I have a ton of photography books. How too’s, History of photography, books on specific artists, and collections of works. I have studied art and the history of photography in college. I look at other photographers works constantly. It gives me incite, and reminds me why I love to shoot. When I hit the bookstores such as Barnes and Noble or Borders, or some off-name small cool shop, I always head straight for the Art area, photography section. I love looking at every book available. I pick them up, thumb through then look at another one. There is one book that I have recently picked up a number of times. It is called “The Photographer’s Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos” By Michael Freeman.
The book is simple . There are a ton of good books out there, but this one does focus on why composition is so important. Its about how they Eye and Brain see things. This is one thing I constantly try to describe to my students, the flow of the eye of the viewer and why that’s important. You can buy the book at Amazon, or visit a bookstore and pick it up. It is again on my list. I have not had a chance to fully look at it, but it does hit some key points. Even though the title had “digital” in it, the information is for all types of photography. There really is an Art to how we see things.
Side notes: I encourage all students of photography, including myself, to go out and read about other photographers, their history, life, issues, and such. Its important to see why someone photographs something, how their life changes because of it. Buy at least one Photography related book each month.
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