Marc Silber - The Secrets to Creating Amazing Photos: 83 Composition Tools from the Masters

Copyright 2018 Marc Silber

Published by Mango Publishing Group, a division of
Mango Media Inc.

Photo credit: Unless noted, all photographs are by Marc Silber.

Cover and Layout Design: Elina Diaz

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The Secrets to Creating Amazing Photos: 83 Composition Tools from the Masters

Library of Congress Cataloging

ISBN: (print) 978-1-63353-766-8 (ebook) 978-1-63353-767-5

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018937914

BISAC category code: BISAC category code PHO012000 PHOTOGRAPHY / Techniques / Lighting

BISAC category code PHO016000 PHOTOGRAPHY / Subjects & Themes / Portraits & Selfies

Printed in the United States of America

Once again, with this book, The Secrets to Creating Amazing Photos , Marc Silber proves to be a wonderful and worthwhile compendium of photographic knowledge, tips, tricks, survival skills, and historical perspective. This book is a go-to collection of lucid composition strategies and tools for any photographer who is striving and seeking to up their game in the fast paced endeavor known as digital photography.

Joe McNally , internationally acclaimed, award-winning photographer

Buy it, read it and then apply what you have learnt from this superb new book, The Secrets to Creating Amazing Photos by the respected award-winning photographer, writer, educator and professional video producer Marc Silber. This is a complete
must-have, a veritable cornucopia of wisdom gained over decades of experience.

Gray Levett , editor Nikon Owner magazine

This is the book weve all been waiting fora concise and compact guide covering a full spectrum of composition tools, just the size you can bring with you for inspiration in the field. Marc Silber offers immensely valuable knowledge acquired as an accomplished photographer and from years of interviews with many of Americas finest image-makers. Presented in brief concise chapters, this friendly book leads us clearly and gracefully from the basics to advanced techniques in photography composition. For anyone interested in raising the quality of their photography, this book is highly recommended.

Brian Taylor , Executive Director, Center for Photographic Arts

With his very full library of videos, Marc Silber has written books that make this wealth of knowledge easily assessable to any photographer. His most recent book tackles the very important subject of composition in an innovative way: Marc described and illustrated techniques from the works of many masters of classical art and photography, resulting in 83 tools to help develop your individual style and voice. This new book is an important contribution to the photographic community. Use it well to broaden the expression of your art.

Michael Adams , M.D, The Ansel Adams Gallery

Composition is perhaps one of the most misunderstood elements of photography. Even when consciously breaking compositional rules, its important to master the rules and understand what they are and how they enhance a photograph for maximum impact. Professional photographer Marc Silber lays out an easy to follow course of action to help you understand what composition is and why its important to understand both the basic rules and the more advanced compositional techniques so you can enhance the presentation of your own work.

Thomas Hawk , Photographer

Anyone can have gear, but knowledge and practice depends on you, if you want to become a better photographer. This book gives you knowledge and ideas to practice your photography like the masters, with composition examples which can be applied until they become natural to your eyes and mind.

Guillermo Villar A.

This book is a great read and wonderfully informative. It opened my eyes to how photography still plays on basics of art explored by master painters over centuriesreminding us again that photography is a singular tool within the arts of imagery. Wonderfully explored and explained by one of todays greatest photographers and teachers. Thanks, Marc!

Ron Prokop

The popularity and accessibility of photography are at an all-time high, but within the masses of image makers are those looking for a deeper understanding of the process of photography itself. There are those looking for the unique, the original and the knowledge required to craft remarkable moments. Marc Silbers The Secrets to Creating Amazing Photos details and describes the compositional building blocks of successful photographs. Great photography requires commitment, education, practice and even luck. Silbers book is a roadmap to the starting line.

Daniel Milnor , photographer

To really understand composition, you need to learn how your camera sees the world, how each of the different elements within the image interact with each other and how energy flows between them. It is the energy flow that sets the mood and takes your audience on its journey through your composition. When you get it right it turns a snap into an awesome image irrespective of what camera you are using. Marc Silbers new book The Secrets to Creating Amazing Photos sets out the composition guides and tools as well as composition mood lines that will teach you how the elements of your image interact, how to arrange them and how you can create a mood with the flow of energy through the composition. As with all skills, it takes practice, and yes; more practice, but with this guide you will start to see the world around you in a very different way and you will start on the journey taking your photography to the next level. Enjoy the journey!

Quentin Whitfield , An enthusiastic photographer

Marcs book is a great resource for anyone using any type camera at any level. If you are thinking about the image that is being captured and how to understand why some images standout more than others, why you feel a certain way about what you experience, Marc has a way of explaining this.

The technical functions of a camera can be learned by anyone and this resource will guide you through rules that can be incorporated into any scene or subject. For me I also found that some of the ideas I had were reinforced. Reading it a few times over, I was able to pick up a different point of view when I am out in the field and add some elements that improve my image making.

Extremely valuable book to have on hand, and the only read I have seen that explains what seems all of the composition guidelines in the one publication. Thanks Marc

Marty Strecker , Photographer

Table of Contents

We are currently living in one of the most exciting times in the history of photography. With the advent of digital processes, photographers are no longer confined to producing photographs that fit a nineteenth century definition of what a photograph is, or can be. As a result, the potential for growth in the medium has never been greaterand the sheer number of photographs being currently produced serve as more than convincing evidence of that growth.