Inspiration - Photography Books
A small selection books which I pick up time to time for a little boost of inspiration.
I’m a big fan of photo books for inspiration, all too often scrolling through instagram can leave me feeling uninspired, after seeing such an array of incredible work in stunning location. It’s at these time I find it good to pick up a book, a curated selection of images sometimes with some method is great to look through and feel inspired once again.
I did a short book review a few years back, if you are interested you can read this here<
Studio Anywhere - Nick Fancher
This is a great little book about using everyday spaces and places as a studio and getting over the problems and embracing working in such an environment. It’s a ncie book to thumb through before a shoot or to look at for inspiration when you know you are going to have to shoot photos of people on location, below is a photo of mine following some of the principles laid out in this book.
Humans of New York: Stories - Brandon Stanton
I’ve been a fan of HONY for a good while now, the simply executed portraits along with the candid statements from those photographed is a great reminder into how open people can be It’s been a long while since I did any street portraits but is something I would very much enjoy getting into again, a quick look through this book gives me lots of inspiration to do so.
The Atlas of Beauty - Mihaela Noroc
The Atlas of Beauty is a photo-book of women of the world in a similar style of Humans of New York, which really makes this book stand out is the shear variety of photos and locations. Again another great book for getting some inspiration and also seeing a body of cohesive work taken over a long period of time, really good for reminding me that keeping a constant style and look is important.
The Kinfolk Entrepreneur - Nathan Williams
I’m a big fan of the Kinfolk magazine and their books take the same style and approach, using very nice photography and design. This book, Entrepreneur, is really inspiring as it showcases different people from creative industries and how they built their business’ as well as some great portraits and photos of their working spaces.
Photos that Changed the World - Prestel
There are a few of these kind of books about, showcasing historically important photos and moments in history. This one is nicely put together and gives a concise but decent description of each photo and it’s impact on the world. A great book for reminding me the importance of photography to document the world, not that I ever see any of my images anywhere near these levels it is inspirational none the less.
Annie Leibovitz at Work - Annie Leibovitz
A well put together biographical book by a master of photography. Really good inspirational reading about the life and work of Annie Leibovitz along with a wide array of photos and write ups form her life. Great to see the development of a career and have on the self for those little boosts of inspiration over a morning coffee.
New York Through the Lens - Vivienne Gucwa
I’ve had this book on the self for a while and after a trip in 2010 to New York I was enamoured by the city, it’s a crazy busy place and would be a street photographer’s dream. This photobook goes all over the city throughout the year and is a good read for a bit of city photography inspiration, it also makes me want to return to New York as soon as possible.
I hope you found that interesting, if you would like to get in touch then head over to my instagram: @colinnichollsphotography
Cheers,
Col-