Welcome to this months edition of the Photographer’s Reading List, my monthly list of kick-ass books that I’ve read and recommend if you’re a photographer.
Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life – James Victore
Feck Perfuction is an interesting, entertaining and beautiful “self-help” book aimed at all kinds of creatives, with advice on everything from how to get started in your career to finding your own unique creative voice and why – as the title suggests – you should stop seeking perfection.
I found these 77 “lessons” by renowned designer James Victore as true for photographers as they are for everyone who creates.
The Crossroads Of Should And Must: Find And Follow Your Passion – Elle Luna
What started out as a hugely successful post on Medium quickly turned into a book.
Although it’s not that long and the text is also available online (the book has more illustrations), it’s one of the books that I cherish most as it inspired me to start my photography business, and I still go through it often.
East / West – Harry Gruyaert
As a Belgian, I’ve always been a fan of one of our best photographers: Harry Gruyaert.
At a time when the world was politically divided into East and West, he set out to capture the colors of two very different worlds: the vibrant glitziness of Las Vegas and Los Angeles in 1981 (East), and the austere restraint of Moscow in 1989 (West). This beautiful two-volume set reproduces almost 100 photographs from that collection.
50 Portraits: Stories and Techniques from a Photographer’s Photographer – Gregory Heisler
Gregory Heisler has shot many iconic portraits from famous athletes, politicians, and actors. This book takes 50 of his portraits and tells the story behind each of them in essays and shows a second image from the same shoot.
It’s a great way to get a glimpse into the work of a master portrait photographer, to delve deeper into some images, taking away a lot of knowledge to be applied in your own shoots. It covers mainly the whole process of creating an image, though, for lighting fans, he does cover lighting in a number of the essays.