Bryan Peterson's Understanding Composition Field Guide

mind-and-cognition

• A discerning eye catches the smallest of details. If there is a barometer of photographic maturity, reaching the level of 'weeding out the fine print' would be it.

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education-and-formation

• Many of my students' compositions remind me of 'great deals' that soon wither under careful scrutiny—errors made at a level invisible to all but the most discerning eye.

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• Painters paint to the edges, dancers claim the full stage—photographers must commit their eye to taking the subject up to, if not over, the edges.

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• A student became paralyzed with indecision while the most magical light slowly disappeared—embrace moments of discovery and shoot both ways, then move on.

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self-and-identity

• What constitutes an amazing image? Nature, fashion, and news photographers each describe a different peak moment—yet all chase the same unrepeatable rightness.

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• I've often felt that much of what I shoot is a 'self-portrait' of my inner psychology, and this image is no exception.

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