KODAK The Art of Digital Photography: Digital Photo Design: How to Compose Winning Pictures (Kodak Art of Digital Photograp) [Paperback]

Paul R. Comon (Author)

Book Description

Series: Kodak Art of Digital Photograp | Publication Date: April 1, 2007

The revolution in digital technology has turned us all into shutterbugs. Never before has it been so easy to snap photos and share them instantly. But what about the quality of these images? Does simply owning a digital camera make you a first-rate photographer? For those who want to take a better picture, this lavishly illustrated guide reveals the art of composing incredible photos in any scenario. Written with care from a long-time industry professional and digital photography expert, it leads you through every aspect of good composition, asking questions that go beyond the usual aesthetic parameters. Do you know why the Fibonacci Numbers are a powerful compositional tool? Have you considered lines of force in your photos? Do you utilize the golden rectangle to the highest advantage? These are just a few of the illuminating ideas Paul Comon presents to enhance your perception of what makes a well-composed photograph—and which will have you taking great-looking photos faster than you ever imagined possible.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Lark Books (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579907903
• ISBN-13: 978-1579907907
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #609,151 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written, good examples, December 30, 2007

By 

N. Villaume (Eagle Rock, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: KODAK The Art of Digital Photography: Digital Photo Design: How to Compose Winning Pictures (Kodak Art of Digital Photograp) (Paperback)

I spent an hour browsing through the photography books at my local bookstore before selecting this one for my girlfriend, a beginning photographer. There are books on technique (f-stop, aperture, metering), but I wanted a book that would guide her into understanding what makes a good picture. In that regard, this book is the analog of E.B. White's Elements of Style. That book guides the reader on what to include and, more importantly, what to leave out of sentences, much in the way this book tells the photographer what to put in the frame and what to exclude. I think that the included pictures are there not to impress but to illustrate the points of the well-written prose. The book also includes good practices of photographers --like taking notes on the back of prints so that later you can remember how you took the picture and thereby learn from your earlier experiences. The author closes the book with an essay on why, in the world of Flickr and so many great photographers, each of us should still take pictures.

It turns out my girlfriend thinks it's a good book too. So in summary, I'd say it's a good book for beginners or people (like me) who forgot some of the basics they may have learned long ago. I chose this book over the others on composition because it is well written, has good examples, and it stays focused.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for artists as well, September 9, 2007

By 

Sandra Pollock "quilt artist" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: KODAK The Art of Digital Photography: Digital Photo Design: How to Compose Winning Pictures (Kodak Art of Digital Photograp) (Paperback)

I am not a photographer but while browsing through this book at the library I was impressed right away by the terrific compositions. Decided to order the book and am really impressed with it. My paintings have already improved by following his compositions.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A bit too much feeling..., July 17, 2008

By 

Wilson R. Afonso (Sydney, NSW, Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: KODAK The Art of Digital Photography: Digital Photo Design: How to Compose Winning Pictures (Kodak Art of Digital Photograp) (Paperback)

The book covers "basic" photo design concepts (lines, shapes, colours, subject placement) reasonably well, but don't expect any explanation on why things "should" be as described. It may be just me, but this book was a bit too "mushy" for me; too much about feelings, while the example pictures didn't actually evoke that many feelings (beautiful pictures, though). You will get a fair amount of information out of this book, and this can really help give you a basic sense of why some compositions "work" better than the others; it may also inspire you to go out and try new things for yourself, which is always a good thing. Just don't expect many technical discussions here.

Also, the edition I got had way too many typos, which were much more distracting than one would expect. This is usually not a problem if the book is good enough that you're paying more attention to the content than to the typos, but that was not the case for this one.