Object and Image: An Introduction to Photography

by George M. Craven

Book Overview

My rating comes from the perspective of an experienced digital photographer and educator on what I would consider useful and relevant content that brings more clarity to the "big picture" on some... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0136289746
• ISBN13: 9780136289746
• Release Date: January 1982
• Publisher: Prentice Hall
• Length: 273 Pages

Customer Reviews

Clear, Concise & Insightful sections on Composition

My rating comes from the perspective of an experienced digital photographer and educator on what I would consider useful and relevant content that brings more clarity to the "big picture" on some basic concepts. Normally I wouldn't want to take the time to rate an older book like this (it's 2009 and this book is dated 1990) since photography has for the most part moved into the digital realm and this is a film-based educational text (3rd ed), but some of the content in this book is so outstanding in it's clarity and no-nonsense conciseness that I'm compelled to make others aware of the 'nuggets' I've found in this book by George. I skipped over the beginning chapters on camera basics and film processing/printing so I'm not rating that part of the book. George has written some very insightful information about image composition that is explained clearly and concisely in Chapters 13 to 17. This is surrounded by a well-chosen set of b/w images to illustrate the points he is making. This information is well worth the purchase price if you're wanting a clearer overall understanding and insights into some key concepts in composition and stylistic approaches to photography, especially if you're buying this book used for a deep discount. (then it's a bargain!) Some may consider this content fairly basic, but his perspective unearths some revealing insights you may not have considered and I find are overlooked or less clearly explained in a huge majority of other texts. I have recently purchased newer books that deal primarily with composition and found that George's concise insights filled in the blanks on some assumptions of those expanded texts that I thought would be the final word on the subject! Amusing! (but these books do go into a lot more depth on a topic by topic basis) I should also mention Chapter 12 on photography history is a clearly written and to the point summary, again with a nice set of images to illustrate his point! If possible, I would also give George "two thumbs up" for the writing (and two revisions) of this book! How about revising it for the digital era?