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Creative Composition: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques
Take your best shots with this invaluable guide to composition for DSLR cameras. Sometimes you get the best results by breaking the rules, but first you have to know what the rules are! In this indispensable photography guide, renowned photographer Harold Davis first walks you through the recommended guidelines for composing great shots with your DSLR camera-and then shows you how to break free, build your own unique style and compose beautiful images with confidence.
- GenresPhotographyArtReference
242 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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91 people want to read
About the author
Harold Davis
163 books14 followersHarold Davis is widely recognized as a leading contemporary photographer and artist. He is also the author of more than 30 books, including Creating HDR Photos: The Complete Guide to High Dynamic Range Photography from Amphoto/Random House and Photographing Flowers: Exploring Macro Worlds with Harold Davis which is published by Focal Press, and has been called "one of the most beautiful books ever created."
Harold Davis believes that advances in the technology and craft of digital photography have created an entirely new art form. Trained as a classical photographer and painter, his photographic images are made using special HDR (High Dynamic Range) capture techniques that extend the range of visual information beyond what the eye can normally see.
Davis creates and processes his images using wide-gamut and alternative digital methods that he has invented. His techniques combine the craft of photography with the skills of a painter.
Photographic adventures and assignments have taken him across the Brooks Range, the northernmost mountains in Alaska. He has photographed the World Trade Towers, hanging out of a small plane, followed in the footsteps of Seneca Ray Stoddard, a 19th-century photographer of the Adirondacks, and created human interest photo stories about the residents of Love Canal, an environmental disaster area.
Harold is well-known for his night photography and experimental ultra-long exposure techniques, use of vibrant, saturated colors in landscape compositions, and beautiful creative floral imagery.
He makes his over-sized original prints on unusual substrates such as pearlized metallic and washi rice papers. Davis states, "I believe that nothing like my prints has ever been seen before. They simply could not have been created until recently. I've been able to innovate in a domain where many techniques and crafts have come together for the first time. My prints are made meticulously, and have a 200-year archival rating for ink and paper if they are handled properly.
Harold Davis believes that advances in the technology and craft of digital photography have created an entirely new art form. Trained as a classical photographer and painter, his photographic images are made using special HDR (High Dynamic Range) capture techniques that extend the range of visual information beyond what the eye can normally see.
Davis creates and processes his images using wide-gamut and alternative digital methods that he has invented. His techniques combine the craft of photography with the skills of a painter.
Photographic adventures and assignments have taken him across the Brooks Range, the northernmost mountains in Alaska. He has photographed the World Trade Towers, hanging out of a small plane, followed in the footsteps of Seneca Ray Stoddard, a 19th-century photographer of the Adirondacks, and created human interest photo stories about the residents of Love Canal, an environmental disaster area.
Harold is well-known for his night photography and experimental ultra-long exposure techniques, use of vibrant, saturated colors in landscape compositions, and beautiful creative floral imagery.
He makes his over-sized original prints on unusual substrates such as pearlized metallic and washi rice papers. Davis states, "I believe that nothing like my prints has ever been seen before. They simply could not have been created until recently. I've been able to innovate in a domain where many techniques and crafts have come together for the first time. My prints are made meticulously, and have a 200-year archival rating for ink and paper if they are handled properly.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 8, 2020
The first part of the book covered camera settings and basic techniques; handy perhaps, but not really composition. Most of the rest of the book is good, though, with quite a few interesting example photos. There is also some good advice on developing an eye toward composition.
October 7, 2023
A easy to read book with a lot of small advices and details to a newcomer to photography.
A phrase that I loved:
Cameras don't take photos, people do
A phrase that I loved:
Cameras don't take photos, people do
December 15, 2024
“He is not an artist. He is a jerk”
Useless book.
Useless book.
October 16, 2013
This book spent a good first third on basics of how camera settings work. The author does cover the creative composition content in the rest of the book. I'd says this is more for beginners to early intermediate photographers. As a more experienced amateur, I was reminded of a few things but didn't really feel the material was novel.
November 5, 2010
Interesting pictures but I don't do much macro yet.
September 1, 2016
Like the fresh approach the author presents to creatively composing photos. It's been a while since I've gleamed any new ideas from a book and am looking forward to reading more of his books.
August 24, 2014
Good ideas about composition if you're trying to learn what makes a great picture (what "works" in photography), what to look for when taking a picture or compositing an image digitally.
October 23, 2014
Nice photography guide with lots of ideas and techniques on how to improve creativity.
November 22, 2012
Good variety of different ideas to make more creative compositions.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews