What is reading? Basic! Ok, my bad dad jokes aside, books are a great way to get more insight into a topic from people who have made great strides in a field.
Don’t get me wrong, like any good millennial, I believe the internet is a great resource and repository of information. But the flip side is that anyone can publish anything online; while still having (usually), more rigor and transparency than in traditional publishing. With this list, I thought I’d share some of the books I’ve read recently that I’ve found helpful in my own photography practice and hope that you find value in them, too.
Classic Essay on Photography
classic essay is a bit of a no-brainer. The book is edited chronologically with a true expert in photography so you not only get an overview of photography from its early days to more modern times; but also a good cross-section of so many different points of view.
This is a very readable book and one of those books where you can pick and choose which essays you want to read. Sure, you can read things in order, but you can also jump around.
Point of view
You might be wondering what effect this has on the list: this book is not all about photography but about images and art. I think it’s still very relevant for photographers. Point of view was originally a television broadcast on BBC (and I’m sure you can watch YouTube clips of it). The book is a means of how to be more discerning when viewing or “reading” images.
Because it’s based on a TV show, it’s also pretty readable. I’m probably the slowest reader in the world and I even finished it in a week. There are also a number of ‘picture essays’ that work in tandem with more traditional text essays to allow readers a chance to practice more “reading” images.
Against interpretation and other essays
I don’t think you can really become a photographer without reading Sontag, and in my opinion against explanation is a great place to start as it’s a collection of essays so you can reference a bit instead of having to read the entire book from beginning to end. (Repeatedly: I’m the world’s worst reader.)
The book offers a more contemporary view of the world and culture; if you focus on one section, I would recommend the essay “Against Interpretation”, in which Sontag offers ways of thinking about art and creating images that penetrate the viewer or audience; leave them with less of an image of what it looks like but instead of how it feels.
The civilian imagination: A political essence of photography
So usually, photographers are more and more interested in the photo. To counter this way of thinking, Azoulay in civilian imagination instead, challenge readers to treat photography not as a photograph, but as a photograph as part of an entire photographic event.
Who operated the camera? Who or what was in front of the camera? How is that relationship? Who saw the image and when? These are just some of the questions you might consider as you work in and with photography.
Camera decolonization: Photography in a time of apartheid
For a very long time, photography was only available to a small group of people. Unless you’re an old, rich, white man, you’re not a photographer. This, as another aspect, is why I think work diversification doing great!
IN Decolonization of the camera, Sealy uses a variety of photographs as case studies to create insight into the political, social, and historical ways that photography isn’t for everyone; and in turn how can we all challenge this legacy.
Conclusion
Photography is only 200 years old, more or less. It’s been a long time but also really not. So having that bit of history and knowing the people who went before, as well as knowing where the vehicle is now and looking to the future will feel important to anyone involved in photography and photography. Especially if you consider the popularity of cameras: everyone has a camera in their mobile phone.
This list is obviously not exhaustive, and I’ve sorted it from “most readable” to less readable at the bottom of the list. And obviously, I didn’t make an in-depth assessment; These are more suggestions to start thinking about photography theory than a final conclusion about something. Coincidentally, the books at the top of the list have been published previously and the books at the bottom of the list are recent publications.
Anyway, as always, I’d love to know what you think if you’ve read any of these books (or if you’ve read them). And if you have any other suggestions, drop them in the comments section below!
