The importance of self-reflection in finding inspiration
Self-reflection is an important part of the creative process. I am a photographer and I find that my best and most powerful images come to me when I take time to think about who I am in relation to the world, what stories surround me, and what emotions are present in the people around me. So for those of us who find themselves feeling stuck or creatively bereft, it’s important to turn inward to see where we might be spending too much time outside ourselves without realizing it. If you are finding that your work has become stale or you have lost inspiration then use this as a starting point for shifting your perspective. Tell yourself that you have the time to take a moment to think clearly and see if any of these things are true for you.
When I think about my best work it is usually the result of many months of dedicated self-reflection. This habit isn't easy to break: it's something that needs to become a daily practice in order for us as creators… Read more in The power of self-reflection [ARTICLE END]
Third Point Books let me step out into the world and discover unknown places with new eyes and much older hearts. They let me achieve this through their author's travel writing books, but they also inspire me through their photography books, which show the locations I photograph as well as the beauty of them.
This book is another collection of Third Point Books photography books. The first four books feature Barbara & Max's journeys around the world, from Japan to China. In this one though, Max takes us around the United ...
"Use a Bigger Canvas" and "Put the Fun in Fundamentals" are both statements you'll hear often from photographers, who are trying to earn a living from their photographs. This book is not a fun read, but it contains some great advice on how to use your more limited time and abilities to make money as a photographer.
To quote author James Kenji Lopez-Alt's interview of Ryan Brenizer : “I tend to look at it as if I were under contract with myself... I'm always trying to make it better. I don't feel like I've done anything yet.” This book is an o...
Those who seek out resources for photography instruction and inspiration may want to check out The New Photographer's Guide to Digital Photography (Second Edition). It is written in an easy-to-understand way, with enough technical information for those with some knowledge of digital photography, but enough new information for someone just starting out in digital photography. Written by J.A. Brenizer, President of Digital Camera Magazine and Editor of the iPhoto Book series, the book covers a wide range of topics...
Exposing the Surface was originally published in 1973 as a coffee table book by the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. It's been reprinted numerous times since then, and it remains one of my favorite books on digital darkroom techniques available. The techniques discussed in this book are still very important to know, and it's an excellent read for anyone who wants to start working in...
In a recent review I said that "Editing Windows is a great read: I've read many books on editing and found this one quite unique. It's not a book solely devoted to Photoshop, but rather it focuses on the different skills required to write, publish and edit a magazine. It's a book that can benefit everyone who buys it."
After reading the book I'm not sure that statement still holds true. In some ways, it could be said that this book falls into the category of "How to Publish a Magazine". That's not necessarily a bad thing: I've been involved in writing and editing magazines for many years, and I do like good magazine books. But compared with Slides...
We're all looking for ways to improve our photography, and there are plenty of books out there that can help in this quest. For me one of the most helpful books for learning photography is The Digital Photography Book (5th edition). That's why I was happy to see that Wiley is bringing out a revised and updated version of this book in early 2019 called The Digital Photography E...
This book was first published in 2004, and it has been updated numerous times since then. It's a great guide if you want to learn about web design. It does have slightly dated information on browser support, but it's still very useful if you want to know how to make your sites work well with modern browsers.
When I first heard about this book, I was shocked. It's one of those self-published digital art books that you can order online. It contains over 80 3D models of creative expressions in various media (including acrylics, crayons, chalk...), which you can download and print. The creators of the book claim that their creations are not photoshopped: they're conceived...
I recently began exploring book publishing with Create Space after a friend asked me if I wanted to see what it's like to self-publish my photography books. The answer was yes - but only as long as I kept it relatively low-key and just published one or two books each year (not the entire editorial output). The idea is to focus on creating books that are interesting, well-written and of a high quality, ...
This book was the very first collection of The Little Book Company ebooks. Until recently, I didn't know that Little Books were still around. They're an American book publishing company that's focused on self-publishing Kindle ebooks and printable PDFs. The books are beautiful and they're published in full color with professional design and layout. Their Kindle books look great on my screen as well as my favorite reading device (...
I LOVE this book! I'm always searching for new books about photography, but don't have the time or money to spend on them. This book is a great solution. It's a collection of 13 essays, some fiction, some non-fiction, all about photography. I love the fact that they're so short and easy to read: for me it's easier to write about photography in a short essay like this (which is rea...
I received a free copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review. This book was released back in February 2018 and it has quickly become my favorite new book on editing. I had previously read Keith Shaw's Lightroom Classic CC Book , which is also very good, but if you want to master the basics of Lightroom and go beyond them into more advanced techniques then ...
This book was first published in 2008, and since then it has been updated numerous times. It's one of the best books I've seen on getting started with Flickr. It covers the ins and outs of the site, including how to upload photos, respond to comments, find friends on Flickr, and use its apps for iPhone and iPad.
I love books about DIY photography projects! This book is a collection of do-it-yourself projects that you can make yourself at home - out of things you probably already have lying around the house! It's a charming book that will appeal especially to those just learning how to get started with DIY projects. For example, one DIY project shows how to make an instant camera from things you ...
Conclusion
Overall, I was impressed by the quality of the books I read this year. It's great to see that we're still seeing a lot of really good photo books being published. I'm particularly happy to see more magazines being published on paper, as well as some non-photography books such as Cooking for Geeks .
The two biggest trends in photography publishing in 2018 seem to have been special editions and essay collections, but there were also a number of excellent traditional photography books too. A lot of people are posting their best photos on Instagram these days, but many photographers still work on larger projects that require a great deal of time and dedication to complete.