Picture Perfect: Every Photographer’s Must-Read Book – Photographic Composition
Today, I would like to review the best book on photography composition – Photographic Composition by David Rosenfeld and Ben Clements.
Photographic Composition by David Rosenfeld and Ben Clements
But before I introduce this book, I would like to share some pictures with you. Please carefully look at these pictures and think about the real-life objects and scenes they depict.
Pro tip: Use your imagination to explore the information in these images by looking beyond the surface level of the images and imagining the visual element behind them.
Beginner photographers may see buildings, flowers, and trees in an image. However, for experienced photographers, they have developed the ability to observe and identify the lines, shapes, and circles within the image. This is because experienced photographers have excellent observation skills, allowing them to see beyond the surface of ideas and understand the potential photo composition.
Pro tips: It is easy to create compelling images when you focus more on the subject’s image properties than their physical properties.
Suppose you have the opportunity to read Stephen Shore’s books. In that case, you will notice that his images are not solely focused on content and storytelling but also the formal qualities of the photograph, known as image properties.
In this book, the author defines image properties as visual elements, which include shapes, lines, texture, light and shadow, and stereoscopy.
In this book, you can know that the author defined the image properties as visual elements, including shapes, lines, texture, light and shadow and three-dimensional objects. This book may be designed explicitly for black-and-white photography and may not involve the use of colour. Colour plays an essential element in photography once photographers can recognize these visual elements in real life and apply them to images, creating stunning and engaging images.
But How do we apply these visual elements to an image? It is composition, which includes layout, contrast, rhythm, balance, and unity. Some people may struggle to understand the relationship between visual elements and photo composition. To help illustrate this point, we can use writing as an analogy. Just as words and grammar are essential for writing a good article, visual elements are words, and photo compositions are grammar; these elements work together to form a great photo.
If you want to take great photos, look for visual elements such as shapes, lines, textures, light and shadow, colours, and three-dimensional objects in your daily life. Then, use photo composition techniques to arrange these visual elements in your images. It would help you find some order and structure in the world’s complexity to create pictures with a sense of order and storytelling.
Now, let’s dive deep into these visual elements.
Table of Contents
Shapes
Shapes, as essential visual elements in photography, include circles, rectangles, trapezoids and more. In this book, the author offers us a detailed explanation of the importance of shapes in photography. The author also encourages readers to practice drawing shapes on blank paper to understand their beauty and visual impact better. After practice and experimentation, photographers may have developed an eye to recognize the exciting conditions surrounding their life and organize these shapes in their images, producing unique and impactful images.
Lines
The author also encourages us to recognize different lines in our daily life, including straight lines, diagonal lines, horizontal lines, etc., and draw some different lines on paper to understand better the emotions and moods that different lines can evoke in an image.
For example:
- The straight line refers to stability, structure, and balance.
- The diagonal line represents movement, dynamism, and tension.
- The vertical line means stability and strength.
Light and Dark
Light and dark are essential elements to take a tremendous black-and-white photo. It seems so dull if a black-and-white photo has no light and dark.
If you want to take black and white photos, please read the black and white street photography for inspiration.
In this book, the author has introduced two types of pictures – High-key photography and low and low-key photography. The author thinks that an image with white to mid-grey in the Gray level spectrum is called high-key photography, offering viewers a comfortable and relaxed feeling. At the same time, high-key photography is often used in children’s, flower, and pet photography. Low-key photography has a mid-grey to black in the Gray level spectrum, evoking some feelings of depression. Low-key photography can be used in landscape photography, still photography and more.
But if you want to take great photos, use light and dark effectively. This includes deciding on the ratio of black and white in your images. You can use more light or dark tones in your pictures. Alternatively, you can use the photo technique to create a transition between light and dark.
Textures
Different textures present different overall looks depending on different materials. The author encourages us to see different textures from different objects. You can find different things to feel their texture.
Pro tip: You can use your fingers to touch the object’s surface or run your fingers over different parts of the object’s surface. Alternatively, please pay attention to the physical qualities of the texture, such as its roughness, smoothness, softness, or hardness.
Stereoscopy
If you want to make your images stereoscopy, here are some tips from the author.
- Adjusted light and dark extensively
- Use the linear perspective and aerial perspective
Now, let’s talk about photo composition basics.
Contrast
Contrast is a typical technique photographers use to create visual interest and emphasize certain elements within an image. Photography has several types of differences: light and dark, shape contrast, texture contrast, colour contrast, size contrast and more. Here are some pictures below.
Rhythm
Rhythm in photography refers to repeating visual elements within an image, such as shapes, lines, or colours. By creating a sense of repetition or echo, photographers can add a sense of movement and flow to their images. Here are some pictures below:
Balance
The balance from this book means the symmetrical composition. This composition can draw viewers’ attention quickly. Additionally, the symmetrical composition represents harmony, stability, and order within the image. If you want to see examples of symmetrical composition, Accidentally Wes Anderson is a great resource.
In this book, the author questions the role of balance in images. The author suggests that some images, which are overly refined and meticulously arranged, may lack excitement and surprise. Ideas have no balance, which can evoke strong emotions and convey a sense of movement. Here are some examples of such images. Sometimes, photographers can rely on their intuition and capture photos without being overly concerned with balance.
Unity
Many photographers may find their images lacking unity, with viewers perceiving them as separate pictures rather than a cohesive whole. The author offers some tips for achieving image unity to address this issue.
- a. Images that feature similar shapes and lines can create a sense of unity and cohesion within a photograph;
- b. Contrast is a powerful tool that can create unity and cohesion within a photograph. By juxtaposing elements that are different in size, shape, colour, or tone, photographers can create a sense of balance that draws the viewer’s eye through the image;
If you want to learn more about photography, many resources are available in this Photographic Composition book to help you improve your skills and gain inspiration. Additionally, this book can offer in-depth analysis and guidance on specific techniques and approaches.
