Creating Satisfying Photos

This book provides a step-by-step guide to creating photographs, not just “taking” them.  It’s intended for anyone (novice, occasional snapper, enthusiast) who wants to be more satisfied with the images they create, recognising that creating a “great” photo is often beyond the time, resources and motivation of the everyday photographer.  


Most of the quality in a satisfying photo comes from the photographer’s creative thinking, not from the camera’s technology.  Modern cameras, especially DSLRs, usually produce technically acceptable images automatically, requiring little or no user control over settings.  The emphasis in this book is therefore on the decisions to be made when creating an image, commencing with the reason for its creation and moving through decisions about content, layout, use of light, and other compositional elements. 


Much of the material herein is applicable to all camera types: smartphones through to high-end DSLRs.  Where a creative technique requires a particular camera capability, there’s a description of what camera types have the feature and an explanation of how to use it, with visual examples.


This book has interactive features:  icons for pop-up of further information (creative or technical) about an image;  labelled, interactive images for explaining a feature; galleries for comparison of techniques;  full-screen and enlarged viewing;  hyperlinks to external (web) resources;  and internal links to specific information, especially camera settings.