Essential Reading: Creative Photography 2 Context and Narrative

I have just finished reading Basics Creative Photography 02: Context and Narrative by Martha Short (2011, AVA Publishing).

The book is an "introduction to the use of storytelling in the creation of meaningful photographic images". I actually found it to be a good text to refer back to. I really like the style it is written in and the fact that the magazine style layout and bullet points combined with glossy, attention grabbing images make it easy to follow and understand.

I also found it useful that there is a case study at the end of each section to provide examples which link with the points that have been made.

Probably the most memorable point made in the book were the lines...

"To be a photographer , you need to be passionate about communicating 'something', as this will inform every choice you make in relation to your work. To be a photographer you also need to be interested in the world around you; you need to be interested in things beyond photography".

It has really made me think how I approach photography and the subjects I choose to shoot. With the upcoming assignment I really want to tell the story of my model through the series of portraits I create. I feel as though this book has really inspired me.