The Photographer’s Playbook

Another book that had been languishing on my TBR shelves of shame for at least 3 years, I bought it at the Tate on a pre-covid trip to London.

I finally decided as part of my return to photography and art that it would be a fun read…

It was, but in a completely different way than I was initially thinking, it was almost as though I was back at university the amount of notes and tabs that I’ve put into the book to return to later, it also gave so many ideas for further reading, and kindled that feeling of excitement that I first had when I started out taking photographs.

This is a catalogue of ideas, assignments, and exercises that range from the practical to the zen from some of the worlds leading photography educators and thinkers.

Some of them are to make you think about the mechanics of the process, some more about the philosophy of image making and your place in it.

I loved all of them, though some made my brain itch.

This initial read through was just that, an initial exploration of the thoughts that were being shared by the contributors. This playbook need constantly revisiting and each exercise needs time, but the book is worth all the more for it. I can see this book becoming a core companion to my future photography practice.

The best thing? I’ll have to buy a new notebook to companion my work from here.