Course · Photography

Photographic Vision: Find the Shot Before You Press the Button

A composition trainer: the frame, shot size, crop lines, thirds, headroom and lead room, lines, the background and the edges — every shot is scored against a set of criteria, and the course ends with a 3D trainer and a final test. A companion to “The Camera in Your Pocket”: that course covers the theory, light, and phone camera modes — this one builds the skill by hand.

Course authors

PepelenCourse author

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Unit 1. What makes a shot easy to read

Lesson 1. Two almost identical shots

3 exercises

Unit 2. Frame formats

Lesson 2. The same person in different formats

3 exercises

Unit 3. Shot size: how much of the person is in the frame

Lesson 3. The waist-up portrait and the person in a wide shot

3 exercises

Unit 4. Where to crop the figure

Lesson 4. Cropping at a joint

2 exercises

Unit 5. Center, symmetry, and thirds

Lesson 5. Two good answers

2 exercises

Unit 6. Lead room and the direction of the gaze

Lesson 6. Room where they're looking

2 exercises

Unit 7. Lines and the horizon

Lesson 7. A line running through the person

2 exercises

Unit 8. The background and the edges of the frame

Lesson 8. Scan the whole rectangle

2 exercises

Unit 9. Fix it in one move

Lesson 9. The most effective fix

2 exercises

Unit 10. The camera in space

Lesson 10. A shot you find with your feet

2 exercises

Unit 11. Final test

Lesson 11. Final test: build the shot yourself

6 exercises