The Photographer’s Eye

 

The Photographer’s Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos by Michael Freeman [2007] is a short 187 pages but it is packed with images that illustrate techniques.  If you are someone who learns better by seeing examples, this may be the best possible photography how-to book you can read.  I learned way more from this book than I ever did from a college class and feel anyone can learn something from the book regardless of prior experience or skill level.

Photographs are broken down with descriptions on what elements make them successful, such as colour, framing the shot and internal composition.  Different shots are shown alongside the most successful example for comparison or a stream of shots will be shown to illustrate the subtle variations and which shots are more successful.  The book is older so it is retailing online for $20 or less however you are getting a terrific education for the price.  The visual demonstrations paired with the written expertise makes this a veritable text book that supersedes any other class or tutorial in value.