The Art Of Seeing: A Creative Approach To Photography [Paperback]

KODAK (Author)

Book Description

Series: Kodak Workshop Series | Publication Date: June 30, 1998

Shows you how to take better photographs by studying the elements of the subject, using lighting, composition, color, shape, form, texture, and viewpoint. Explains how cameras, lenses, and films see differently from you. Suggests ways to achieve creativity by shattering preconceptions and lack of awareness. Helps you break through creative barriers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Sterling; 4th edition (June 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879857471
• ISBN-13: 978-0879857479
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #709,261 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

From "The Art of Seeing" to "Ultimate Digital Photo Quality," Derek Doeffinger has written and edited over a dozen how-to photography books and three photo books about upstate New York.

He enjoys exploring the creative aspects of photography and has spent the past two years defining the many ways you can use shutter speed to create eye-grabbing pictures.

When he's not taking pictures, he's thinking about taking pictures. His favorite photo subjects include waterfalls and rodeos.

If you're out taking pictures and see a middle-aged guy taking a picture while running the street, give him a shout.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Training for the Most Important Tool of Photography, May 31, 2002

By 

Daniel (Taipei, Taiwan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Art of Seeing (Kodak Workshop Series) (Paperback)

The Art of Seeing is the latest, and most unique, book in my small but growing library on photography. I bought it because I was taking the same photographs over and over again and getting bored and frustrated with a hobby that I used to really enjoy. This book helped me work on the most important tool of photography: my eyes.
This book does what it says: teaches the art of seeing. I have been stuck in a rut of trying to take the pictures that I am "supposed" to take according to what my preconceptions tell me make a good photograph. This book encourages you to see everything differently and to photograph whatever you want.
Doeffinger breaks the book down into different aspects of what makes a picture, including color, depth, and form. He teaches you how to gain a new respect for every part of what makes a picture great while encouraging you figure out on your own what would make a picture great for you. While being a more abstract book, it does not fail to mention what techniques will help you bring out what you see with your eyes and put in on film. It does assume that you already know the basics of photography such as arpeture and film grain, but is careful not to go over the heads of beginners. Being an out of print book, the pictures are a little outdated but overall I would recommend this book to any photographer trying to put new life into their pictures.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars severely disappointed in lack of substance, December 5, 2005

By 

whomper "speedball" (virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art Of Seeing: A Creative Approach To Photography (Paperback)

.
Save your money.
This book is virtually content free.
96 pages and most of them are pictures.
Which IMHO any average snapshooter already can do.

And if you can't this isn't the book to start with.
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This book is barely an outline of a few topics concerning how to see.
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The only substance, and I speak loosely, was to break the rules.
Use different angles. Look at parts instead of the big picture.

I infer that if most of your pictures are colored blue that that must be good as the author had a lot of blue pictures.
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A good book on composition, and admittedly those are very rare too, would tell you more about seeing. At least then you could look for elements to put together.

This book spent a lot of its few (about 48) pages of instrution doing a second rate job on composition versus actually seeing.
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Read it at the library, as you will feel cheated if you spend $20-$25 for this to buy it.
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Wabi Sabi for the artist and poet by ?? (Kamen??) would tell you more about seeing than this book.
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There are a few good photog books out there. Feininger would blow this one away if you can still find copies.

This is just another one of the disappointments. And it wasnt even artsycraftsy just blah.
.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Visualization basics, June 20, 2001

By 

David I. Schwartz "columbo987" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Art Of Seeing: A Creative Approach To Photography (Paperback)

A good intro book to expand the beginning photographers understanding of visual imagery. Will open your mind to new ways of viewing the world around you and lead you to create more interesting and engaging photos.