Customer Reviews

Learning to See Creatively: Design, Color & Composition in Photography (Updated Edition)

5 star:		(78)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Learning to be a photographer is about more than focusing and exposure. One of the most important and difficult things is learning what to take a picture of, and then designing an image that expresses something about its subject. Many authors of photography books talk about teaching the photographer to see. I think of that as being the process of selecting a subject and then deciding how it should look to capture the photographer's vision of it. Bryan Patterson promises to teach that in the revised edition of "Learning to See Creatively". Unfortunately, he doesn't keep his promise.

It's not that this is a poor book. The author talks about the elements of photographic design like line, shape, form, texture, pattern and color. Unfortunately he doesn't link these elements to the photographer's vision. It's as if one knew nothing about tools, had a plumbing problem, and was presented with a wrench. It would be nice to be told how to use the wrench to solve the problem. If you know how to relate the tools to the problem, you don't need this book.


He also talks about composition and guidelines like the rule of thirds, or frame within a frame. But even here, he doesn't make the connection to vision. Even the chapter called "Expanding Your Vision" turns out to be a discussion of the characteristics of lenses of different focal lengths.

There are chapters on digital photography and photographic careers but they look like they were added on to the work because somebody thought that was what would help the book sell.

Peterson's photographs are good. When he explains why he made the design and composition choices for a particular picture you can see some relationship of technique to vision. It's also interesting to occasionally see a comparison of the same subject handled two different ways. But unfortunately the author doesn't take the opportunity to relate similar pictures to photographic vision.

This might be a good enough book for the intermediate photographer who isn't really ready to work on his or her vision, although I much prefer Brenda Tharp's "Creative Nature & Outdoor Photography" which covers the same ground in a more concise way.

One might think that you can't teach someone to see creatively. That may be true, but Freeman Patterson's old standby, "Photography & the art of seeing" comes a lot closer than this volume. And books like those by Galen Rowell or Tony Sweet do a much better job of relating technique to the visions of their authors.

I've read all three of Bryan Peterson's books -- "Understanding Exposure," "Learning to See Creatively," and "Photographing People -- and "Understanding Exposure" I recommend highly (5 stars). The other two drained me of my passion as I read them, which is the opposite of what Peterson intended, I'm sure. Here's why: Bryan Peterson's images look like what they are -- commercial images sold to stock houses, used to advertise products or services or businesses in one way or another. Little girls in fields of flowers. Sunsets over the beach. Two businesspeople shaking hands. Peterson does what he does well, and I gave this book 2 stars because I'm sure there are readers who are looking to take their interest in photography down this very road. For anyone who wants to develop his or her "voice," who wants to communicate with his or her images, I think this book will disappoint. I was a student in a writing program for a period of time, and one of the best tips I learned and passed on to other students was this: Before you sign up for a class with a particular professor, read at least one of his novels or several of his short stories. If you like the way he writes, sign up for the class. If you can't stand his writing, find someone else. I think the same applies here. I recognize that Peterson knows how to use a camera -- and his effective instruction of exposure in his other book proves that -- but his images make no impression on me, don't cause me to think or feel or question anything. I recommend finding the books in a bookstore or trying to look through them online before you buy -- his Web site, http://www.bryanfpeterson.com, shows some examples. If you want to take pictures like these, this book will meet your needs. Otherwise, pass it by.

After reading Bryan's book Exposure, I couldn't wait to read this one and he didn't disappoint. This is an excellent book for beginners (and a refresher for more advanced).

I really like the presentation of the "average" picture along side his view of how the picture should have been shot. His clear text with specific insights was excellent. The exercises were useful in conveying his points.

For the beginner, I would purchase Exposure along with this book. For the intermediate, I believe it is still worth the price. Of all the photographic books I have read (most written for a more seasoned photographer), his simple approach was refreshing and helpful. I believe that my recent work has improved due to his suggestions. Thanks Bryan...keep writing!

a cousin recommended this book to me a long time ago so i went and bought it. hands down, this book helped me improve my shooting DRASTICALLY. it teaches you to answer the questions "what is it about this scene that i want to express?" and "how can i convey that feeling/idea in a photo?". these may sound like simple questions but you really have to step away from the normal way of seeing things in order to take great photos.

the principles in this book apply not only to photography, but to any art form where an understanding of visual principles applies: graphic design, painting, drawing, etc. this book is a great primer on visual literacy.

peterson helps you to compose a photo based on its intended effect by providing a pair of photos for each idea that he is trying to explain: one of the photos is taken without giving much thought (a snapshot, if you will) and the other is taken after peterson addressed the questions above (what do i want to express? how can i translate that to a photo?). he uses the "pair method" to illustrate topics like form, shape, color, perspective, and a variety of others.

i just couldn't put this book down. and i'm not kidding when i say it improved my photography drastically. do yourself a favor and buy this book.

I would not say that this book will teach you composition in photography. All through the book, there are a lot of tips and tricks, and examples of how to use them, but there is not information about why things are one way or another.
If you already has some knowledge about composition and want to see a lot of good examples, and some tips especific to photography, this is your book. If you want to learn about composition in a more theoretic way, in order to build your own "view", you should start with another book.

I was looking for a book to expand my photographic vision and this book has done the trick. I find myself looking for photographs in a different way after reading this book.

It is an easy quick read. There are lot's of examples and in most cases the example photographs reinforce the topic being covered. The topics are presented in "bite size" chunks and are easy to understand.

The only reason I gave it 4 stars is because I felt there could be more exercises in the book. Some topics have things to try with your camera but I felt that there should be more of this type instruction.

If you are an advanced photographer, this book may not be detailed enough for you. However if you are an beginner or intermediate and are looking to improve your photos, this book probabaly will help you. It has helped me.

I've been shooting for a few years now and felt I needed something to take me to the next step. While this isn't a 100% solution to that problem it definitely is a huge step in the right direction. This book has opened my thinking to different ways of composing, and in general really helped me to see the bigger picture while shooting. All of the 100+ photos in the book give the details of the exposure which is a huge help in and of itself.

Highly recommended for the avid hobbyist to semi pro and even down to the mom or regular guy/girl who just want to take better pictures.

I've enjoyed all 4 of his books that I've read. This is geared toward amateurs and has some great ideas on how and why to take photographs that I learned alot from. Written in the author's usual easy to understand style interspersed with humor. Well worth it.

A very nice follow on to his book "Understanding Exposure." Beautiful photos that include how he shot them, and the thought process behind each shot. Well written and easily understood.

This book is a most effective tool in learning to see for two reasons. The photos used for each principle contrast a less well created example with an excellent example of the principle being presented. To that is added short and to the point text to assist the observer in grasping the concept. I would highly recommend the book to artists in general as well as photographers.