“Art is
not what you see, but what you make others see.”
—Edgar
Degas
What makes a great photograph? Is
there any one aspect of the process which separates the
merely good from the truly magnificent? Many candidates
immediately spring to mind, such as subject matter, light,
mood, and moment. In my opinion, however, one aspect clearly
rises above the rest, and is the thread which ties all of
these other qualities together. Composition—the artistic
arrangement and placement of visual elements within the
picture frame—is the most difficult aspect of the art of
photography to master, and also the most important. Although the
emotion evoked by a photograph’s subject matter and mood
cannot be underestimated, likewise the primal visual
response evoked by a skillful composition cannot be ignored
or forgotten. A
snapshot shows the world what your camera sees, but when you
create a composition, you show the world what you
see.
Visual Flow: Mastering the
Art of Composition is an artistic tour de force,
spanning several centuries and different artistic media in
its quest to reveal the composition secrets of the great
masters. Although the focus of the book is on nature
photography composition, the techniques discussed within are
easily applicable to other types of photography, and (more
broadly) to other forms of two-dimensional visual art as
well. As such, artists of all types should find this book
useful.
Visual Flow: Mastering
the Art of Composition
is a 287-page downloadable PDF eBook filled with informative
text, stunning full-color images, and plenty of insights and
inspiration. This book is newly designed to optimize viewing
across multiple platforms including computer screens and
iPads.
$24.95
Recent Reviews
Landscape
Photographer Magazine: "Should you buy
[Visual Flow]? I said at the beginning that this book was
both more expensive and larger than most other eBooks. Is it
worth it? I certainly believe so. It will make you think. It
will teach you about the most important aspect of
photography, composition. You will be a better photographer
if you take on-board all the advice given in this book. . .
. Ian Plant has done the best job I have seen in explaining
the secrets of good composition."
Michael Frye: “Visual Flow: Mastering the Art
of Composition is an ambitious eBook that delves deeply into
what could be the most important aspect of photography:
composition. While just reading any book won’t make you a
master of composition, this volume presents a lot
interesting ideas, and fresh ways of thinking about this
subject that will help any photographer make better
compositions. The overall content is exceptional.”
Kevin Tang,
co-founder of PhotoWhoa: "Visual
Flow is one of the most comprehensive e-books I've ever read
on the topic of composition. In fact, I would say this book
might completely revitalize your photography. That's how
good it is. If you're stuck in a creative rut and you need
something to really supercharge your creative juices, then
read on."
Pixiq: "Change your
photography for the better in 2013. It's simple: offer
yourself this Christmas an eBook that will deepen your
understanding of the relations between the elements you
frame in each of your images. That eBook exists! It is
called Visual Flow – Mastering the Art of Composition, and
is written by photographer Ian Plant, with photographs from
him and George Stocking. You'll read it from cover to cover,
even go back to some chapters now and then, because you'll
find in them answers to a lot of questions you wanted to
ask, and even questions you did not know you had to ask to
better understand photography. Besides being a good read,
the eBook is also a guide that you will keep going back to
for a long, long time. To refresh some notion or simply to
look at photographs that will, many times, give you the
desire to go out and do something similar, adapting the
knowledge to your own horizons."
Manfrotto School of Excellence: "Visual Flow –
Mastering the Art of Composition is a hefty 287 eBook that
will give you a new set of keys to redefine your
photography. A BIG Book by all means, in terms of the number
of pages, not much usual in eBooks, this digital format
piece of info will change your photography for the better.
Start, then, the New Year, buying this eBook as your first
reading tor 2013. Just browsing through the pages will tempt
you to grab your camera and go out. Through the eyes of
these two photographers the world seems different, more
joyful to photograph. Believe me it has always been there
that way, it’s just the way things are organized within the
frame that makes them look different."
Dan Bailey Photo.com: "Visual Flow is
an incredible and comprehensive manual on composition from
someone who I consider to be a modern day master of
landscape and outdoor photography. . . . Each chapter
presents an enormous amount of visual and written
information. In breaking down each image, Ian discusses the
specific elements that help bring each photo alive. He often
uses visual notation and colored marks on the shot to help
illustrate his points. I think that this is a nice touch,
because not only does it show you more exactly what he’s
talking about, it indicates that Ian made the extra effort
to bring you in depth information. . . . Treat you and your
photography to a special favor and check out Visual Flow:
Mastering the Art of Composition . . . it’s without a doubt
one of the biggest and best photography eBooks available
today, if not the very best."
Pro Nature Photographer: “This book is
quite in-depth and lengthy, which of course is good. It’s
loaded with information, thoughts on creativity, and great
quotes. The book contains wonderful photography from known
and unknown locations in North America and beyond. I have a
copy and I can recommend this one to you.”
Ed Knepley: "Ian
Plant’s new book is a 'must have'
for photographers who want to improve their compositions.
Highly recommended."
Dusty Doddridge: "Visual Flow is an ebook by
Ian Plant and George Stocking that needed to be written for
a long time. If there is a better or more comprehensive
source solely dedicated to composition for landscape
photography, I haven’t seen it."
Recent Customer Testimonials
"I purchased and read your
entire e-book yesterday. I felt compelled to compliment you
on how well it is written. It definitely goes above and
beyond most photography books which devote many of their
pages to more basic principles of equipment usage and proper
exposure. Your book is the first truly helpful resource I
have found relating solely to photography and the process of
composition. I appreciate how you were able to cohesively
articulate the way photographers 'see' their subjects – then
breaking it down into smaller pieces of the whole. I found
myself visualizing lines and circles on all kinds of art
that I enjoy looking at to see why they work. I don’t think
I’ll ever look through the viewfinder on my camera the same
way. Anyway, thank you for an interesting, and entertaining
read about such complex subject matter."
—Dirk M.
"Fantastic book . . . I own and
have been recommending to other photographer friends. I
particularly enjoyed the art history examples. Thanks!"—James
P.
"Your e-book on composition is a
must read for anyone who wants to create photography at a
higher level."—Andrei
B.
"I just wanted to say
that you may have written the best book on composition that
exists. Gorgeous photos and very well written." —Ron C.
"I
just downloaded the eBook and can’t wait to dig in. I’m sure
this is the book I’ve been waiting for from you. I’ve
quietly thought it would be great to dig inside your mind to
see how you approach the “visual flow” when shooting. And I
also was happy to see how much content you have here. Great
value.” —Don B.
"I have to congratulate you on
your beautiful and well done new eBook. It is a great piece
of work with information I am longing for. Cheers to you and
George." —Nancy A.
"Visual
Flow ... is a most impressive work. It's full of invaluable
information as well as wonderful photographs illustrating
compositional concepts. Bravo!"
—Mark W.
"Just
finished reading your new ebook! Fantastic."
"I
bought your new eBook, Visual Flow, and am loving it."
"I'm
part way through the book and it is great. I think I'm
learning stuff, actually lots of stuff. I'd recommend this
to anyone wishing to learn something about composition."
"I’ve read half your book so far
and already its improving how I look at things. Its also
filled with great photos!"
"I want to thank you for your
recent e-book ''Visual Flow' - it is a great and inspiring
work for me. Although I am preoccupied with image
composition since the age of about fifteen (now I am in my
late forties), I have never read such a comprehensive and
convincing elaboration before. I will certainly recommend
this e-book to other photographers here in Austria."
Peter
R.
"I've
read everything I can get my hands on regarding composition
in the last two years and this book blows them all away."
Don
W.
"Visual Flow is a very inspiring
book. It is easy to read, with clever thoughts and many
examples. It is one of the best books to improve your
photography. Highly recommended."
"I´m half way through the Visual
Flow eBook, and I enjoy every image and every page. I learn
so much from reading it and can only hope to implement it in
my own photography."
"I
had the chance to read through Visual Flow just wanted to
say how utterly awesome it was! Whenever I check out books
that I hope are going to delve deep into the subject of
photography (specifically composition), I am always
disappointed as it seems that the subject inevitably resorts
to the trite and superficial. I am extremely grateful for
the (massive) work you put into this. Top notch stuff. So
much to digest and I am looking forward to putting the
principles you presented into practice."
"I
think you've made a very important contribution through your
focus on composition in complex images. It has gotten me
interested in trying to make more complex images, and your
book will be a big help with that."
"I purchased Visual Flow. It is
by far the best book I have seen on composition. I expect to
re-read this many times and use it as a reference book as
well."
"Absolutely fascinated with
Visual Flow. Love, love it."
"I bought your ebook Visual
Flow and wanted to say that it was one of the best
ebooks about photography I ever read. I especially liked
that you point out to see certain things (like rule of
thirds) not as rules but instead as tools. Also it was
very interesting to read about the parallels to classic
paintings. This book is really worth the money."
"Really enjoyed your book. It was well written,
illustrations were clear, and very much on point.
Clearly superior to others on the market."
Download Instructions
iPad download
instructions: When you click on the download link
provided in your confirmation email, the book will open in
your iPad's internet browser (Safari). With the book open,
tap once on the screen which will pull up a menu at the top
of the book. Click on the tab labeled "Open in iBooks." The
book will automatically open and be saved in iBooks (it will
be stored in the "PDFs" collection, not the "Books"
collection).
Computer download
instructions: When you click on the download link
provided in your confirmation email, you can choose to open
the book or to save the file on your computer. If you choose
"open"," the file will open in Adobe Reader—make sure to
save the file to your hard drive by selecting File>Save As.
