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Press Release: August 25, 2009

Mastering Photographic Composition, Creativity, and Personal Style�New from Rocky Nook

Santa Barbara, CA—Leading contemporary landscape photographer Alain Briot states, "The personality of the photographer must be present in the image for an artistic photograph to have value." And in Mastering Photographic Composition, Creativity, and Personal Style (Rocky Nook, $44.95 USD), Briot sets out to teach what is essential in achieving this goal.

Following his successful first book, Mastering Landscape Photography, Briot goes beyond the conventional rules of composition and takes on a fresh, new approach to teaching the art of photography. Based on his personal experiences as an artist, teacher, and photographer, he opens new doors to the reader—doors leading to new ways of seeing and composing images.

Briot approaches fine art photography as being a combination of art and technique, and in this book he addresses both. On the artistic side, Briot introduces artistic concepts that have been rarely, if ever, associated with photography. On the technical side, he presents numerous tools that can help you learn to create better photographs and he provides technical solutions to common photographic problems.

Briot also practices photography as a fine art. What matters most to him is how photography can be used to express feelings and emotions. For Briot, a good photograph must be both artistically inspired and technically excellent. To have just one of these two elements is not enough for a fine art photograph to be successful.

Topics include:

  • How to compose with color, with black and white, and with light
  • Why you need to consider your audience while composing a photograph
  • Why you should recreate the emotions you felt when you captured your photographs
  • How the elements of color—hue, contrast, and saturation—work in your images
  • How to control the elements that have a visual effect in your photographs
  • How to draw upon your personal way of seeing and then share your vision
  • How to diagnose image maladies and apply the proper remedies
  • How to define a color palette for a specific photograph
  • How to use compositional elements to develop a personal style

Foreword by Tony Sweet.

For a review copy or more information please email [email protected]. Please include your delivery address and contact information.

Alain Briot is one of the leading contemporary landscape photographers. Originally from Paris, France, he attended the Academie Nationale des Beaux Arts in Paris where he studied drawing and oil painting. Briot started photography in 1980. Currently living in Arizona, his favorite photographic locations are in the southwestern United States.

Additional Resources:
For more information about the book, see: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/9781933952222

Mastering Photographic Composition, Creativity, and Personal Style
Publisher: Rocky Nook
Alain Briot
ISBN: 9781933952222, 369 pages,
Book Price: $44.95 USD
[email protected]
1-800-998-9938
1-707-827-7000


About Rocky Nook
Rocky Nook's books are distributed internationally by O'Reilly Media.

Rocky Nook was founded in early 2006 in Santa Barbara, California, and is closely associated with dpunkt.verlag, a leading publisher of books on technology based in Heidelberg, Germany. The focus of Rocky Nook's publications is on digital photography and computing.

About O’Reilly

O’Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O’Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying “faint signals” from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.

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