Although the book discusses film, and there are small sections on cameras and the home darkroom, it concentrates on the making of good photographs and goes into some depth: the composition, the use of light, the elements of a good photograph etc. This is in contrast to books with the words 'Digital Photography' in their title - many of which give well over half their pages to camera controls and digital manipulations. I have separate books on Photoshop and the camera controls and really need to learn more about the art of photography itself.
I found the sections on portraits and lighting particularly valuable. I struggle with portraiture. Partly, because I have not had enough practice with lighting techniques, and partly, because I have always believed that taking photographs of people is somewhat intrusive. [I will need to work on and through this thought if I am to be successful with portraiture.]
Extracts:
... two things are fundamentally important in any picture: composition and light.
... the important elements of composition: balance and asymmetry, shape and form, pattern and texture. They are the core of creative photography, as is light, which is not only necessary to form a photographic image, but is a compositional tool in it own right. To create photographs that have calculated effects, you must know how to vary the quality and direction of light as well as its quantity. Similarly, you can use colour to create delight, impact, variety - and you can even make colour itself the subject of the picture.
… Ultimately, the ability to produce strong images unerringly, rather than by chance, depends on looking long and hard at your subject, analyzing what you see, and planning what to do.
.. For portraits, you should taken an active approach to sunlight, not just use it as you find it.
No comments:
Post a Comment