Reviews

Expressive Photography: The Shutter Sisters' Guide to Shooting from the Heart by Tracey Clark

heykellyjensen's review against another edition

I really liked this look at the art of photography. This isn't about the science side -- almost nothing on the mechanics of it or the tools of it -- rather, this is about finding the stories, finding your perspective, and sharing those moments of magic. I liked the breakdown of different "types" of photography, from portraiture to children to animals and quiet moments. The images in here are gorgeous, and the inspiration is hard to ignore.

Not for those who want to know how to, but rather, this is for people like me who prefer to learn with their own tools and develop their voices and perspectives. I didn't feel like there was anything here I couldn't replicate or use as a jumping off point with just my iPhone camera (and it made me break out the lenses I bought earlier this year to play with).

hanlaub's review against another edition

4.0

The pictures in this book are great. I would recommend this book for someone who has a background in photography. In a select group of the prints the setting for the camera were listed. This really made no sense to me because I am just getting into photography as a hobby. It would have been nice if there was a short introduction explaining the different settings they were referencing.

All in all a good book.

orchardoriole's review against another edition

3.0

This is an odd photo book. You would think that the point of the photo book would be the, you know, photos, but I spent more time reading the captions. Each photo is accompanied by a description of the emotion the photographer was trying to capture or the technical approach they used.

I don't think they were always completely successful. I think quite a few of the photos weren't even very good, let alone emotional expressive or technically proficient. But it was still really fascinating to read what they were trying to accomplish at the moment they snapped the shutter. And some of the photos really were beautiful and interesting.

afrugalfather's review

2.0

Not what I was expecting

Not so much a guide but flows more like a presentation of images at a local photography club or meet up. I didn't feel the presentation lent itself well to teaching how to shoot expressive photography. There are probably some nuggets of inspiration to be found but you have to sift through a lot of randomness to get to it and you better be awake and ready to parse it out when you do stumble across it.

debnanceatreaderbuzz's review

4.0

Though I've signed up for one and attempted to sign up for another, I haven't actually attended a photography class yet. It will happen one of these days. In the meantime, I'll focus on reading wonderful photography books like the two I've read in the last few weeks. These books are filled with great ideas for great picture taking; I probably could just skip the photography class and try out ideas from these books.