the quintessence of photography front
The quintessence of photography cover

The Quintessence of Photography

Written by Nasrul Eam
$29

The Quintessence of Photography: Understanding Composition is the most precisely written reference book for anyone who is longing to step into the latitude of the true aesthetic world of photography. No matter how much you think you know about photography, you will learn new insights in this book. In each of its pages, this book takes you around the panoramic world of photography and its art; from core science to beautiful aesthetic worlds, from classical notions to cutting edge technology, and so much more.

To hunt for the perfect frame one needs skill and knowledge, to capture the moment as an artistic one. This book helps you capture the very frame that expresses the most decisive moments of life. This well-organized book contains everything one would want to know about composition; it provides compositional building blocks to develop one’s artistic vision. This book has been used as a reference guide for both the amateur and professional, and as a textbook for photographic study, as it is the complete guide to understanding composition.

Publication Details
Publisher: Light & Composition University Press
Author: Nasrul Eam
Photographs by Nasrul Eam
Edition: First Edition
First Published: February 4, 2009
Second Revised Edition: March 11, 2011
Pages: 125 pages
Format: Native PDF
Size: 20.038 MB

Supported Devices:
All desktop and mobile devices that support native PDF format.

Specially Designed for and Tested in:
iBooks (iOS), Adobe Reader (Android, iOS), GoodReader (iPad, iPhone), Foxit Mobile PDF (Android, iOS), PDF Reader (iOS), iAnnotate (iOS, Android), AnDoc PDF & DJVU Reader (Android), Kindle (Android, iOS), Google Play Books (Android, iOS), Mantano Reader Premium (Android, iOS), PDF Expert (iOS), PDFpen 2 (iOS), iBooks (iOS), Adobe Reader (Android, iOS), GoodReader (iPad, iPhone), Foxit Mobile PDF (Android, iOS), PDF Reader (iOS), iAnnotate (iOS, Android), AnDoc PDF & DJVU Reader (Android), Kindle (Android, iOS), Google Play Books (Android, iOS), Mantano Reader Premium (Android, iOS), PDF Expert (iOS), PDFpen 2 (iOS)

Get to Know the Author

Nasrul Eam
Editor-in-Chief
Light & Composition

Nasrul has been setting new standards as an author, photographer, editor, educator, and art director for more than a decade. Currently Editor-in-Chief at Light & Composition, Head of Department of Art and Photography, and Language and Linguistics at Light & Composition University, Nasrul started his professional career in 2000. He wrote books such as The Quintessence of Photography: Understanding Composition, for developing artistic vision, and The Essence of Close-up Photography, for developing the basics of photographic vocabulary and exploring close-up photography with an artistic touch. His other books are Illuminating Nature, volume 1 and 2, with vivid examples of nature and wildlife photography, The Happy Children of the Third World, which touches on the meaning of life, to its core, and Mastering Food Photography. Understanding the Building Blocks of English Language, and Understanding the Structure of English Language, are two of his well-known books, which have been used in English language learning programs, in different countries around the world. Nasrul has published over 100 articles on various aspects of art, photography, language, linguistics, religion, and science.

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We Feel Honored, Thank You

It is our great privilege that admirable people from different parts of the world show their interest in reading our books and even personally emailing us their valuable thoughts. We feel honored sharing their thoughts with other customers. Please read the reviews below before buying our articles, guides, and books.

Reviews

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    Kombizz Kashani

    What a beautiful and informative book for those who wanted to feel the first hand experience. It would be nice for everybody to read and perhaps learn.

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    Maarten

    I loved everything about this book. I thought the content was absolutely excellent and it taught me so much. I have now read this book twice and am about to embark on a third close, in depth study so that I can extract every last bit of knowledge from it and apply it to my own photography.

    Regards
    Maarten Roes-Francken

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    Marlo M Stanfield

    I don’t really review books but this book is so great that in fact this one is the most inspiring photography books I have ever read. Nasrul’s narrative is easy to read and understand. Highly recommended!

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    Nila Mehta

    This is a very good book on composition. Things I read keep telling me inside my mind, and I find often I am using these techniques for my composition, more and more every day. I believe It will helps you to improve your skill, as it opened my mind to see the world with an artistic eye, allowed me to do better composition, I feel this happened because of the Nasrul’s great writing style.

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    Duval

    I purchased this book for my son this summer along his new camera. He loves this book. I think he has improved a lot after reading this. I read two chapter of it and it’s an excellent book on composition. I’ve been shooting for more than a decades, and found it very helpful too. It is a creative book, one of the best books we have!

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    Sandino

    My close friend, who is a professional photographer recommended me this book. It is really a good read. It has everything, from basics to very advance, and very well presented with lots of examples. Writing is very clear with complete narrative. I recommend this “The Quintessence of Photography” to All.

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    Christina Mandia

    I absolutely loved this book! The author’s openness is refreshing, and the writing is engaging and accessible that fills your heart up. This book is all about composition; it makes me want to actually use my camera. For those who had no previous formal education in art of any sort, including photography, this is the best book for them. Many times, I just blindly apply whatever I had learned from this book, and got beautiful composition.

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    Amanda Wade

    Lessons given in this book are amazing. Summaries at the end of each chapter make it worthwhile. My first photography book that I have actually read from start to finish without even putting it down.

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    Kiera Gillies

    This is the definitive work for learning photography. If you are intimidated by the technical side of photography, buy this book, this will teach you how to master them. I would definitely recommend it.

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    Justine Evans

    From over 100 books on my ipad, this one I would identify the most. When I took up photography around a year ago, I did a course in an exclusive school and read a number of books on the subject, and learned how to take photograph. What Nasrul gave me though was the soul to my photograph. Nasrul teaches technique but he gives the essence of photography, and the name Quintessence of Photography is perfect for that. This book is a must for photographers of all levels, amateurs, enthusiasts and beyond. Yes, I do recommend it.

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    Anuar Patrick

    Quintessence of Photography is a quality book, plus the author tries to help you take the next step. As a mid-level photographer, I know how to take a photo technically good but always wondering what to photograph and why, this is the book that clears. I have photography books including Joe McNally’s and Scott Kelby’s, but I still find so many new things to learn from Quintessence of Photography. I highly recommend this book.

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    Trey R.

    This book goes well beyond the basics of photography, very inspiring, and very thought provoking. If you enjoy thinking about photography and thinking about the creative process behind doing it well then Quintessence of Photography is a pleasure to read, and re-read. The images are gorgeous for the creative journey of photography.

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    Adrian K

    I always wanted to learn composition, and found this book extremely helpful. It helped me open my eyes. I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a photography book to learn. If you don’t read this book, you will be missing out on some very good insight!

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    Isabella

    Over the years I have purchased many photography books from Kelby, Freeman, Tom, David, but Quintessence of Photography by Nasrul is my favorite. This book is a perfect blend of simplicity and artistry. It has information on almost everything. The difference between those books and this is, the author cuts through the clutter and goes right to the subject with clarity. Every page is nicely illustrated with nice photo example. I highly recommend this book!

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    William

    I bought this book based on the reviews on Light & Composition, thinking this will help my composition. Yes they are right; I can tell you that this book is one of the best you can find on the market. I have been doing photography for years and this book gave me tons of new ideas in just few pages. I can highly recommend this book both to amateur and advanced amateur photographers.

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    Tim Whelan

    This book is written very well, and has photographers of every experience, style, and age that will give you huge knowledge. I bought it two days ago; and I found this is absolutely one of the best books on photography I have ever come across. The photographs are gorgeous than most photography books. Its photography lessons are worth the price alone.

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    Rodolfo

    Great book and photography, excellent job. I am an avid traveler and author of world destinations. I highly recommend this too.

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    Kerry

    I have author’s other book The Essence of Close-Up Photography. This is my second book that I just purchased from Light & Composition and already I came to know so much. Nasrul is an awesome photographer and author.

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    Willard

    This book, Quintessence of Photography covers almost everything. Though many things in this book are quite advanced, but after reading the book i feel like an professional photographer. There are so many valuable information I got from this book. This is my best photography book ever.

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    Nikita

    This is a very helpful book for photographer, but I found it bit advanced at first. When I finished reading it, I agreed with the author, it is “The Complete Guide to Understand Photography”. I’d love to buy the print edition, though for this gorgeous e-book edition I gave it a five star rating.

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    Oliver Schlake

    If you could afford buying photography books, then this should be the first on your list. I have been shooting for 15 years, and I refer The Quintessence of Photography more than any other photography book. It’s very good to learn, and talks about many must know situations. It really makes me think about making the perfect composition.

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    Alan

    I love The Quintessence of Photography. Its a great book for those who have some experience and are ready to start learning composition.

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    Robert M.

    Top class after sales service. I have been doing photography for almost 2 decades, and I know quite a bit about it, this book – The Quintessence of Photography taught me many fundamental of photograph that I had missed before. Definitely recommend it, especially for the beginners.

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    Daniel

    By reading this book I’ve improved the way I take photos. It gives me new ways of look at everyday things. It’s amazing. It is well written, you could go for The Quintessence of Photography for lots of new ideas!!!

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    Terri Clifton

    I highly recommend this book! Nasrul explains everything on composition. After reading this, I am getting perfect color with composition. I am happy that I have this book. You can learn step by step to develop composition.

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    Itai Danan

    This book helps a lot in understanding composition. Nasrul knows how to share photographic experiences. The photographs inside the books are so great that you may just want to put it on your iPad to look at them, one by one to learn. I simply find it entertaining and inspiring.

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    Laurine Kraack

    I have probably read 15 books or so on composition, and they vary greatly from covering the basics to more. Of these books, The Quintessence of Photography has certainly been the most helpful. I got it recently, It is well written and uses excellent examples to make its points, and also very easy to read.

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    Gregory Despain

    I have been checking out your magazine and I must say they are pretty good stuff. I have just ordered this book. The book is jam packed with nice samples of images that allow you to understand each concept fully, which is also always a joy.

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    Sussman

    I think this is one of the most significant books for me. And I am glad I ordered this book. The web site is great, and the articles on the magazines are really excellent :D. Good job, Cheers!

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    Milan Bein

    I think other photography websites should take Light and Composition as an model, very clean and minimal design. I have purchased this book today. Its a great book, one that I will always keep to my personal collection for sure.

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    Chris Allen

    I have to say, the basics of composition and the photographic process are well presented in this book. This is a thoughtfully written book for photography. I bought it as a highly recommended book from many people in twitter.

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    Christina

    Fantastic photos throughout the book. Every aspect of image exposure is covered in perfect detail. The book is easy to follow and understand.

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    Mark

    This book is a must read for anyone wants to better understand composition and design. The book manages to make concepts clear. I like it.

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    Sam Oxford

    You will like this book for sure. This book will be appealing for the amateur, and even beginners. There are great photos with descriptions of how they were captured.

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    Sandra Oliver

    If you want a book that explains photographic composition and concepts, then this is the book you need. This book is crammed with extraordinary photos with a vast geographic diversity. The book is very well organized and easily readable with many short sections. I like its science and art part, which covers in-depth technical side with clarity of thought. I recommend this book not only for photographers, but for anybody who is interested in visual art.

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    Michael Boyd

    I find the book very broad and offers numerous examples with amazing photography. I must say, these are world-class images, it’s hard to imagine one photographer can come up with all of these great photos.

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    J.Eidridge

    The writer approaches every subject from a very insightful perspective. Beside showing his photos, he teaches techniques he used and explains why they always work. It is true that few books of composition are out there but lack of precise ordering of photographic understanding, but this one is very comprehensive. If you want to learn arty side of photography and composition then this is probably your best bet at the moment.

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    H. Northcott

    The writing of this book is very clear, and author is always into the point instead of writing 10 elaborate sentences. I have read other well known photography composition books but unfortunately, they doesn’t seem close to what this book has presented. If you want to learn composition, then this is the must have photography book for you.

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