My Top 5 Photography Books to Improve Your Photography
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These 5 books live on my bookshelf and I refer to them all the time to help me take better photographs everyday.
They provide inspiration and information vital to taking a variety of photographs.
They mainly cover landscape, but often the ideas and techniques talked about can be applied to any type of photography.
I hope that you find these 5 books as useful as I do and if you have any suggestions, please comment below!
1. The Photographer’s Playbook by Jason Fulford
The Photographer’s Playbook (Affiliate Link) is a really fun resource to use. It contains a variety of interviews with photographers from around the world.
With 307 photography assignments, projects and stories this book will have something for every photographer.
I bought this book at a time when I was struggling with photography. I didn’t want to take my camera out. Nothing was inspiring me. I began to question, what was the point of it all. Then I bought this book and it really helped me.
Most of the photographers are very artistic people and some of the assignments are really strange, but what it did for me and what it could do for you is stop you thinking so much. Instead of trying to create your own project or challenge, it gives it to you.
It also makes you think outside the box by giving you assignments that you wouldn’t think of yourself and, as I said, they can be a little strange, so require a creative approach to complete.
Often the assignments that the photographers suggest are from when they were studying photography, so it’s something that helped them to progress and learn something new.
The good thing about this book is that you don’t need to read it from cover to cover, instead you can just pick a page at random and read an anecdote about photography or find a project to complete.
Check it out on Amazon UK (Affiliate Link)
2. The Photographer’s Eye by Michael Freeman
The Photographer’s Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photographs (Affiliate Link), this is a great resource for composition for photographers and inspired my Top 10 Composition Techniques Article.
It goes through design principles such as: colour theory, gestalt perception, dividing the frame, and many more. I mentioned in my article Creativity in Photography that I lacked knowledge of technical aspects of photography following my GCSE in the subject. Well, this was the first book that I bought that explained some essential information for me.
It went through ideas of composition and creating visually compelling photographs, way beyond what I had learned in school. It still sits on my bookshelf because I refer back to it and look for inspiration for projects or compositions all the time. In my opinion it is an essential resource for any photographer.
Michael Freeman has also written several other books which have helped me frequently and sit with The Photographer’s Eye. Namely:
The Photographer’s Mind (Affiliate Link) - this book looks at the creative thinking a photographer should take before pressing the shutter and what happens afterward, examining the intent, style and process of creating photographs
The Photographer’s Story (Affiliate Link) - the main sections of this book are: photo essays, planning and shooting, and lastly, edit and show. It explores creating a body of work coherently rather than just creating individual photographs, literally how to write a story with photographs. The bad news is that it doesn’t seem to be available new anymore, so second-hand is the way to get this one
Fifty Paths to Creative Photography (Affiliate Link) - this book looks at 50 photographers at what they did to separate themselves from the pack, what ‘paths’ they took to become better photographers
And many more …
Have a look at The Photographer’s Eye on Amazon UK (Affiliate Link)
3. From Dawn to Dusk by Ross Hoddinott and Mark Bauer
From Dawn to Dusk: Mastering the Light in Landscape Photography (Affiliate Link) is a great exploration of a day in landscape photography. It works through a day, hour by hour from sunrise to sunset, explaining the benefits and differences in light as the day develops.
It also has a chapter about planning a photography shoot and looking at the weather (very important and I will have an article soon about this). A very useful resource for landscape photography, as weather conditions and light are explored in a unique way that made me and hopefully you, rethink your approach.
At the end is a photograph index giving you the details of each photograph featured in the book, an interesting feature not found in most books on photography.
Have a look on Amazon UK (Affiliate Link)
4. Wildlife Photography Field Skills and Techniques by Paul Hobson
Wildlife Photography Field Skills and Techniques (Affiliate Link) is a self published book that contains a wealth of information about wildlife photography.
It focuses on the UK as that is where the photographer is based and examines the full scope of wildlife photography, from equipment and clothes to techniques to get close to individual species.
The content of the book and the knowledge Paul Hobson gives the reader are without comparison but the format of the book is a little dated and feels like a long essay or university dissertation at times, but his writing style is very approachable and matter of fact.
He explores photographing the full spectrum of wildlife from birds to mammals to reptiles, and the techniques needed for each subject.
If you’re in the UK, this book is great and is available on Amazon UK (Affiliate Link).
5. Read This if You Want to Take Great Photographs of Places by Henry Carroll
Read This if You Want to Take Great Photographs of Places (Affiliate Link) is a great little resource for street and landscape photographers. It has quick, short concepts for you to have a go at to improve your photography of locations.
The Read This series is a great compendium of resources with bite sized concepts that are easily digested. The books are small and inexpensive but have some really useful information.
Not every example photograph is an amazing picture but the ideas they demonstrate can be used for any type of photography. This is a great book if you are just starting in photography and mainly use a phone, it doesn’t get too technical too quickly.
Instead introducing more complicated technical information in ‘tangents’ and allowing you to experiment with the techniques with your phone. A perfect beginner’s resource that has useful information for the most experienced as well.
Available on Amazon UK (Affiliate Link)
Conclusion
These 5 books live on my bookshelf permanently, I refer back to them frequently and they continue to inspire me and give new challenges.
They have helped me develop as a photographer. Filling out my knowledge and giving me knew information that I would not have discovered otherwise.
Each book offers something unique to you, from exploring photography creatively to giving more technical information to fill out your knowledge base. I hope that you find these books as useful as I do.
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Written by Daniel Long
Daniel Long created DRL Photography as a place to showcase his work as a photographer. Daniel has learnt a lot about photography and wishes to impart this knowledge with you, although the world is an ever changing place and he always says “you can never learn everything.” So as he makes his way, he continues to learn knew techniques, skills and information about photography. He focuses on Landscape and Wildlife photography and Daniel has a special focus on Scotland, his home away from home. As well as writing about photography and taking pictures out in the field, Daniel offers guided photography days so he can share his knowledge and locations in an effort to give his clients the best opportunities possible. Have a browse around this website to see his images, guided experiences and articles about photography. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to get in contact.
