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Summary: One of the best!
Review: As a consultant to professional photographers I highly recommend Designing a Photograph. Bill Smith speaks clearly to all of the different options that photographers have when creating an image.All too often, amateur and pros alike will click the shutter before a unique perspective is in their viewfinder.Smith encourages all lensfolk to develop their vision and he gives real life examples of how to improve your images.
Illustrated with beautiful images that are direct examples of the text, this book is a must have for any serious amateur or pro.
Selina Oppenheim
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Summary: Uninspiring photos with not very much discussion
Review: Bill Smith does an excellent job of presenting the basic principles of design and how they apply to photography. Each chapter is presented in a clear and concise manner with wonderful photographs that demonstrate those principles.Of the many books available in photographic composition, this is perhaps one of the better ones. Most photographs on composition are too didactic and without practical utility; Smith's work, written from the perspective of a commerical photography, balances the didactic with the practical. He defines and illustrates the critical components of image design and their applications to "real world" photography. Overall, an excellent introduction to photographic composition and design.
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Summary: Inspiration and Instructive
Review: Bill Smith does an excellent job of presenting the basic principles of design and how they apply to photography. Each chapter is presented in a clear and concise manner with wonderful photographs that demonstrate those principles. Of the many books available in photographic composition, this is perhaps one of the better ones. Most photographs on composition are too didactic and without practical utility; Smith's work, written from the perspective of a commerical photography, balances the didactic with the practical. He defines and illustrates the critical components of image design and their applications to "real world" photography. Overall, an excellent introduction to photographic composition and design.
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Summary: Learn How To See a Photograph!
Review: Designing a Photograph isn't going to spoon feed you information and teach you technical skills. The emphasis of the book is to teach you how to see when you're photographing. The idea is to explain the different aspects of a photograph to you, visually show you with an example, and then have you explore using a "visual exercise" (a shooting assignment). One previous reviewer was unsatisfied with the book, claiming "We apparently must figure out the results for ourselves." Well that is the whole idea of the book. You will never learn how if someone always tells you what to do and you never learn the process. As a photographer myself who has worked for other photographers, I learned much by listening to their advice and watching how they worked. I truly learned by using what I heard and saw and keeping that it mind while I was shooting on my own. For those interested in photography, the Applied Design section gives you a glimpse of what's involved in being a professional photographer. When you work in photography for a living, not everything you shoot is what you would choose to shoot for yourself. Many of the photographs are from jobs, especially in this section. They are there to illustrate a point. If you find them boring, I suggest you avoid photography as a career because you would most likely not enjoy it. It's not all as glamourous as most people believe. In short, if you are looking for a book to give you rules to follow like a Kodak guide to taking better pictures, this is not for you. It is not a technical guide that will teach you how to operate your camera. There are plenty of books out there to do that. The focus of this book is to teach you the process of designing a photograph and to learn to see on your own.
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Summary: From OUTDOOR PHOTOGRAPHER
Review: Designing a Photograph, revised edition, by Bill Smith. This updated text contains tips on improving composition, as well as providing visual and photographic exercises to help develop technique and creativity.
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Summary: From PhotoDistrict News--Product News August 2001
Review: Designing a Photograph: Visual Tips for Making Your Photographs Work, was first published in the mid-1980s by Bill Smith, an advertising/fine-art photographer. It has just been reissued in a "completely revised edition" by Amphoto, complete with 150 new images and updated step-by-step information.
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Summary: Completely revised edition of the best-selling classic
Review: During the 15 years since the first edition of Designing a Photograph was published, the field of photography has become more competitive, with much more sophisticated standards. This revised and updated edition of the classic manual provides all the information photographers need to bring their art to the next level. Filled with practical, real-life examples and excellent step-by-step exercises, this valuable illustrated reference demonstrates techniques of composition, color, lighting, perspective, and much more. With completely updated information and more than 150 brand-new photographs, Desiging a Photograph is easily one of the most important additions to every photographer's library. The perfect resource for amateurs, students, and professional photographers, Desiging a Photograph is filled with outstanding step-by-step illustrations and clear, informative text.
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Summary: Aviod this uninspiring ramble!
Review: I bought this book because of the catch phrase "You can learn from this book" that was sprawled across the back cover; I thought it would offer valuable tips about photographic composition. Such was not the case. I found it to be very poorly organized. It seemed like the author never stopped rambling on about his very uninspiring photographs. I couldn't decipher any meaning out of the excrutiating analysis he gave to each of his boring pictures! Avoid this uninspiring ramble; if you want a good book on photographic composition, keep looking.
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Summary: I wish I didn't buy this book
Review: I briefly browsed the book in local book store. I found a lot of catchy phrases and ordered one from Amazon. Now I really regret that I did. I found that most of the photographs the author used in the book didn't really bear much relationship with the concepts he was trying to convey. It is like his words and images are seperate. Instead, the author was basically trying to self critique, or rather, self appreciate his own images. Maybe I am missing something, but more often I fail to observe the important elements the author was trying to bring my attention to. I have to say, most of the images in the book are quite uninteresting and boring, just like several other reviewers have pointed out. Maybe they are perfect brochure type of images, they just didn't inspire me. When I see some nice photographs, often my reaction is, wow! how did they do it and how can I shoot something like that. I found none of that in this book. I bought quite a few books on photography, this one so far is the only one I am disappointed with.
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Summary: Author is holding back
Review: I've read dozens of books on photography and this one has to be the worst one. Why? As a aspiring photographer, I wanted to improve my compositional skill. That's why I bought this book. Bill may be a professional photographer (not a great photographer though IMHO), but he's not a good instructor or writer. This book failed to be an instructional book because details are held back. For example, he said he learned a great technique by shooting both B&W and color film for the same subject, but he didn't mention at all what technique he learned!!! Why mention it if he's not going to share it? All the technique he talked about in the book are so basic and vague that I get more confused after reading this book. I remembered I learned a lot from John Shaw's and Art Wolfe's books (two of the best and great nature photographers in the world). After reading this book, my mind has become confused. So, I'm going to stop reading it after finishing half of it.
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