Mastering Composition: The Definitive Guide for Photographers

Painstakingly researched and informatively structured, this book will be an eye-opener to photographers from novice to professional. I've been taking photographs (some award winning) and reading avidly about the subject for half a century but still learned a lot from reading this publication. The huge range of compositional aspects that the book covers is expertly illustrated by the author's choice of photographs, clearly demonstrating each point being made. An especially neat touch is the shrewd use of photo editing to change images in (sometimes subtle) ways that convey a very different mood and feel from the same basic image. Very insightful. And it's all wrapped up with a final section that gives a range of useful ideas about practical applications of everything discussed. The writing style is approachable and fluid, the structure well thought out and the publication quality appealing. The images are not only illustrative but often stunning in their own right and it would not look out of place on a coffee table. I suspect this may become a seminal publication among not just photographers but possibly artists of all genres in the art and science of image composition. Whether you've just started in photography or think you know it all, it's well worth a read.

When I first started to read this book I wondered where the author was coming from. Having read it I can see that his approach was the right one to take. He not only discussed some basic and indeed ancient concepts of composition but also why it works from a psychological point of view. When you get that last point you then get a lot more out of the book. The book is produced to a very high standard or printing and paper quality and should last a long time. The print is easy to read as is the content, which I found to be pretty fluid. In the end I have given the book 5-stars and would recommend it to anyone who is wanting to know why certain pictures work and others do not.

This book contains some real pearls of wisdom, invaluable both for aspiring photographers learning their craft and for seasoned professionals seeking a refresher. My only gripe with it is that there are hardly any examples of portrait photographs. Naturally, many of the principles mentioned in the book can be applied to portraiture, however, without suitable examples for reference, it can be harder to visualise just how the theory is applied in real-world scenarios. Perhaps it was modesty on the part of the author as he is defines himself as a wildlife photographer and therefore perhaps feel more qualified to provide guidance on that kind of photography. On the other hand, as a predominately wildlife and landscape photographer, the omission of significant portrait specific guidance may in fact be a genuine oversight, in which case, the book would be more appropriately titled: Mastering Wildlife & Landscape Photography. All things considered, I do recommend this book as it provides a valuable general insight into the founding principles of photography. If you are seeking a more detailed treatise on portraiture, however, you may wish to look elsewhere.

I have a lot of photography books. This book is the "best" book on photography that I've ever seen. It has rules in here, that no other book has alluded to, let alone described. It's a book, you'll keep re reading. The author has done a 10/10 job. If this book is for you, or a gift, then its ideal. You can't get better.

Does a great job of explaining each of the core pillars of composition, and provides a good number of practical examples. As someone relatively new to photography and composition, I've found this book to be extremely informative.

Having been a serious amateur photographer for over 50 years and buying and reading hundreds of books on the subject, this is the most informative and interesting photographic book I've ever read. The subject matter is as relevant to painters as it is to photographers and his style of writing and example photographs are magnificent. A truly enjoyable book which will be re-visited many times over the coming years.

There's so much that is helpful in this book by Richard Garvey-Williams on composition that goes a long way beyond just the rule of thirds. Apart from having a sound doctrine/heart of beauty and good purpose, and understanding exposure and whatever your camera is to get the most out of it, photography is all about understanding light, and the composition. Art is just the same, just with different tools. I really enjoyed learning a lot this book offers, that I'm sure will be helpful with the conscious thinking process in future. "He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards ship without rudder and compass and never knows where he may cast." "Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art". (Leonardo da Vinci).

The missing artistic link for photography. The author relates Renaissance techniques and a host of other critical observations that can and should be applied to any creative situation. It is, for me, the finest book I've read concerning the photographic realm. It's so good that I take it into the field with me as a reference guide. Thoroughly recommended.

Awesome book if you wanna know more about general principles in mastering composition, lighting and more... must have for anyone in photo, digital or traditional art

I love this series of books. They cover most genres of photography and develop your skills then leave you with a handy sized refresher while you consolidate knowledge. This one doesn’t disappoint

The book is well laid out, with well-chosen photos used as examples for his topics. I normally get bored reading photography books because it’s more of a person saying how they did whatever they did this specific time for this specific thing. I know that serves a lot of people well, but for me it’s sooo specific that it’s easy to lose attention for it. This book is general enough to be immediately useful, but not so general that it’s low value. I just highly recommend this. I’ve been making photos from intuition and was somewhat worried that becoming too versed in the mechanics might take away the intuition or “Magic.” But now that I’ve been learning the “why” behind photo construction, I’m one hundred percent thankful for this book and don’t feel like it took away ANY of that natural creativity or vision away; it gave me more ways to be creative.

I've read dozens of books on photography and a few of them were supposed to deal with composition exclusively. Unfortunately too many authors seem to think that whoever reads their books is a total photography newbie so they go through the basics of photography before devoting a few chapters to the instructions pertaining to the title of the book. Not this time. The author only writes about composition and how to make good use of it from start to finish. There's not a lot of filler either. The author goes through many different compositional concepts and how it affects the viewers response and then accompanies this with perfectly chosen images to illustrate his point. The lessons are easy to understand and easy to apply and will make anyone who reads this a better photographer. This is definitely one of the better books on composition out there.

Very very well articulated book and it teaches things in a manner which can be grasped easily