Field notes

Learn to read a photograph.

Good editing does not start at a slider. It starts by reading the picture: what the light was doing, where the eye goes, whether the frame is right. Read that well and the edit almost decides itself. These are short readings of real photographs, in plain words, the way we teach the assistant to see.

• ReadingThe break in the stormHow to read a photograph before you touch it: the light, the eye, the frame, and the different ways one alpine shot could be finished.5 min read