Options
The Thinking Photographer
Anyone familiar with Ian Bradshaw or his books "The Thinking Photographer" and "Pro Techniques for Creative Photography"?
A friend of mine who is a full-time pro recommended the book "The Thinking Photographer", from what I gather it's about planning out shots, about intentionality, having an idea of what you're going for.
The books are not easy to find, amazon doesn't carry them, found them used at abebooks.com, and ordered one of each. I'll post reviews after I've read them.
If anyone else knows anymore about him or his books, I'd love to hear about it.
A friend of mine who is a full-time pro recommended the book "The Thinking Photographer", from what I gather it's about planning out shots, about intentionality, having an idea of what you're going for.
The books are not easy to find, amazon doesn't carry them, found them used at abebooks.com, and ordered one of each. I'll post reviews after I've read them.
If anyone else knows anymore about him or his books, I'd love to hear about it.
0
Comments
Sounds like the perfect subject matter - visualizing and planning your shot. I'm eager to hear your opinions.
Speaking of opinions, remember that one or two of Marc Muench's photos didn't have a level horizon? What do you think of this church spire being at an angle? Apparently, Ian Bradshaw agrees with Muench that the horizon needn't always be level. But I'm puzzled why this one isn't.
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
I'm not sure. I stared at that image for a while. All I can tell you is that I find it compelling the way it is.
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
It's like with all art: for a rookie it might be a technical mistake, for a master it could be the key to the whole picture. It's like with deadcenter, or rule of thirds. You may use it or discard it if it helps to get the mood..
Just my $.00002
Cheers, mates!
The first one came a couple of days ago, and I'm about halfway through it. It's calle "Pro Techniques of Creative Photography: Methods of the Thinking Photographer."
It was written in 1986, the year I graduated college, and boy, is it dated. Makes me feel old.
Mostly what it does is it steps through shooting situations, probing the possibilities. At first I was thinking it was kind of obvious stuff, but then it did what it promised...it got me thinking.
I started to see shots that I've taken--of friends, family, etc.--where I made the very mistakes that he points out. Namely, I wasn't thinking like a photographer. He starts, for example, in a living room with a mother and daughter, shooting wide. Stop, think, he insists. He reconfigures, reshoots, and keeps going back, rethinking the shot, and unthinking corners he's gotten himself into.
He goes into all types of photography. He also has a section where he sets up a model in an empty loft, with a camera, stepladder and some flashes. 6 photographers each have one hour to shoot. He brings in a portrait photographer, landscape, advertising, etc. Interesting to see what they come up with, and what about them works.
Is it a great book? No, but it will definitely get you thinking about photography, thinking about your photography, and how you shoot now, how you could shoot better. There's very little technical information, and really it's not "to shoot a portrait, do x, y and z", but a way to open up your mind to thinking about how you shoot.
If anyone's interested, I'd happily pay it forward when I'm done.
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
Sure thing!
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops