Rick Sammon has a super power: he makes any photographic technique or concept simple to understand. It’s really an incredible talent he has cultivated, and he turns it loose to help photographers. He’s been teaching a long time, and his latest book is a culmination of a lifetime of learning, shooting, and teaching.
Rick Sammon’s Creative Visualization for Photographers teaches us how to view the world with photographic eyes. This is a book everyone can learn from, and I’d highly recommend it for beginners and intermediate photographers, but long time shooters will also enjoy the fresh view on creative tools as well as the latest digital techniques.
Each chapter demonstrates an idea for boosting your creativity. The whole book is about changing the way you see your world, and he assigns concrete exercises so that you can practice the very ideas he’s teaching. This method of explaining and doing is a powerful combination for learning.
Photographs fill the pages and Rick leads us through his thought process as he composed the photo, as well as his plan for finishing it. He helps us realize that photography is an art that requires much more than a camera, and he shows us that understanding the finishing tools is as important as understanding the camera itself. One of my favorite things about this book is that Rick discusses the exposure settings while shooting as well as the tools for finishing every picture in the book. He really helps us understand that there are no secrets to photography–just a lot of practice and hard work, and anyone who does the work can unlock the door to greater photographs. This book makes doing that work much easier.
Lastly, this isn’t a book full of photos Rick made when he was at the top of his career–these stunning pictures are current photographs from even his latest adventures, and using them demonstrates that he really practices what he preaches. Rick is the kind of teacher I think we all need, and I recommend you pick up this book, and book a trip to join one of Rick’s workshops as soon as possible. Buy the book and see what else Rick has to offer at RickSammon.com.
Highly Recommended.
Levi Sim is passionate about making photographs and helping others make their pictures better, too. Join him on Twitter and Instagram (@PhotoLevi), read more of his articles here, and join him at the upcoming WPPI and Out of Chicago Conferences.
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Filed under: Reviews, Shooting, Technique & Tutorials Tagged: “book review”, Creative Visualization for photographers, creativity, Levi Sim, Pre-visualization, Rick Sammon 
