Customer Reviews

Master Composition Guide for Digital Photographers

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Sorry to be a voice of dissent. I bought this book on Amazon and feel it doesn't live up to its title - 'Master Composition Guide'. I was expecting an advanced book. After reading it I have the feeling that it is a book created out of bits and pieces from other photography books (some quite old) and given a strong title and the descriptor 'digital' to make it sound more relevant to a modern audience. I see no justification for the 'digital' adjective. Composition principles are largely independent of capture medium or camera format. I find the prose style very wordy and authoritarian and at times patronising and contradictory of itself. There are many examples of sentences with long, punctuated lists of items, things, examples, words, etc., etc., etc., (just like this sentence) that become tedious to read. A couple of examples are enough to get the message across. It's not a large book but it could be made much more concise with some strong editing. The words 'must' and 'should' are very prominent and give the book a dogmatic and prescriptive tone. Much of the stuff mentioned has no place in a book on composition. For example, talking about varying the temperature of developers in a wet darkroom to control the contrast of negatives! We've moved on from there. With due respect to an accomplished author/photographer, I was annoyed that I spent my money on this book only to find that it is a rehash of much old material with far too frequent references to equipment (digital, medium and large format film cameras etc.) and processes and techniques that are really nothing to do with good composition and more to do with an airing of knowledge and experience. Composition is format independent. I'm a photographer with more than 30 years experience and I was looking for another reference that could help me fine tune appreciation and understanding of the artistic nuances of photographic composition. For me, the word 'master' in the title of this book was overstated. It covers well known basics reasonably well but could do so in a more concise fashion. I may sound harsh but that's the way I see it. By comparison, I have books by Freeman Paterson, Bryan Peterson and Gross & Shapiro that I find much more useful. And this is a not a paid advertisement for those authors!

Too many digital photography books concentrate on the hardware, and not enough focus on the art of taking good pictures. Even those that do cover photographic concepts try to take too broad of an approach. This book covers just one thing: good composition, and does it well. This should be the first book you read when you start taking photos with a digital camera. Learning all the controls and settings can come later. If you understand how to compose your photos, using the guidelines in this book, you will be way ahead of the curve.

Ernst Wildi's MASTER COMPOSITION GUIDE FOR DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHERS reviews a wide range of composition techniques for landscapes, still lifes, people and nature photography. From developing compositional elements and learning how to use lines effectively to understanding elements of distortion, distracting colors, and composition, here are many of the master techniques which help differentiate the professional's eye from the amateur's attempts.

Rob Fisher (no relation) is right: this book is a disappointment. Wildi's pictures are beautiful, but a good editor would have trimmed the excess verbiage, most of which covers basic compositional guidelines. Much of the information in this book is covered more concisely in Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" and Jim Miotki's "BetterPhoto Guide to Digital Photography."

This is just Wildi's usual pointlessness with the word "digital" added to the title. Photo composition has not changed with the end of film, but Wildi's book was not about composition back then either. He simply repeats (over and over in fact) all the same tired advice you can find in any Kodak snapshot booklet.

There is at least one good book on photo composition available today.

"The Photographer's Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos by Michael Freeman." a book that really is about composition and should be in the library of anyone serious about photography. Furthermore, The Freeeman book is no more expensive than this collection of cliches.

The author has written a very good text on composition technique in photography. Through beautiful images and simple explanation, he has successfully explained one of the most challenging aspects of fine photography.

I like the book and it is very helpful. I just wish it had some details about the various compositional elements.

This book is great, it really helps you look at what makes a photograph good. Unlike many digital photography books out there that tell you how to use a camera, this one focuses on the composition of a photo. It explaines balance, color, lighting, subject matter, angles, and just about anything else you can think of. I really enjoyed reading this, and have learned a lot.

Excellent teaching book. I learned a lot about framing photographs and color.