Hi,
> "Photographic Composition", by Ben Clements (not the one by Tom Grill,
> although that might be good too)
> "Interaction of Color", by Josef Albers
it's interesting that you mention these books, which sound quite formal
and pedagogical. I'm not familiar with either of them. I will probably look
out for the first.
I've found it quite useful in many ways to study composition & use of
colour in paintings rather than photos, because it lends a certain
distance and detachment that looking at photos doesn't have for me. There
are plenty of books available in art sections of libraries and bookshops
which use certain well-known paintings from throughout art history as
examples of particular techniques or to show how something, like recession
for example, works, and why. Living near so many great, free art galleries
it is easy for me to go out and look at the paintings themselves to study
these effects, rather than having to rely on the photos in the books.
It can also be useful to study visual literacy in a more abstract way,
not related to paintings or photography, but more to the abstract
elements such as the relationship between elements and the frame, or
to the felt axis. Some awareness of the psychological aspects, such as
preference for the lower left part of the frame, can be useful
knowledge too. For instance, if you want to impart a sense of edginess
or imbalance to your photos by not giving the viewers' eyes what
they're looking for.
Learning about composition in this way, not just by looking at
photographs, is something I've found very useful and worthwhile for
its own sake - it has greatly increased the enjoyment I get from
paintings - as well as for the sake of my photography. I avoided it
for years because, like some of my friends, I kind of thought it was
dangerous to theorise about such things, and believed that it should
be somehow instinctive. However, it is certainly an approach I would
now recommend.
---
Bob
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"If it's sunny, try f16;
if it's not, try f5.6"
--Walker Evans
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