My Favorite Photography Books

You can learn a whole lot of great information online.

BUT…

You can learn a whole lot more in a book.

Books allow you to get more depth than short blog posts or forum threads. They’re organized better, and oft times our attention spans are naturally suited for longer reading than they are reading online…(when was the last time your attention span wanted to scroll through 100+ pages worth of text? Exactly. Put it in a book and its a totally different story!)

Here’s a list of some top favorites for photography:

1.  The Digital Photography Book
Scott Kelby has a three part series with these books. I especially loved this first volume and volume 2. Incredibly fast easy to implement tips that make a big difference.

The Digital Photography Book, Volume 2

2. Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition)
This book was critical in helping me to grasp with utmost clarity the technical side of using the camera. Bryan Peterson is a truly great teacher and explains shooting in manual mode in easy to understand terms.

3. VisionMongers: Making a Life and a Living in Photography
by David Du Chemin. Its as inspirational as it is informative. David’s mantra has been, “Gear is good, vision is better”. A must have book if you have any intention of even toying with the idea of pursuing photography professionally. My copy is highlighted all over the place.

4. Fast Track Photographer, Revised and Expanded Edition: Leverage Your Unique Strengths for a More Successful Photography Business
This book has played a key role in my business at several crossroads. When I did my first official branding/design in 2009, Dane’s book was very influential in helping me figure out who I was as a photographer, and who I was trying to attract. I had the utmost privilege of meeting Dane in person last month in L.A. and I can tell you that he is the real deal. Honest, charming, positive, and an absolute delight to even be in his presence. He lifts the hearts of those he’s around and his book does the same.

5. To be honest, anything that David Du Chemin writes is gold. I’ve never been someone that can get super excited about reading technical books. I love reading about vision, creativity, personal empowerment, making a difference in the world… You’ll find all of that in David’s works.

6. Everything at Craft & Vision. They’re $5 a piece and extremely well done. Again, anything by David Du Chemin will completely change the way you photograph and see the world around you. His $5 ebooks have been hugely influential for me in understanding composition in a way that is meaningful.

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