1 - The central concept behind the Composition Mastery Workshop on DVD:
The Composition Mastery Workshop on DVD took me over one year to research and nearly 6 months to produce. In fact, the knowledge featured on this DVD tutorial goes much further back than a year. It features everything that I learned about composition since I started studying art and photography in the late 70's, early 80s at the Academie des Beaux Arts in Paris.

The Composition Mastery Workshop on DVD is my most ambitious tutorial project to date. I am very pleased that it is now complete as I felt at times that I would never get it finished. What happened is I kept finding more material to add, and I kept having new ideas for things to include. As it stands it has to be the most complete tutorial for photographic composition that I know of, and I have researched the subject in depth. 

This very unique tutorial is based on the concept that composition encompasses much more than the rules of composition (the traditional rules that we have all been taught such as the rule of thirds, the golden rule, leading lines and so on). 

Instead of being just about these rules (that many photographers find limiting and restrictive), I believe that composition is about everything that has an effect on the visual contents of a photograph. This means that, in this tutorial, I look at how light, color, contrast, black and white, personal style, inspiration, cropping, framing, image borders, edges, vision, your audience, the location, your knowledge of astronomical events (sun and moon movement and location in the sky at a given time of day and year), stitching, lenses, exposure, print reviews, and much more.

Here is the list of all the areas of photography that I address and teach in the Composition Mastery Workshop on DVD:

1 – Introduction and opening remarks

2 – Learning how to see and compose

3 – The language of Photography

4 – Pre and Post Visualization

5 – Studying your locations

6- Knowing your audience and message

7 - Seeing compositions

8 – The traditional rules of Composition

9 - The new rules of Composition

10 – Seeing and composing in black and white

11 – Seeing and composing with color

12 – Seeing and composing with light

13 – Framing and cropping your subject

14 - Edges and Image borders

15 – The role of Exposure in composition

16 – The role of Lens choice in composition

17 – The Role of Film Choice and composition

18 - Filters and composition

19 – Stitching images as composition

20-Finding inspiration

21 – Exercising your creativity

22 – Developing your vision

23 – Achieving a personal style

24 – Moving out of your comfort zone

25 – How to find your best work

26-Image Commentaries

27 - Field Work Checklist

28-Seeing tools

29-Alain’s Summit 2007 Presentations

30 – Exercises

31 – Quicksteps

32 – Alain Study Files

I also provide you with a checklist for print reviews in which I offer cures for what I call the most common "print maladies." I also look at what is a fine print and at the qualities that a print has to have to be considered world-class. My goal is to help you not only learn what a well-composed fine art print is, but also help you refine the quality of your prints and of your compositions.


2 - Detailed list of contents of the Composition Mastery workshop on DVD:
A - 29 main steps and over 200 sub-steps organized in PDF menus
• click here to see the 29 steps PDF menu

B- 102 tutorial audio files -- over 37 hours of audio tutorials in mp3 format that you can listen to in any CD or mp3 player
• click here to listen to the Audio Sampler
• iPod user? All the audio files on the DVD are provided in mp3 format and can be played on your iPod

C - 18 Tutorial Movies -- Over 4 hours of Movie tutorials -- in both regular movie format and iPod movie format
• click here to watch the Movie Sampler
• iPod Movie user? All the movie files on the DVD are provided also in iPod format (m4v) on the DVD

D - 160 PDF tutorials

E - 33 Quickstep Files (see description below)

F - 12 Photoshop Layered Composition Master Files used to demonstrate specific steps on the DVD and allow you to practice these steps on your own images.

G- 30 essays on composition by Alain Briot in PDF format

H- The Master File of the companion Luminous Canyon Companion print with the 17 different adjustment layers used to optimize this image (see below for information on this fine art print)


3 - In addition, you also receive with the DVD, at no extra cost:
A 8x10 mat size Fine Art Companion Print of one of the images I discuss in the DVD: Luminous Canyon. This photograph is printed to my exacting standards using the exact same optimization steps, printer, software and paper that I use for all my fine art prints. You also receive the Master file for this Companion Print. This companion print allows you to compare the print to the Master file, compare my prints to yours and evaluate your work and your system precisely. The value of this Master companion print with the master file is $150. It is not sold separately.

A 9 hours audio recording of the 2007 Composition Mastery Seminar on a separate CD. This recording features each session of the 2007 Seminar, for a total of 9 hours of live audio recordings. It is the closest thing to actually attending the Seminar without being physically there .The Composition Mastery Seminar Audio CD alone is worth the price of this entire package. This Audio CD is not sold separately.

A set of 8 composition viewfinders. These viewfinders are provided in the following formats: 4x5, 35mm, 6x17, 6x12, 6x9, 6x4.5 and 6x6 (square). These viewfinders are portable and designed to be used in the field or in the studio. I explain how to use these viewfinders on the DVD in great detail in my tutorials.

The 8 viewfinders included with the Composition Mastery DVD

Free access to the Composition Mastery DVD Updates Page
Updates to the 29 steps and 200 sub-steps will be provided to you free of charge. These updates will be posted to a private area of my website. As a DVD owner you will receive the link and the password to the updates page when you place your order.

Updates will be provided when new composition tools become available, when I change my approach to composition, or when I write new essays on composition.

New image commentary movies will also be posted regularly to the updates page. Image commentary movies are tutorial movies in which I describe in-depth how I composed a specific image, which choices I made in regards to composition, which rules I followed, or broke. I also talk about why I decided to optimize the image a certain way, why I selected a certain light quality, certain colors, contrast level, brightness, or made the image black and white instead of color, and so on. I also talk about why certain compositions do not work because seeing what did not work is often just as instructive as learning what did work. I provide 8 commentary movies on the DVD, and more will be provided in the Updates area.

These updates consist of tutorial movies, audio recordings and PDF files demonstrating how I use these latest versions, what are their advantages, how it fits in my workflow, and so on.


4 - Description of The Composition Mastery Workshop on DVD
The Composition Mastery Workshop on DVD teaches you the exact 29 steps and over 200 sub-steps that I follow to compose my fine art photographs, starting with an idea, an inspiration, and going all the way to a image whose composition has been optimized so that it conveys a specific message, or concept, with my audience in the most effective manner possible. 

The DVD covers everything that I do after the original photograph is taken. It starts with a description of my approach to composition, which is (in a nutshell) that composition is much more than the traditional rules of composition) then continues with a study of color, black and white, light, borders, framing and many more areas which all have a profound impact on photographic composition.

I call this process Alain's 29 steps process because it consists of a total of 29 very careful chosen main steps. Each of these main steps is divided into sub-steps, each of the 29 steps having from 5 to 15 or more sub steps. The total number of steps and substeps is about 200.

You can study each of the steps and sub-steps in chronological order, or you can study then in the order that you like best. Because composition focuses essentially on the artistic apect of photography, the order in which these steps are completed can be adjusted to fit your personal taste and approach.

The steps outlined on the Composition Mastery DVD are taught in my Composition Mastery Seminar. However, the seminar lasts two days and I teach for about 16 hours (8 hours each day). The DVD on the other hand features nearly 40hrs of presentations, much more than I can teach during the seminar (the seminar would have to be 4 or 5 days long to feature everything that is on the Composition Mastery DVD).

Furthermore, the Composition Mastery DVD is something you can watch, listen and study over and over again, without the need to take any notes because the quicksteps are a summary of the main points I make in each of the 29 steps of the DVD. The seminar on the the other hand requires you take notes and be physically present.


The Composition Mastery Workshop on DVD is my third DVD tutorial designed to replace attending a workshop (the two other are the Printing Mastery and Marketing Mastery Workshops on DVD). This is why “Workshop” is part of the DVD title. 

To achieve this goal all the materials that are taught during the Composition Mastery Seminar are included on the DVD.  Furthermore, the DVD is organized along the same outline as the seminar, and features tutorial movies or audio recording or PDF presentations that duplicate the presentations I give during the seminar. You also receive a recording of the 2007 Composition Mastery Seminar that features all the sessions taught during the Seminar.

My goal is to provide an amount of Video, Audio and PDF tutorials equivalent to the presentation time offered during the Composition Mastery Seminar. In effect, as I mentioned above, I greatly exceeded this goal and the Composition Mastery Workshop on DVD features nearly 3 times the amount of information featured during the Seminar.


5 - Pricing
To be fair with students who are attending the Composition Mastery Seminar, I priced the Composition Mastery Workshop on DVD at the same price as the Seminar because the contents of the DVD are similar to what I teach during the Seminar. The DVD is therefore an alternate way to study what I teach during the Composition Seminar and the price reflects that. However, there are several benefits to studying with the DVD compared to studying during the Seminar, and these are :

A - there are no travel cost involved (the DVD is even shipped to you at no extra cost, no matter where you live in the world)

B - You can watch each presentation over and over again instead of just once.

C - You can carry the DVD with you on your laptop then study and practice each step wherever you want.

D - You can listen to the audio files on your mp3 player, your iPod, in your car, or any place you like.

E - You do not need to take notes. Quickstep files with step by step instructions of each procedure are provided on the DVD. You can even print these Quickstep files for reference. These Quickstep files are available exclusively on this DVD.

F - Numerous study and practice files are included on the DVD such:
----- Composition diagram files
----- Master files of the photographs used in the tutorial videos
----- The Master file of Luminous Canyon, the Fine Art print that you receive with the DVD
----- An original print of the Luminous Canyon so you can compare an actual final print to the monitor image
----- A detailed list of all the software, hardware and other tools that Alain uses to help him research and compose his photographs. This represents a huge amount of research that you will not need to do on your own.
----- PDF files of each PDF presentation
----- Movie files of each movie tutorial
----- MP3 Files of each audio presentation - listen to them in your car, on your ipod, anywhere.


6 - A unique, limited time, special offer
The regular price for the Composition Mastery Workshop on DVD is $975.

If you are a Beaux Arts Photography Student, meaning you attended one of our workshops, or are signed up for one of our upcoming workshops, or own one of our Tutorial CDs or DVDs you receive $100 off the regular price of the DVD. Your price for the DVD is $875

However, if you are one of the first 40 to place your order for the DVD, you benefit from an incredible $100 off the Student Price. Your total is only $775. This is our way to thank you for your support. We recommend you place your order now because we expect this offer to sell out fas since we received numerous request from photographers asking to be placed on the pre-announcement list.


7 - Win $1000 in ink and paper from the manufacturer of your choice
This purchase qualifies for entry in our drawing for $1000 in ink and paper from the manufacturer of your choice. This drawing will be held in September. You are automatically entered when you place your order. If you win you will receive $1000 in ink and paper for the printer and the manufacturer of your choice.


8 - A coupon for $100 off any workshop or seminar taught by Natalie and I
With your order you receive a $100 off coupon good towards registration in any of the workshops taught by Natalie and I. This coupon has no expiration date. You can even give it to a friend if you like. The coupon is mailed to you with your order.


9 - The opportunity to also purchase the Printing and Marketing Mastery Workshops on DVD at the lowest price ever
During this special offer you also have the opportunity of ordering the other 2 Mastery Workshops on DVD, the printing and the Marketing Workshops on DVD. The link to the contents of these two other Mastery DVDs are below in the order form area. Please note that because this is a super, super special offer it is limited to 5 orders only (see below). These will sell out right away, so if this offer has your name on it, don't wait !


10 - A recap of everything you receive in your Composition Mastery Workshop on DVD package:

1 - The Composition Mastery Workshop on DVD with 40 hours of tutorials, over 200 PDFs, quicksteps, essays, Master files and more.
2 - The complete recording of the 2007 Composition Mastery Seminar. This recording is not available separately. If it was it would sell for $600.
3 - The Luminous Canyon fine art print as an example of composition, print quality, matting, mounting and presentation for a fine art print, a $150 retail value (this print is not available separately and is therefore a collector's item).
4 - The lowest price this comprehensive tutorial package will ever be offered.
5 - The access to the DVD Updates area at no extra cost. The updates area is accessible any time you like.
6 - The opportunity to ask questions regarding composition and to have your answers posted to the DVD updates area.
7- A $100 off coupon towards registration in any of the workshops taught by Natalie and I. The coupon carries no expiration date.
8 - A set of 8 viewfinders.
9 - The chance of winning $1000 in ink and paper for the printer of your choice.
10 - The opportunity of ordering the 2 other Mastery DVDs for an even bigger discount (see below - first 5 orders only - these won't last long!)