This is a book that’s very interesting. Most of the books deal exclusively with lenses but this book focuses on the neuroscience of people’s interpretation and understanding of pictures. The book is beautifully written and full of fantastic images, showing the internal definition of photography and craft. Photography has increased than ever before and now everyone is an artist with the accessibility of high-quality DSLR and social media. As a tool for capturing the life as well as a platform of artistic self-expression, photography itself should be accessible to all. The issue, I guess, is that we have been fascinated with engineering too much, and have overlooked that it’s of the utmost importance to consider psychology and theory in all the visual arts. The majority is devoted to the consumer mentality of books and YouTube videos. Everybody needs the newest and most luxurious lenses with the most features and the maximum count of megapixels, and they don’t know that with any lens, either point, shoot or mobile phone, you can take a great picture. But the way to do this is to consider and think deeper about the characteristics of a successful picture. This is where such a book begins. This book doesn’t just give advice from “following the rule of third parties” which you obtain from most tips online, but a more thorough discussion on why the rule of thirds is even important, how it tends to affect and how it should be broken by the viewer. It offers a short yet concise overview of the most popular concepts of design, based on research on how we see or interpret things. The book is an interesting insight at how pictures were presented and written. It’s well-written and beautifully illustrated.
A critical perspective of the book is that, it doesn’t include ISO, shutter speed and aperture. I think the book is very well written. It’s concise, clear and well-illustrated, and found to be a pleasant reading. The book covers the basics of design, namely the manner in which things transform in a 2D picture before a lens-my mistake-from the outset. The book does not require previous knowledge of theory of composition, but I believe that the readers may benefit from a previous comprehension of some basic photographic topics (for example, know the difference between a broad angle and a telephoto lens). Throughout his book, Freeman would show how to use geometrical types in a frame to convey information, to use shapes and colours to indicate different things to the spectator and to explain the “fun” results of the picture. The images, text and the overall presentation of this book is very impressive. But not fully convinced that the reading of Freeman’s book is all that “the photographer’s brain” according to the title. The material is split into seven chapters: the frame of photos, the fundamentals of models, visual and photographic features with light and colour, intention and method.
In Chapter 1, Image Frame, examines how photographs are created within a space called a viewfinder frame. You’ll look at frame shape, cropping, frame filling, positioning, and how to work with frames within frames. Chapter 2, Design Basics, shows how the composition is essentially the organisation of all possible graphical elements within the frame. It is based on the principles of graphic design and follows the same guidelines as any other graphic art. Chapter 3, Graphic and Photographic Elements, describes what the graphic elements are, two dimensional objects that exist within the frame of the image. As there is no need to be practical in art and illustration, symbolic treatment is appropriate. Chapter 4, Composing with Light and Colour, presents the effects of tone and colour on the image. Tone and colour are two different but connected terms that affect our understanding of the significance of an image. Chapter 5, Intent, describes that, at the end of the day, what defines the structure of an image is the intent. The intention of the decision should be investigated before you make a compositional decision. Chapter 6, Method, in art, is one of those topics that is difficult to analyse. This is partly due to the fact that the composition and the making of a picture are relatively short-lived opposed with sculpture and other disciplines
One of Freeman’s strengths is that it goes beyond design theory and composition. Freeman also asked the reader to understand his own motives, systems and theories in the last two chapters. In reality, consider some of the tasks to be somewhat unpleasant. Nonetheless, this discomfort is probably needed if you take artistic photography seriously. The four first chapters deal with the image’s graphic design elements. That is, how rules, plant, colour, to name only a couple, influence the image’s shape, flow and sound. The method and purpose of the artist, and more about the photographer’s visual storey. A few sentences in each issue, not often more than one or two lines, and several images followed by diagrams and explanations illustrate how each photograph represented the technique. The text should act as an introduction and summary of each subject and how it can be used to impact an image’s look. To get the most out of the book, one needs to review the illustrations and not just photos but the majority of the lesson, in addition to just reading the text. For starters, the goal of this book is intended to address the blurred question “How to capture a good photo?” And more on how we human beings ‘see’. He believes the photographers should take more careful images that are of a more consistent quality while recognising the basic principles that make a picture compelling to look at. While moving through this this book, the art-historical is sometimes informative but often dispersed through the results of a philosophical query and pragmatic questions. In segments, the book is better absorbed than entirely. If the reader learns about the text in a convenient manner and combine sections of the knowledge, it is worth reading the wealth of valuable, well-illustrated information.
Reference: Freeman, M. 2007, The Photographer’s Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos, Taylor and Francis.
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