The criticism made by bomanjee below that this is a good introductory guide for children only is totally uncalled for and ridiculous.

If there is a criticism, it's that the pictures are sometimes poorly reproduced - grainy, lacking sharpness and the colours are muted. I think this is a result of the printing which is a bit cheap. But the ideas the book discusses are invaluable.


concise but effective advice   February 14, 2006
 35 out of 35 found this review helpful

Although surprisingly slim (in pages) the coverage of the basics of photographic design and creativity is very useful.

Topics are covered in a few pages with limited but relevant photographs showing aspects of the "design" under discussion. The exercises, although deceptively simple, can be very effective in achieving the stated objective - getting the reader to see creatively.

The book is a general guide to photographic composition and design. If you are looking for specific techniques on digital, photoshop or a specialised field of photography then look elsewhere. The writing style is clean and consise, making it a joy to read (over and over again).

A very good purchase if you are actually interested in creating images rather than collecting lenses!


A great book that helps you think about your photos in a new   January 13, 2004
 28 out of 31 found this review helpful

This is an excellent books because it helps you to think about the composition of your photos before you press that shutter release!! The comparison photos of 'snap' compared to considered composition are enlightening, and show just what you can do with a little thought! Thoroughly recommended to anyone keen to improve their photography.


Some nice pictures   December 31, 2003
 32 out of 62 found this review helpful

I was surprised when I bought this book, because I was expecting a book telling me, as an inexperienced photographer, of ways to improve my technique and take better pictures.

What I got was the authors biography, stories from his many 'assignments' and lots of pictures of his favourite oak tree.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some nice photographs and some people would probably find this sort of thing interesting. But for a book about photography, I was surprised at the limited number and range of photographs.

The author goes to great length explaining how he achieved particular shots, but there is little technical information provided, and with tips like 'tilt your camera' or 'use a tripod', I found the advice laughable.


It's ok, but it's not great.   October 10, 2003
 59 out of 63 found this review helpful

Having bought this book on the strength of the other online reviews, I have to say I was disappointed with it. Whilst it is inarguably a very nice-looking book with some interesting ideas, it doesn't contain THAT much beyond simple common sense. Ideas such as crouching down to get a slightly different persective, or zooming in to get rid of extraneous content in your viewfinder, are not particularly groundbreaking. For all the author's undoubted skills behind the lens, I felt that there wasn't much to be learned from this book, apart from studying the numerous good photographs contained within. And if that is what you're after, there are many other books that would be better suited to that purpose.

That's not to say that it is a bad book. It does contain some great photographs, and the author's style is very readable. It's also very aesthetically appealing, and for people who are complete novices to photography I think it would be a great gift. But if you are even slightly more advanced in your use of photography, this book probably won't give you much that you haven't thought of or come across yourself already.