A few new books for Inspiration

I love photography books! Recently I added a few to my collection, for inspiration. 2 are filled with images and one is more of an explanation of the process by shoot.

1. Annie Leibovitz at Work

Annie is a living legend, :-) She is one of my all time favorite photographers. Both her portrait setups and photojournalism are fantastic. This book explains how she thinks when shooting and takes you through the process of creating the image. So far, I love it.

2. Mario Testino: Let Me In!

Another highly sought after photographer is Mario Testino. Mario has such a raw style of shooting that I can't help but be drawn to it. His imagery is powerful, simple, fun. I think a lot of the impact (even with Leibovitz) has to do with who is in the photograph. (I would love to hear comments about this.) I sometimes think that if I were to take shots like this of the average Joe, they would not be as powerful, simple and fun. At any rate, I still love the images in this book.

3. Vanity Fair: The Portraits

I have always been drawn to the imagery in Vanity Fair. I guess it is no suprise since Leibovitz and Testino both have had many images throughout the magazine. Actually Annie has a long term contract with Vanity Fair, so her imagery is always in there. This book has portraits from the past 100 years. The book is huge and heavy. This equals Huge, Beautiful Portraits to view. I love this as well.

Please leave some comments to what Photography books inspire you. I like to get 1 or 2 every few months. I have also started cutting images from my favorite magazines and putting them on my office wall, so that I can always see them and be inspired before I go out and shoot. It is a great way to keep pushing your abilities.

Have a great weekend!