangefinder Magazine

One of AVA's most successful publications to date, Basics Photography 01: Composition teaches the formal elements of composition, how to organize space within the photographic frame, and how to apply composition in real-world situations. It shows how to create original, compelling images through an active and enquiring approach to composition.

A skyscraper can’t be built without a proper foundation, just like a crunchy taco can’t be built without a shell. The same goes with your art, whether it’s street photography, fine art, cinematography, painting, or even sculpting. The techniques found in this book, though presented with street photos, will easily translate across every visual art and allow you to create remarkable, mouth-watering masterpieces. Countless artists out there want to push their art further, but they’ve run face first into a nasty plateau. Art is tough enough as it is, but without proper knowledge of composition and design it’s easy to end up in a dark alley waiting to be maliciously fondled by mediocre art. Don’t join the masses, join the elite! Learn serious composition and design techniques in a fun way that will launch you to the master level. You might even get a chuckle from the film photos capturing whacky tourists as they wonder aimlessly on the beautiful beach of Waikiki, Hawaii. Take part in the fun and seriously improve your art in a way that would make Da Vinci and Van Gogh smile with pride!

Behind each shot there lies an idea or purpose. When setting up a shot, the camera operator can employ a range of visual techniques that will clearly communicate the idea to an audience. Composition is the bedrock of the operator's craft, yet is seldom taught in training courses in the belief that it is an intuitive, personal skill. Peter Ward shows how composition can be learned, to enhance the quality of your work. Based on the author's own practical experience, the book deals with the methods available for resolving practical production questions such as: Does the shot composition accurately reflect the idea that initiated the shot? Will the content and method of presenting the subject accurately convey the idea? Major innovations in television and film production since the previous edition have affected the styles of composition, such as wide-screen and the use of mini DV cameras. These new technologies and their implications for picture composition are addressed in this new edition. A new colour plate section is also being included to update the section on colour. If you are a practising camera operator, trainee camera operator, student or lecturer on a television or film production course, or simply a video enthusiast wishing to progress to a more professional standard you will find this book essential in enhancing the quality of your work.

The hands-on instruction that digital photographers need to compose great shots Introducing readers to the basic elements of design, this full-color guide shows photographers step by step how to frame great compositions before they take the shot. Instructions, advice, examples, and assignments cover all types of photography.

First Published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

According to author Aaron Sultanik, the viewer's response to a film derives from three visually ascertained, dramatically realized cognitive elements: (1) the multiple points of view of a camera's placement, angle, and mobility; (2) the dynamic spatiotemporal assemblage of a film's editing; (3) and the final meaning of a film through the story's pictorial stylization.

The success of a photograph depends on more than it subject. For big impact, the photographer must finesse every visual element at their disposal to communicate with the viewer. In the right hands, lines (horizontal, vertical, diagonal, curving, radiating, and converging) draw viewers’ eyes through the frame in a predictable manner. Color creates a dynamic rhythm or a balance. Depth of field (the area of sharp focus in the image) tells the viewer what is important in the image—where it is that the eye should settle. Of course, even the positioning of the various elements in the scene (the subject, image color, points of strong tonal contrast, and more) help to establish impact. In this book, Chen describes the compositional “rules” artists have used for centuries to create high-impact work. With each discussion, images are presented that clearly show how the design strategy was used and how it strengthened the photograph