Associated Press Sports Writing Handbook

Book Description

Written by a veteran Associated Press sports writer, this handbook arms aspiring and working sports reporters, broadcasters, and photographers with exactly what they need to know to make it to the top in the glamorous and exciting world of sports journalism. With the help of dozens of fascinating and instructive quotes and war stories, contributed by heavy hitters like Dave Goldberg, Jim Litke, Alan Robinson, Joan Ryan, and other top AP sports reporters, the book tutors readers in the core techniques and methodology of sports writing, while at the same time exploring the important professional aspects of the business: how to get started and make a name for yourself; local, national, and feature writing; how the Internet is changing the face of sports writing; and where the business is headed over the next decade.

Download Description

This handbook arms aspiring and working sports reporters, broadcasters, and photographers with exactly what they need to know to make it to the top in the glamorous and exciting world of sports journalism.

Customer Reviews:

Basic Introduction to Sports Writing.......2007-07-11

This handbook is a very basic introduction to sports writing. It's written at what appears to be a junior high/high school level for kids looking at sportscasting as a career. I was expecting something a little more comprehensive, something along the lines of an MLA styleguide...But, then again, it is "just" sports writing. Doesn't take a genius, I guess!

Photography and the Art of Seeing: A Visual Perception Workshop for Film and Digital Photography

Average customer rating:

Breaking the photographical routine
I deeply regret buying this book... RATED NO STARS AT ALL
An excellent resource
Don't buy this book - PLEASE!
Stimulating Creativity

Photography and the Art of Seeing: A Visual Perception Workshop for Film and Digital Photography
Freeman Patterson
Manufacturer: Key Porter Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

Photographing the World Around You: A Visual Design Workshop for Film and Digital Photography
Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition)
Learning to See Creatively: Design, Color & Composition in Photography (Updated Edition)
Photography of Natural Things: A Nature and Environment Workshop for Film and Digital Photography
Fine Art Flower Photography: Creative Techniques And The Art Of Observation

ASIN: 1552636143

Book Description

In this third edition of Photography and the Art of Seeing, Freeman Patterson reviews principles of composition and visual design and provides techniques and exercises for breaking away from traditional concepts. Aspiring photographers are made aware of the barriers to seeing and learn how to observe, imagine and express in a personal and creative way.

Customer Reviews:

Breaking the photographical routine.......2007-03-24

Freeman tries to get photographers to break out of their ways, to look at the world with different eyes, to question old habits. This is a good thing, in my opinion. But does he succeed?

I can only answer this from my own perspective: Yes, the book gives me impulses to try out different perspectives than the ones I'm used to.

The writing is fluent and to the point. The images underline the points in the text. I like many of them, even though they seem unspectacular at first. The printing quality could be better, though. I ordered the book together with two volumes by John Shaw ("Focus on Nature" and "The Field Book to Nature Photography", both Amphoto Books), and those are printed much better, with more contrast and color saturation.

Still, a recommended book for anyone who likes taking photos and would like to explore new grounds.

I deeply regret buying this book... RATED NO STARS AT ALL.......2007-02-16

I wrote a review as follows: 'Anyone can take a picture of a hot dog. If this photographer took a picture of a hot dog you would smell the french fries, hear the ocean, and taste the salt water taffy. The author offers the reader a chance to see the world through his eyes.

Then I looked through the book more closely. On page 137 I saw a picture that disgusted me. When I read what he wrote about the subject, I became angry. He wrote, "This photograph captures a moment in the life of a child, and suggests innocence. The little girl had withdrawn from her playmates on the beach; she wanted to be alone. She was crying a little. When I came along, she hid her face to preserve her privacy. I quickly made this picture and left. Note that the expanse of rocks and the girl's small space in the composition strengthen the sense of her privacy."

The picture is of a naked little child who was hiding her face crying and trying to turn away from the man taking her picture with his camera. It is only my opinion, but I think this man is greatly lacking in respect of human dignity.

I am sorry I put money in his pocket. I hope no one else will.

An excellent resource.......2006-12-15

If you have moved up from the technical aspects of photography, and are into "photography as an art", this is the book to buy to take you to that next level.

If there is just one book in the whole world that you can buy, this is it! I own all of patterson's instruction books - and they are all great! a worthy investment and proudly displayed in my bookshelf.

Don't buy this book - PLEASE!.......2006-11-30

Please don't buy this book. It will change your photography. I bought it, and now I have an advantage, and I want to keep it!

Seriously, this is probably the most disturbing photography book I have found. It will challenge everything you do in photography, and that is unsettling.

If you follow the exercises properly, you will develop a whole new way of seeing and taking photos.

Sure, if you want to, you can read it from cover to cover and go "Ho, hum, very nice." and take it no further. But if you want to improve your photography, take your time, and do the exercises carefully. You will be surprised at the results.

I especially like the one where you lock yourself in a small room (bathroom) and have to take 20 images. "If you don't feel desperation before you finish this exercise, then you have to take another 20 photos."

Don't buy this book! Run away and hide. Keep taking boring photos.

Stimulating Creativity.......2006-11-11

I found this book excellent for stimulating the creative process where photography is concerned.

Architecture / Art / Parallels / Connections

Average customer rating:

A must have for the architects library
Inspiration for the Creative Process

Architecture / Art / Parallels / Connections
Barry A. Berkus
Manufacturer: Watson-Guptill Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Criticism | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

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Barry A Berkus: Sculpting Space (House Design)

ASIN: 0823002934

Amazon.com

Squares, circles, columns, pyramids, grids, and the like are the vital constants of any kind of visual representation, appearing not only across eras and cultures but across such media as "fine" art and its more "applied" cousin, architecture. Californian Barry Berkus, a big-time architect as well as a major collector of modern art, is fascinated by how such elemental shapes and forms reflect each other in art and architecture, and in this beguilingly curated volume, a sort of personal scrapbook of the highest order, he explores just that. How? Largely by pairing sumptuous full-color photographs of his own architectural projects--the majority of which are lavish, fanciful, geometrically daring residences in the American Southwest--with some of the great pieces of modern and contemporary art, plus some shots of such lovely antiquities as Italian hillside villages and the whitewashed alleys of Mykonos. It's all in the interest of showing us how said elemental forms echo across time, regions, and craft; to those ends, we have the "female" curves of a charmingly sunny-hued OB-GYN office Berkus designed in Santa Barbara across from the abstracted curves of the woman in Picasso's 1932 Reading, or the archways of a garden court arcade he designed in 1989 for Villa Lucia, a private residence in Montecito, flush up against archways from the Roman ruins, or the one over the doorway in the gorgeously crumbling front façade of an old home in Torgiano, Italy.

Berkus's annotations are unremarkable--many of the ideas are general and overfamiliar, and it often reads somewhat like Rem Koolhaas without the wacked-out, idiot-savant lyricism. But no matter, as the real treasures of this book are the photos of Berkus's architecture itself. It's not without its common themes across projects--namely, a fondness for massing a toybox's worth of warmly colored basic shapes into improbably elegant, sprawling clusters--but it nonetheless dazzles in its diversity, and Berkus seems as comfortable and innovative designing in full-bore geometric-postmodern as he does in neo-Italianate villa or pueblo modular. Pair his own satisfying designs with his cosmopolitan appreciation of everyone and everything from Corbu, Calder, and the Case Study Homes to Zen temples, the agorae of ancient Greece, and the coolly ironic work of contemporary artists like Ed Ruscha and Ann Hamilton, and you have a palette that's at the very least a pleasant spree. At its best, though, it's a literate and often poignant study of those elements of the visual world we just can't stop coming back to. --Timothy Murphy

Book Description

A visual and intellectual tour de force, this stimulating, copiously illustrated book traces the parallels among painting, sculpture, and architecture through a broad selection of works and sites, both historical and contemporary. The author, an eminent architect, explores the common threads found in a variety of visual experiences. He begins by examining basic design principles as they are revealed in works of art, then relates those principles to a wide range of projects in both the built and unbuilt environment. Drawing his examples from many schools of art and architecture, he reveals his passion for particular works that have influenced his and others' architectural styles, citing world-famous paintings by Magritte and Czanne, traditional Japanese woodblock prints, farm structures of the American Midwest, and other powerful influences from diverse design arenas that impact on contemporary architecture.

Customer Reviews:

A must have for the architects library.......2001-02-03

This collection of works offers a unique view into the inspiration that fueled the creative energy of one of the most influential architects of this century. The title is true to its name. The usage of parallel imagery is found throughout the book and catalyzes the reader to look closer at the world around them recognizing and combining complementary forms to create magnificent modern structures. A must read for architects, aspiring and practiced, who are looking to develop or uncover new perspectives in there work.

Inspiration for the Creative Process.......2000-10-03

Anyone involved in creative endeavors, regardless of background or profession, or those who merely appreciate the fruits of creativity, will gain valuable insight from this book.

Berkus, an architect, traces the inspiration for his designs from his vast experience of places, objects, and works of art. Berkus' built forms are juxtaposed with the work of renowned artists. Each page is visually compelling and as much an education about art as it is about architecture.

I particularly appreciated Berkus' down-to-earth approach to writing - no technical jargon or "experts" language here. Berkus' concepts are far-reaching and visionary - this is seen strongly in the final section of the book "Building for the Future."

Amazon.com

Robert Coles, a child psychiatrist whose series of books on children won him a Pulitzer Prize, has turned his watchful eye to the nature of the documentary and produced a thought-provoking book. In somewhat the manner of James Faris's recent study, Navajo and Photography, Coles reveals how documentarians like Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans edited and cropped their images to produce a desired effect, and raises the question of authenticity versus manipulation. Lange, the subject of a previous biographical study by Coles, comes under close scrutiny as he contrasts her iconic image of a migrant mother with obscure photographs shot moments earlier. The author also recalls James Agee's self-critical appraisal of his and Evans's "insensitivity" and "arrogance" in pursuing an editorial assignment.

Book Description

Sitting in his study, William Carlos Williams once revealed to Robert Coles what he considered to be his greatest problem in writing a documentary about his patients in New Jersey. "When I'm there, sitting with those folks, listening and talking," he said to Coles, "I'm part of that life, and I'm near it in my head, too.... Back here, sitting near this typewriter--its different. I'm a writer. I'm a doctor living in Rutherford who is describing 'a world elsewhere.'" Williams captured the great difficulty in documentary writing--the gulf that separates the reality of the subject from the point of view of the observer . Now, in this thought-provoking volume, the renowned child psychiatrist Robert Coles, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Children in Crisis series, offers a penetrating look into the nature of documentary work. Utilizing the documentaries of writers, photographers, and others, Coles shows how their prose and pictures are influenced by the observer's frame of reference: their social and educational background, personal morals, and political beliefs. He discusses literary documentaries: James Agee's searching portrait of Depression-era tenant farmers, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, and George Orwell's passionate description of England's coal-miners, The Road to Wigan Pier. Like many documentarians, Coles argues, Agee and Orwell did not try to be objective, but instead showered unadulterated praise on the "noble" poor and vituperative contempt on the more privileged classes (including themselves) for "exploiting" these workers. Documentary photographs could be equally revealing about the observer. Coles analyzes how famous photographers such as Walker Evans and Dorthea Lange edited and cropped their pictures to produce a desired effect. Even the shield of the camera could not hide the presence of the photographer. Coles also illuminates his points through his personal portraits of William Carlos Williams; Robert Moses, one of the leaders of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee during the 1960s; Erik H. Erikson, biographer of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther; and others. Documentary work, Coles concludes, is more a narrative constructed by the observer than a true slice of reality. With the growth in popularity of films such as Ken Burns's The Civil War and the controversial basketball documentary Hoop Dreams, the question of what is "real" in documentary work is more pressing than ever. Through revealing discussions with documentarians and insightful analysis of their work, complemented by dramatic black-and-white photographs from Lange and Evans, Doing Documentary Work will provoke the reader into reconsidering how fine the line is between truth and fiction. It is an invaluable resource for students of the documentary and anyone interested in this important genre.

Customer Reviews:

Documentary work related to literary fiction.......1999-03-04

This is an important book for "so called" documentary writers, photographers, and film makers. I say "so called" because we tend to think of documentary work as an accurate representation--literally the truth. Robert Coles pretty much shoots that idea down, showing how the background, beliefs, biases, hopes, and fears of the documentarian color the narrative. I came away believing that the word objective is not relevant here, and that it may be impossible to ever get at the truth. If I read Coles right, the documentarian may, in fact, be more akin to the literary fiction writer/photographer/film-maker, who does seem to get at the truth. This is not to say that documentary work is futile. On the contrary it can be potent, meaningful, and worthwhile. We may just have to look at it differently and face up to the fact that it reflects the person doing the documentary work as much as it does his/her subject. This is a liberating idea. And we owe a debt to Coles for proffering it. There are consequences, too. For instance, in the light of Coles' discovery, a lot of critics may owe an apology to Richard Avedon, whose photographic fiction, "In The American West," may be fine documentary work after all.

Average customer rating:

Lot of fill, lack of articulation, not the deep-dive you'd expect
Pass up this one.
Lots of good info, but poor photographs
Great Book - Needs Color, though...
A group of some sixty exercises which teach readers how to perceive points, lines, shapes and more through the camera's eye

Photography: The Art of Composition
Bert Krages
Manufacturer: Allworth Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Reference | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Photographic Composition
Learning to See Creatively: Design, Color & Composition in Photography (Updated Edition)
Photography and the Art of Seeing: A Visual Perception Workshop for Film and Digital Photography
Designing a Photograph: Visual Techniques for Making Your Photographs Work
Master Composition Guide for Digital Photographers

ASIN: 1581154097

Book Description

Since the beginning of the twentieth century, photographic composition has been taught mostly by applying the principles from the field of graphic design. But the factor that distinguishes the work of master photographers is their ability to see and describe scenes visually. In his newly published book, Photography The Art of Composition, Bert Krages introduces a radically different approach that applies modern cognitive science to show photographers how they can develop their perceptual skills. The book follows contemporary educational methods used to teach fine arts such as drawing and painting, concentrating on teaching the perception of critical visual elements and understanding how they will be rendered photographically. "In many respects, this book can do for photography what Betty Edwards' best-selling Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain did for drawing. Many people believe that seeing is a mysterious gift, the so-called `artist's eye.'" says Krages. The core of the book is a group of sixty exercise that readers perform to learn how to perceive points, lines, and shapes in static and dynamic settings. These exercises are structured enough to push photographers to develop their cognitive abilities while at the same time flexible enough to allow for individual creative expression. They also show the importance of knowing about the subject and provide some history about the specific genres at the heart of each exercise.

Customer Reviews:

Lot of fill, lack of articulation, not the deep-dive you'd expect.......2007-05-16

This was a painful read and I'm minimally better for it.

The author breaks the book into several 1-3 page chapters about various
shapes and objects - the goal here being to teach you how to "see" each
object. The concept is unique, but unfortunately the author starts each
chapter with 3 or 4 paragraphs of absolutely irrelevant, useless history
of each shape or object. It was a waste of ink and space that could
otherwise been used for more (and much better) illustrations. Furthermore
if the author had any geometrical or scientific basis for his lessons, it
failed to show through in the book.

Pass up this one. .......2007-04-03

Very poor presentation with poorly printed BW images and composition is not fully explored. There are much better books on photographic composition. Skip this one.

Lots of good info, but poor photographs.......2006-07-29

Maybe it was just my copy of the book but the images are not very good (fuzzy and flat) and do not reinforce the text.

One particular example stands out. The author talks about removing clutter in a photograph. However, the example is so cluttered and flat, it is difficult to determine what the subject is supposed to be. The text goes on to say "...notice how the flower stands out from the busy background..." . Actually, no, I don't!

There are many thought provoking exercises. And maybe the quality of the photos causes you to look at them a little closer than you normally might be inclined to.

It isn't a bad book. With a little more attention to the images, it could be a GREAT book.

Great Book - Needs Color, though..........2006-04-10

Countless books have been written about composition. Many of us go by the basic, "seat of our pants" approach of "If it looks good in the viewfinder, shoot it!" However, Bert Krages, the photographer and attorney, has not given us just a book... he has given us a workbook.

The Book opens with basic Visual Skills information - primarily, the importance thereof. His section about viewing other people's photographs I found useful in not only looking at my own photography, but at others. Perhaps a valuable skill for readers, not only for judging photo competitions, but to help us compare our own work to the masters of the 20th century.

The remaining chapters touch base on the camera as a tool, then it jumps into the exercises. And there is an exercise for darn near everything! I think that is what so fascinated me with this particular book...it is not all concepts, but rather, practical working exercises. The author walks you through everything from points to lines and shapes. Each exercise has subheadings of "About the Genere," "About the Exercise, "Setting Up the Exercise," and "Technical Considerations." In short, everything you could ask for - you just supply the equipment and other materials necessary to make it happen.

The closing chapter is probably one of the most important in the book - "Thinking Like an Artist." About 10 pages, primarily of text, Krages explores how photography has influenced the other visual arts, and the acceptance of photography as an art form. It is a section I find myself reading several times a week, to reinforce some of the other material in the book.

The only negative I can really say about the book is that the photographs appear to be dark and murky, and a book like this really should have contained color images.

A group of some sixty exercises which teach readers how to perceive points, lines, shapes and more through the camera's eye.......2005-10-08

Where is the 'art' in photography when the typical discussion revolves around technical camera operation? It's right here, in photographer/attorney Bert Krages' Photography: The Art Of Composition, which should be required reading for any photography student. Krages uses the same methods used to teach fine arts to draw important connections between photography and art, providing a group of some sixty exercises which teach readers how to perceive points, lines, shapes and more through the camera's eye.

Screenplay, The: A Blend of Film Form and Content

Average customer rating:

Screenplay, The: A Blend of Film Form and Content
MARGARET MEHRING
Manufacturer: Focal Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0240800079

Book Description

The Screenplay teaches screenwriters how to think in terms of the unique visual and aural elements of film, to create a story using these elements, and to communicate this story in words. The information contained in this book unites the role of the screenwriter and the artistic bases of motion pictures to provide the first complete approach to the craft.

The Screenplay is written in an engaging manner, inviting the reader to develop their writing and creative abilities through projects and challenging exercises. This book also features illustrative excerpts from such successful screenplays as Witness, Out of Africa, Body and Soul, Beverly Hills Cop, Rebel Without a Cause, and An Officer and a Gentlemen.

Average customer rating:

Photojournalism: Content and Technique
Greg Lewis
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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Associated Press Guide to Photojournalism (Associated Press Handbooks)
Photojournalism, Fifth Edition: The Professionals' Approach
AP Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law (Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law)

ASIN: 0697146294

Book Description

Updated throughout to reflect recent technological advances and changes, Photojournalism: Content & Technique, second edition, continues the commitment to contemporary coverage. Your students will learn about the principles, tools, and techniques needed to become effective photojournalists. Like the previous edition, parts and chapters progress logically from beginning to more advanced ideas, yet each chapter functions as an independent unit giving you greater flexibility in the classroom.

Average customer rating:

Kids learn about the double meaning of words and enjoy a format which is fun to think about

Did You Say Pears?
Arlene Alda
Manufacturer: Tundra Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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The Book of ZZZs
My Dog is As Smelly As Dirty Socks: And Other Funny Family Portraits
Misery Is a Smell In Your Backpack
Beach Is to Fun: A Book of Relationships
Dogku

ASIN: 0887767397
Release Date: 2006-01-10

Book Description

“If horns played cool music, and pants were just clothes....”

Horn, pants, nails, trunk, pitcher — all words that can mean more than one thing. Arlene Alda has put together words and images in a delightful and witty book of photographs as inviting as a pair of juicy pears. Did You Say Pears? takes a playful and very clever look at words that sound the same but have different meanings. Young readers will love to hone their budding sense of language with the deceptively simple text and the irresistible photographs that offer a first taste of the richness of words. A useful information page explaining the wordplay is included.

Arlene Alda’s photographs challenge the reader to look and look again in this book that is bound to be a family favorite.

Customer Reviews:

Kids learn about the double meaning of words and enjoy a format which is fun to think about.......2006-06-13

Very early picturebook readers will relish large, page-sized color photos paired with simple one-line statements and a zany outlook inviting kids to think about words. From animal 'pants' to trunks, pitchers, glasses and more, kids learn about the double meaning of words and enjoy a format which is fun to think about. Even parents will find it thought-provoking and filled with insights into language's oddities.

Designing a Photograph: Visual Techniques for Making Your Photographs Work

Average customer rating:

Good Visual Tool
Not for the novice
My first serious photographic composition handbook
Useful Supplement to First Edition, 1985
Lots of Fluff

Designing a Photograph: Visual Techniques for Making Your Photographs Work
Bill Smith
Manufacturer: Amphoto
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Equipment | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Photographic Composition
Creative Nature and Outdoor Photography
Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition)
Learning to See Creatively: Design, Color & Composition in Photography (Updated Edition)
The Negative (Ansel Adams Photography, Book 2)

ASIN: 0817437754

Customer Reviews:

Good Visual Tool.......2007-07-03

This book is a good visual tool. It lacked slightly on the actual technique side. Not enough detail for the actual design of a photo. Was able to work around that however.

Not for the novice.......2007-05-09

For such a small book (page-wise), it conveys an enormous amount of information. Each page contains a photo with a textual description of the design philosophy behind it.

The concepts are presented quickly and without any extra frills. In many cases, I found myself overwhelmed with information without a great deal of elaboration, so the central concept of each photograph did not always come through clearly.

I would recommend this book for intermediate photographers. If you're a novice, I would heartily recommend Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition).

My first serious photographic composition handbook.......2007-04-19

I have first bought this book in 1986 and, I believe, I have learned a substantial lesson from it throughout the years.

True, the book is not for impatient seekers of an instant gratification, or for people who need to be guided by the hand through the process of learning. But, in my opinion, that's its strength and not weakness. It makes you strive to understand the author's vision and concepts he presents. If you get step-by-step instructions on how to obtain any kind of a result (not just in photographic composition), the best you can count on is learning how to imitate or emulate.

The key to successful teaching is to stimulate the learning person to think, experiment and practice on his/her own and to trigger creativity in them - and this task is amply realized by Bill Smith in his excellent work.

By the way, his book is as much relevant to me now - in the digital era - as it's been twenty years ago.

Useful Supplement to First Edition, 1985.......2005-06-29

The first edition of this book is one of my two favorites on compositional matters, the other being Michael Freeman's Image. The first edition stands out among all other books on composition and design in that Smith presents composing from the point of view of Gestalt visualization, presented theoretically by Richard Zakia in Perception and Photography and its update, Perception and Imaging.

The value of this second edition to me is to supplement the first edition with the new photographs. I don't think the second edition stands well on its own.

What the first edition did much better is mainly in the captions to the photographs. In the first edition, Smith discussed at length the visual aspects and structure that were present in each photo to explain how these aspects caused the eye to move throughout the frame. The captions in the second edition are much less devoted to the structure of the image and more like so many others' books in talking more about how he came upon the opportunity to take the image.

The text in the first edition is also more deeply written, while that of the second repeats the first, or cuts some good material.

I have spent several years, intermittently, finding what has been written about composition in photography and other two-dimensional visual arts, and my conclusion to date is rather grim. Using various databases, I have found several dozen books going back to the late 19th century. In general, the best writing on composition is out of print by many years.

I have not been able to find any U.S. art program that teaches composition or design as a stand alone subject; it is almost always blended into drawing classes as exercises and critiques. I'd like to hear that I am wrong about this. Composition is still taught as its own subject in several curricula in Germany.

For photographers, especially amateurs who do not undertake long training programs, a thorough look at the elements, principles, history, and techniques of composition with lots of diagrams, decently sized illustrations of good, bad, and almost, and many comparative problems is long overdue.

The approach that Smith took in his first edition is a significant component of part of what I have in mind.

My recommendation is that if you buy the second edition, then seek out the first to read over and over again with the second edition along side.

Lots of Fluff.......2005-03-14

There is some useful information about composition and design in the first section, but the bulk of this book is full of generalities and common sense information that won't be of much use to the aspiring photographer. A better option is John Freeman's "The Photographer's Guide to Composition."

Average customer rating:

Great starter book
This is not a Photography book
An Academic Treatise
i love this book
Beyond Photography and Beyond Me!

Perception and Imaging, Second Edition
Richard D. Zakia
Manufacturer: Focal Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Basic Critical Theory for Photographers
Basic Photographic Materials and Processes, Second Edition
Persuasion in The Media Age with PowerWeb
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Visual Thinking

ASIN: 024080466X

Book Description

Taking photographs has become easier over the years, but taking photographs that have impact and lasting power has not. Such images require heart, and some understanding of the factors that make an image noteworthy. Perception and Imaging, Second Edition will lead you into areas and concepts that will spark your intellectual curiosity and assist you in your image making. What is known about vision and the visual process is overwhelming; what is directly applicable to pictures is not. Perception and Imaging, Second Edition is the visual artist's gateway to the principles that drive visual perception.

Perception and Imaging, Second Edition invites you to explore the domain of the subconscious and collective unconscious, and the role subliminals, secondary images, and archetypes play; the role of memory and association, and why ambiguity and illusion are an important components;
why soft and hard contours (edges) are critical to sharpness, contrast, color, and depth perception; and how visual rhetoric has been used to give impact to photographs, advertisements, posters, promotional material, and motion pictures. Perception and Imaging, Second Edition is for anyone and everyone involved with visual images and has a desire to better understand them.

Many examples of metaphor, metonymy, paradox, pun, homology, hyperbole, ellipses, inversion chiasmus, allusion, and other rhetorical devices.
A new enlarged section on color, with 15 new color images presenting color measurement and notation, color connotations, color illusions, color constancy, color synesthesia, metamerism, and defective color vision.
The chapter on Critique has been expanded to include the use of Group Dynamics. Photographs are polysemantic, possessing layered meanings.

Customer Reviews:

Great starter book.......2007-03-09

I bought this book for a beginning media design class. Good book for beginners. Lots of interesting and helpful information.

This is not a Photography book.......2006-02-14

Read the reviews. This is not a photography book. It is a book on psychology. As a photographer I give this 1 star. This may very well be a good psycology book.

An Academic Treatise.......2004-06-12

I'll keep this review short and sweet. This book is an in-depth academic discussion of how humans see and perceive things. Although there were some interesting tid-bits throughout the book, I wanted to learn how to improve the composition of my photographs, and didn't find anything of use. This book is probably well-suited to a graduate-level psychology course, but for me it has little applicability to photography.

i love this book.......2003-06-16

I own the first edition of this book and I'm still reading and rereading it. This book is a source of ideas, methods, knowledge. What is more important, it is about the fundamentals. A serious, profound book for a thoughtful reader. It will not give you 1-2-3 easy to apply techniques to do this or that. It will do you better - reveal the basics so you can develop your own style and vision (it could take time and efforts, though :)

Beyond Photography and Beyond Me!.......2003-05-27

Most photography instruction books talk about equipment and subjects. Seldom is there a discussion of the psychological and physiological aspects of the photographer and the viewer in the process of creating and looking at pictures. This book attempts to fill that gap for photographers and other graphic artists with the aim of giving more impact to pictures created by those artists.

The contents are wide ranging, with everything from a discussion of Gestalt psychology field grouping to a discussion of the meaning of the "Kilroy was here" signs that proliferated during and after the Second World War.

Some of the material may be immediately useful to a photographer such as the discussion of figure and ground. Thinking in these terms may make it easier for the photographer to decide how, or even if, he wants to provide separation to his subject.

Other material will require a major mental engagement that could ultimately prove useful. For example there is a lengthy discussion of the use of rhetoric in photography. This will be a new concept for most photographers. Zakia suggests that rhetoric deals with structuring the photograph to alter its message in a certain direction. For example, the photographer can use the rhetorical device of identity to strengthen a picture through repetition. That device should be easily understandable to most photographers. On the other hand using dubitation for opposition (sic!) may leave the photographer wondering what the author is talking about. However, a close reading might reveal that considering this approach may lead to a stronger picture.

Finally there is material like the discussion of synesthesia, a situation where one experiences a sensual stimulus, like a sound, in another mode, like vision. While interesting, I failed to see the relevance of this information to the practical photographer.

And that is a major shortcoming of this book. The author frequently fails to make a connection between a phenomenon that he is describing and photography. To compound this shortcoming, when he offers a connection to a visual work as an illustration, he does not usually include the work in the book, but rather describes it in writing. For a book on imaging, the failure to include images is shocking.

I suppose there are photographers who are so skilled and so intellectual that they could benefit from this material. The rest of us can probably find other guides to better our photography.

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