The Visual Elements-Photography

Reviews / Votes

"A research scientist in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Department of Chemical Engineering, Frankel has made a name for herself by helping scientists augment their work with pictures that capture, represent, and communicate science, including many journals' cover photos. . . . Besides taking a variety of cover photos, she also helps scientists improve the graphs and images inside the articles, which she says researchers often assemble hastily, at the last minute, and without the same care they put into their words. And yet the images can be the most important part of the article. . . . 'It's not about pretty pictures,' she says. 'It's really about communication. And pushing the researcher to think beyond the good enough. That's my whole shtick.'" -- Adam Ruben * Science * "A handbook of practical tips and thought-provoking images to inspire scientists and engineers to better photograph their own research for use in journal articles, grant applications and to help the public better understand their work. . . . The book is filled with tips on lighting, composition, depth of field, cropping, and helpful improvisations like taping together plain paper to create a backdrop that hides the fussy background of your research lab and makes your subject pop." -- Adam Duckett * The Chemical Engineer * "Frankel has spent decades as a teacher, training young researchers and established faculty to be effective visual storytellers. As part of that enterprise, she has just published The Visual Elements-Photography, the first in a series of handbooks that collect and curate her methods of communicating research through images. . . . This compact, 225-page primer highlights four devices Frankel has learned to exploit, in often ingenious ways: the scanner, phone, camera, and microscope. Her chapters break down the strengths and limitations of each of these tools, drawing on her experiences creating images with scientific collaborators. . . . There are stunning and unexpected views of agate, slime molds, electrolyzer technologies, microfluidic devices, a statue at the Isabella Gardner Museum, and a bubbling Bolognese pasta sauce-all presented in the process of imparting methods for optimizing backgrounds, cropping photos, selecting the right lighting, and determining the best resolution. . . . There's great joy in this line of work, and Frankel wants to share it with others. 'This series is a distillation of really thirty years of what I've been doing and continue doing,' she says. 'The dirty little secret is that I'm learning the science as I'm making all these images. It's a great, great job.'" -- Leda Zimmerman * MIT News * "This compact and relatively inexpensive paperback is a gem that conveys the author's decades of expertise in capturing science and the scientific method. It provides a step-by-step manual for using several commonly available tools. It is also a source of inspiration, with several examples of the author's creativity and originality. More than anything else, the book is immensely pleasurable to peruse. . . . It is rare that a book inspires creativity and is at the same time so useful and instructive. I have shared this book with some science and engineering graduate students in my institution, and their enthusiasm for it has prompted me to place an order for several copies." -- Ram Seshadri * American Journal of Physics * "A compelling read. . . . Loaded with stunning visuals, mostly photographs taken by Frankel herself, the book easily lends itself to flipping through and will pull the reader in with vivid colors, unique subject matter, and inventive close-ups that beg for a closer look. . . . The Visual Elements-Photography: A Handbook for Communicating Science and Engineering is exactly what the title suggests. It is a useful and accessible guide that gives a holistic view into what it takes to make a good image fit for publication. Frankel writes clearly and provides plenty of suggestions for practicing the techniques she discusses. Anyone working in the field of science or engineering could certainly benefit from the wisdom within this well-illustrated book. Even if you are simply a budding photographer like me, this is an invaluable tool to refine your skills." * Visual Resources Association Bulletin * "An outstanding resource, with a broad approach to capturing images, ideal for anyone interested in improving their communication through photographic images. . . . The images are very purposeful and serve to illustrate the author's points, often including several steps in the process to show how the best results were achieved. She also provides many examples of the different approaches attempted and often asks the reader to determine for themselves which image portrays the content the best. . . . The Visual Elements-Photography is written for people in the science and engineering world to think about how they photograph their work for clear communication of their processes, ideas, data, and so forth, but the book is informative for anyone to learn some handy techniques and tricks for improving their photography." * Technical Communication * "Frankel is a legend when it comes to science imaging. This book is her powerful, inspiring guide to the tools and techniques for success." -- Randi Klett, photography director, IEEE Spectrum "A trove of clear and concise recipes in granular detail." * Nature, on "Picturing Science and Engineering" * "In a word, remarkable." * Physics Today, on "Picturing Science and Engineering" * "Spectacular. . . . A brilliant demonstration of just how photogenic science can be and a guide to taking similar pictures." * Times Higher Education, on "Picturing Science and Engineering" *