Preface

Over the past few years, we've seen a huge surge in the number of people interested in photography. A big part of this newfound interest has been because of the convenience and accessibility of digital photography. Unfortunately, this has led to everyone taking about the technology of photography and Adobe Photoshop. The average person on the street could probably even tell you how many megapixels her cell phone's camera has!

There is certainly something to be said for knowing your gear and understanding how it all works. We would even say that understanding the basics of your equipment and exposure are prerequisites to getting the most from this book! When you're in the heat of the moment, you don't want to have to pull out your camera's reference manual.

Yet technology is not the heart of photography. No camera, no matter how advanced, has ever composed and exposed an amazing image all by itself!

Photography's an art, and being able to create a shot that effectively conveys the statement we want to make is the heart of that art. Typically, composition books fall into two camps—those that give you a list of rules and then tell you to feel free to break the rules, and others that arbitrarily state what the author feels the photographer must be trying to convey without giving any insight into how the author deduced that story or what you can do to convey your stories. In our opinion, neither of these is very helpful.

We think that by using our visual intensity-based approach, we can help you create compelling images that people will want to look at and that will help you convey the story you're trying to tell. And the best part is that you can apply this overall concept in the field while shooting to capture better images, white editing to help you select your best images, and in the digital darkroom, to help you make your best images even better. If you follow our advice and apply visual intensity, we are confident that you will become a better photographer.