Serial Photography Book Review

Harald Mante's Serial Photography: Using Themed Images to Improve Your Photographic Skills shows how series of images train our eye to see the world around you in a differently. Rather than waiting for the elusive prize-winning photograph, a series of images with unifying characteristics can be very interesting. This book explains how point, line, shape, color, contrast, mood, tension and interactions between the aforementioned elements affect how we perceive an image. Through observation, understanding of principles underlying composition and practice, the author suggests that the quality of the reader's photographic work will increase.

The book is full of valuable design principles that work to create attractive compositions. The application of these principles is explained in every example to help the reader identify similar photographic opportunities with ease in any environment. Furthermore, Mante uses easy-to-find, everyday objects to create many examples in this book.

Published by Rooky Nook, this 152-paged book is written in a clear, concise way with plenty of examples. Serial Photography by Harald Mante is a valuable guide and inspiration source to any photographer and photography appreciator.

Serial Photography is available for purchase from Amazon.

Serial Photography: Using Themed Images to Improve Your Photographic Skills is presented by its author, Harald Mante, as an easy and effective alternative to the endless search for a shot that captures a history-changing moment. Series of photos are accessible: They can be captured at any moment or location and shot in any format. A collection can increase or decrease at any moment and the series can be presented in many different ways. Observing series of images throughout this book encourages the viewers to find differences and similarities and begets ideas for new series or sub-series, thus inspiring the reader's creativity.

The book is divided in four parts. The first part introduces the general idea behind serial photography. Serial photography subjects such as houses, dolls, water, boats are shown and used to explain the fundamental principles of serial photography.

Part 2 deals with serial photography and design theory. Mante states that every finished photo must adhere to the simple rule of being carefully composed to have meaningful content. Design elements such as point, line and shape should be used effectively to make images visually interesting. Even though it is part of a whole, the photographer must aim to produce images which stand on their own.

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In the third part, the author explores the relation between serial photography and color theory. He then introduces more abstract ideas such as primary and secondary colors which in themselves are good themes for serial photography. Other relationships that can exist between images in a series, such as color contrast, are added to the list of possibilities. Complementary colors, their proportions and their effects on images are discussed in this section as well.

Part 4 is dedicated to special themes which are based on artistic ideas rather than literal image content. Examples such as mirrors, reflections, still life and covered objects are presented and explored. The final part of the book gives advice on how to present series of images effectively.

Harald Mante was born in Germany in 1936. He worked as a freelance photo-designer from 1965 to his retirement in 2001. He also lectured in the design department of the University of Wuppertal (Germany) and later taught experimental photography at the University of Applied Arts and Sciences in Dortmund (Germany). Early on, he came in contact with the ideas of the Bauhaus movement and applied them to the field of photography.