The Mind's Eye Guide to Composition

We all own the most important piece of photographic equipment needed to be a good photographer, our mind! It is also the one that is most ignored, misunderstood and dismissed. This book is an introduction to the efficient and effective use of this tool. It is written at three levels; from the how-too level to what ever level you might want to go. Visual perception, in our mind’s eye, is the process that allows us to produce our photographic images: this is cognitive photography. We are lucky because we have spent our whole life training the brain to do this work! But the required final step of being aware and in control of those processes does require attention and study. This book is devoted to helping you enjoying making that final step.

When we first start perception and interpretation of what we are observing, normal physiological and psychological responses take over. This means that from a very early age, we are forming concepts of composition that guide our eye and interpretation of images; this is our outlook on the world around us, concepts that are unique to the individual. As we gain more and more knowledge, not only of artistic endeavors, but also from our experiences in the world, we form a unique set of compositional rules; perhaps it is better to call them guidelines. This forced me to ask a very important question: “What is the relationship of your psychological compositional rules (guidelines?) to those of formal art training? This book is my answer.

I have been a photographer since 1952. From 2000, I am now a full professional. My profession until 2000 was as a physicist, teaching at Texas A&M and then as a senior scientist at Sandia National Laboratory. During this time I was a part time professional photographer teaching classes, selling photographs and developing the concepts of cognitive photography. My book "The Mind's Eye Guide to Composition" is a beginning level book on the concepts, the first in a series. My website BWCognitivePhoto.com is a blog and traditional site where my adventures will be displayed.