Photography

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A place to politely discuss the tools, technique and culture of photography.

This is not a good place to simply share cool photos/videos or promote your own work and projects, but rather a place to discuss photography as an art and post things that would be of interest to other photographers.

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How to learn from photography books (the unseen, Saul Leiter) (alien.top)

submitted 1 year ago by FloralChesterfield@alien.top to c/photography@viewfinder.pro

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I recently bought the unseen by Saul Leiter, beautiful book with a lot of great photos.

I am curious though as someone who’s never taken a photography class, what are the best ways to learn from a book like this?

-what should I be looking for? -compositions? -should I be trying to guess how he took certain shots? -the lighting?

Any tips would be helpful as I love his style and I love street photography and would love to be able to learn from this book rather than simply appreciate the beautiful photos… or maybe that’s just part of it?

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[–] postmodern_spatula@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I like photography books that have segments discussing the work.

Image - study - image - study…etc all the way through.

I look at the picture. I read the study of the picture. I go back and look at the picture to see what the examination says. I consider that against my own point of view and interests, and then move on to the next image, and then the next book.

If I’m really trying to absorb a specific style, then I give myself shooting homework that helps me repeat and practice things from the books I want to master.

Rinse and repeat…for years.

[–] FloralChesterfield@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Any book recommendations?

[–] postmodern_spatula@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

They're small, but I'm a big fan of the "read this if you want to take great photos" series. There are 3 books in the set.

But in general, follow your interests, just read lots. I don't think there's one single book or book series that does it all, rather, you the creative should make study a lifelong habit.