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The Photographer's Eye by Michael Freeman was published more than a year ago, so this review may not be very timely. However, I feel that the quality of this book warrants some extra attention. I keep going back to this book time and again too lookup a new way of thinking about one of my own photos or an upcoming shoot. It is a terrific source of inspiration and a treasure chest of photographic compositional knowledge.

First of all, this book will not teach you how to use your camera at a technical level. It is not that kind of book. It does not go into the relationship between aperture and shutter speed, or ISO, or when to use a flash. Instead, this book teaches you how to use your brain and your eyes, thus the title The Photographer's Eye. Anyone looking to buy a new camera as a means to make their photography better should save themsevels a great deal of money and buy this book instead. I've even bought several copies for friends and relatives, all of which continue to thank me to this day for it.

The primary topic of this book is Composition. It is my opinion (and probably Freeman's too) that the way a photographer structures an image in the viewfinder is much more important to the quality of the resulting photo than any other aspect of photography. The book starts with simple compositional topics such as the golden ratio, the rule of thirds, and the use of negative space. Freeman then moves into the use of lines, diaganals, and shapes, then colors and patterns. Each of the main chapters is divided into short one to three page sections about a specific topic, each with example photos and diagrams. They are small enough to be read in a short sitting, but long enough to thoroughly explain the topic. Photographs are naturally visual, and thus the design of the book is visual, which leads to easy understanding of sometimes complex subjects. Many of the sample photos are discected into diagrams to show the reader exactly what is intended. Also, some of the examples are shown next to their "failed" counterparts to show why some compositional tools work better in certain situations.

Each time I read a section of the book I felt inspired to grab my camera and try out the techniques Freeman explained. The Photographer's Eye works equally as well as a first time "textbook" for learning and as a reference. You can jump to any section for a refresher and inspiration.

Don't buy that new camera until you've read this book first!

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