8 Photography Books To get You Inspired

Blog by Jada Parrish | Article | 02/16/24

Finding inspiration as an artist can be tricky. Everything we see has some influence on our work, whether conscious or unconscious, so where you go to seek out inspiration really matters.

Photography is my favorite art form, but I avoid following many photographers on Instagram because I don’t want their work to influence mine. When you see photo trends popping up, it’s so easy for those to get stuck in your head.

When my mind is feeling blank and needs some inspiration, I sit down and flip through our collection of fine art photography books. David and I started purchasing photography books a few years ago, and they are by far our biggest source of inspiration. I love using fine art photo books for inspiration because the photos are timeless, and the work in them is of very high quality. Usually, the photos in those books are from years or decades ago, which helps keep my mind off trends.

Here are the photo books that inspire me the most:

David LaChapelle: Good News

"Good News" contains images David LaChapelle photographed between the 1980s and 2016. The major theme is religious iconography portrayed in a modern and provocative way and contemplations of mortality moving beyond the material world. This is a larger book that comes as a boxed set. The images are elaborate scenes filled with surreal colors, sublime visuals, and collage effects. Celebrities like Michael Jackson, Pamela Anderson, Tupac, and Kim Kardashian make appearances in this book among many others. LaChapelle’s images are very surreal and exaggerated, and this book will definitely inspire some new ideas.

Marc Lagrange: Chocolate

This book is a series of polaroid images taken on chocolate film. The subject matter is primarily nudes, and Marc's portraits focus on the beauty and grace of the human physique. His models are staged as characters immersed in otherworldly settings. There is a well-considered spontaneity and freshness to his work, and his attention to detail is unparalleled. The posing in this book is a constant inspiration.

Rankin: #NSFW

This book is filled with provocative and satirical nude photos of women. There is a clear point of view in every photo, and it really helps you embrace nude photography in a more playful way. It challenges my preconceived notions of what nude photography is. The photo quality is amazing, and the intro is an insightful Q&A with Rankin.

Helmut Newton: Sumo

This book is huge. It’s the ultimate coffee table book. Helmut Newton is one of the world’s greatest fashion photographers, and this book contains a full collection of his work over the years. It was edited by his wife, June, which I think adds a level of intimacy and sweetness. There is a mix of contrasty black and white images as well as vivid color images. The book contains a powerful series of nude images as well as more traditional fashion images. Every image has such a strong voice and point of view. Helmut Newton is a master of the female gaze, and the authenticity within all of his images is what keeps drawing me. There are 464 images in this book. It’s a bit of a splurge, but if you ever need a gift for a photography lover in your life, this book will not disappoint.

Gregory Crewdson: Beneath The Roses

Crewdson's images are best described as staged scenes with an incredible attention to detail and cinematic quality to them. They truly feel like stills from a movie, so it’s not surprising his work is often compared to films by great directors with a strong visual aesthetic like Steven Spielberg, Wes Anderson, and David Lynch. The images in "Beneath The Roses" were made between 2003-2007 in Vermont and Massachusetts. The images primarily center on the home, family, and middle America. The lighting in each scene is environmental and exceptionally executed. I keep coming back to this book for the level of emotion Crewdson achieves through his posing and lighting. My favorite part, though, is the production material at the end of the book that shows behind-the-scenes images of his sets, production, and lighting.

Accidentally Wes Anderson

This book is filled with landscape images from photographers all around the world that mimic Wes Anderson’s aesthetic. I look at this one when I’m trying to come up with new color palettes to use in a shoot or am looking to play around with different shapes in our sets. It has a really cute cover and makes a great gift for any photographer or movie lover.

Vijat Mohindra: High Gloss

This book is filled with colorful, satirical images of celebrities on monochromatic sets. The entire book is full of color photos, and the foreword is written by Miley Cyrus. There are some really artful photos of celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Miley Cyrus, and Gwen Stefani. This book is really reasonably priced. If you're looking for some inspiration on a budget, this book is a great choice.

Rankin: Unfashionable

This is my absolute favorite photobook. It features 30 years of Rankin’s most iconic fashion photography. There is such a wide range of images in here, all of which showcase Rankin's unique point of view and twist on what a fashion image is. The image quality is amazing, and all throughout the book, there are snippets from different models like Kate Moss about what their experience working with Rankin was like.