Composition Photo Workshop

Book description

The hands-on instruction that digital photographers need to compose great shots

Introducing readers to the basic elements of design, this full-color guide shows photographers step by step how to frame great compositions before they take the shot. Instructions, advice, examples, and assignments cover all types of photography.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. About The Author
  3. Credits
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. Foreword
  6. Introduction
  7. 1. UNDERSTANDING COMPOSITION
    1. 1.1. APPROACHES TO COMPOSITION
    2. 1.2. HOW YOU SEE
      1. 1.2.1. THE PHYSIOLOGY OF THE EYE
      2. 1.2.2. SELECTIVE VISION
      3. 1.2.3. THE ORIGINS OF COMPOSITION
    3. 1.3. UNDERSTANDING LINEAR PERSPECTIVE
    4. 1.4. COMPOSITION AND PHOTOGRAPHY
    5. 1.5. Assignment
  8. 2. THE ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
    1. 2.1. UNDERSTANDING THE ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
      1. 2.1.1. POINTS
      2. 2.1.2. LINES
      3. 2.1.3. PLANES
      4. 2.1.4. SOLIDS
    2. 2.2. ARRANGING DESIGN ELEMENTS IN THE FRAME
      1. 2.2.1. FRAME SHAPES
      2. 2.2.2. ORIENTATION
      3. 2.2.3. FOCAL POINT
      4. 2.2.4. SYMMETRICAL VERSUS ASYMMETRICAL
      5. 2.2.5. HARMONY VERSUS DISHARMONY
    3. 2.3. THE RULE OF THIRDS
    4. 2.4. THE GOLDEN RECTANGLE
    5. 2.5. Assignment
  9. 3. DEPTH OF FIELD DECISIONS
    1. 3.1. THE PLANE OF CRITICAL FOCUS
    2. 3.2. UNDERSTANDING APERTURE
      1. 3.2.1. F-STOPS
      2. 3.2.2. CIRCLES OF CONFUSION
    3. 3.3. SELECTING LENSES
      1. 3.3.1. FOCAL LENGTH
      2. 3.3.2. ANGLE OF VIEW
      3. 3.3.3. WHICH LENS DO I NEED?
    4. 3.4. PREVIEWING AND PREDICTING DEPTH OF FIELD
    5. 3.5. USING THE HYPERFOCAL DISTANCE TO DEEPEN DEPTH OF FIELD
    6. 3.6. Assignment
  10. 4. SLICING TIME: DESIGNING WITH SHUTTER SPEEDS
    1. 4.1. SHUTTER SPEED AND DEPTH OF FIELD: A DELICATE BALANCE
      1. 4.1.1. EQUIVALENT EXPOSURE
      2. 4.1.2. GAUGING THE AVAILABLE LIGHT
    2. 4.2. FREEZE OR BLUR: HOW SHUTTER SPEED AFFECTS A SHOT
      1. 4.2.1. ISO
      2. 4.2.2. FREEZE FRAME
      3. 4.2.3. SLOWING THINGS DOWN
      4. 4.2.4. EXTENDED TIME EXPOSURES
      5. 4.2.5. MULTIPLE EXPOSURES
    3. 4.3. USING A MOTOR DRIVE
    4. 4.4. PANNING
    5. 4.5. Assignment
  11. 5. CAPTURING LIGHT
    1. 5.1. THE QUALITY OF LIGHT
    2. 5.2. THE DIRECTION OF LIGHT
    3. 5.3. THE INTENSITY OF LIGHT
    4. 5.4. HARNESSING SUNLIGHT
      1. 5.4.1. DAWN AND DUSK LIGHTING
      2. 5.4.2. SUNRISE AND SUNSET
      3. 5.4.3. MIDDAY SUN
      4. 5.4.4. OVERCAST LIGHTING
    5. 5.5. Assignment
  12. 6. WORKING WITH COLOR
    1. 6.1. COLOR THEORY
      1. 6.1.1. THE SCIENCE OF COLOR
      2. 6.1.2. COLOR SYMBOLISM
    2. 6.2. COLOR TEMPERATURE
    3. 6.3. THE COLOR OF SUNLIGHT
    4. 6.4. CONTROLLING COLORS BY USING FILTERS
      1. 6.4.1. WRATTEN NUMBERS
      2. 6.4.2. COLOR-COMPENSATING FILTERS
      3. 6.4.3. POLARIZING FILTERS
      4. 6.4.4. NEUTRAL-DENSITY FILTERS
    5. 6.5. Assignment
  13. 7. THINKING IN BLACK AND WHITE
    1. 7.1. THE ZONE SYSTEM
    2. 7.2. METERING AND EXPOSING FOR BLACK AND WHITE
      1. 7.2.1. COMPENSATING FOR THE LIGHT METER'S READING
      2. 7.2.2. SPOT METERING
    3. 7.3. WORKING WITH CONTRAST FILTERS
    4. 7.4. Assignment
  14. 8. ARRANGING APPEALING PORTRAITS
    1. 8.1. A LITTLE HISTORY
    2. 8.2. FRAMING YOUR PHOTO
      1. 8.2.1. HEAD SHOT
      2. 8.2.2. UPPER BODY SHOT/MIDRANGE PORTRAIT
      3. 8.2.3. ENVIRONMENTAL PORTRAITS
    3. 8.3. LIGHTING THE SCENE
      1. 8.3.1. KEY LIGHT SOURCES
      2. 8.3.2. FILL LIGHT SOURCES
    4. 8.4. COLOR VERSUS BLACK AND WHITE
    5. 8.5. METERING THE SCENE
    6. 8.6. POSING
      1. 8.6.1. POSING SINGLES
      2. 8.6.2. POSING PAIRS
      3. 8.6.3. POSING GROUPS
    7. 8.7. PHOTOGRAPHING KIDS
    8. 8.8. Assignment
  15. 9. TRAVEL AND SCENIC PHOTOGRAPHY
    1. 9.1. PACKING YOUR CAMERA BAG
    2. 9.2. SCOPING OUT YOUR LOCATION
      1. 9.2.1. ESTABLISHING SHOTS
      2. 9.2.2. MEDIUM VIEWS
      3. 9.2.3. CLOSE-UPS
      4. 9.2.4. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
    3. 9.3. PHOTOGRAPHING PEOPLE ON LOCATION
    4. 9.4. Assignment
  16. 10. STILL-LIFE AND CLOSE-UP PHOTOGRAPHY
    1. 10.1. PHOTOGRAPHING STILL-LIFE IMAGES
      1. 10.1.1. ASSEMBLING THE SET
      2. 10.1.2. LIGHTING THE SCENE
      3. 10.1.3. PHOTOGRAPHING THE SCENE
      4. 10.1.4. STILL-LIFE SCENARIO A
      5. 10.1.5. STILL-LIFE SCENARIO B
    2. 10.2. MACRO AND CLOSE-UP PHOTOGRAPHY
      1. 10.2.1. CHOOSING A BACKDROP
      2. 10.2.2. LIGHTING THE SUBJECT
      3. 10.2.3. PHOTOGRAPHING THE SUBJECT
      4. 10.2.4. A CLOSE-UP SCENARIO
    3. 10.3. Assignment
  17. 11. IMPROVING YOUR IMAGES
    1. 11.1. UNDERSTANDING FILE FORMATS
    2. 11.2. CROPPING OR RESIZING AN IMAGE
    3. 11.3. ADJUSTING AN IMAGE'S CONTRAST AND COLOR
    4. 11.4. CORRECTING IMPERFECTIONS
      1. 11.4.1. ELIMINATING RED EYE
      2. 11.4.2. OBSCURING FLAWS
      3. 11.4.3. REDUCING NOISE
      4. 11.4.4. SHARPENING AN IMAGE
    5. 11.5. FIXING THE LIGHTING
    6. 11.6. APPLYING SPECIAL EFFECTS
      1. 11.6.1. USING FILTERS
      2. 11.6.2. CREATING COMPOSITE IMAGES
    7. 11.7. BACKING UP AND ARCHIVING YOUR IMAGE FILES
    8. 11.8. TAKING THE NEXT STEP
    9. 11.9. Assignment
  18. Glossary

Product information

  • Title: Composition Photo Workshop
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: July 2007
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9780470114360