7 Books Photographers are Inspired By
Our passions usually begin with inspiration, and this is especially true for photographers and other artists. With the perfect inspiration, you can create a masterpiece that will change your world and set you on the path to success.
If you're looking for inspiration, you can read novels written with its main character as a photographer. Here are some examples of such novels that can inspire you to become a better photographer.
Educational books
When looking for books to read, you can opt for educational ones. For instance, history books offer amazing information, which you can use as subjects for your photography.
There are plenty of history books for you to choose from. While studying, you may have already read different books and other written materials like research papers and essays.
You can find inspiration in free essays written about photography. You can even feel inspired by referring https://writingbros.com/essay-examples/young-goodman-brown/ for Young Goodman Brown essay samples and essays on other topics too.
1. Sixty Lights
This is a captivating narrative by Gail Jones that follows the life of Lucy Strange, an independent young girl who grew up in the Victorian era. Her story began in Australia, where she spent her childhood, and in India and England, where she spent her adolescence.
Finally, when she went to London, she developed a fascination with light and the new photographic technology. She saw the world with moving passion and revealed this perspective in a series of images captured through her camera.
In her mind's eye, Lucy used the lenses to show her feelings about life, loss, and love. This is a finely woven, intricate, and confident novel about a woman who has touched the lives of everyone around her.
2. An Ember in the Ashes
Imagine life under a Martial Empire regime where defiance equals death. Anyone who doesn't vow their body or blood to the Emperor would risk the execution of their loved ones along with the destruction of everything they hold dear.
Written by Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes is the story of Laia, a girl who lives in this brutal setting. Her family never managed a decent life in the impoverished backstreets of the Empire.
But life for Laia suddenly changes when her brother gets arrested for treason. This forced her to make a dangerous decision, where she offers to help the rebels who promised to save her brother. In exchange, she would risk her life by becoming a spy from within the military academy of the Empire. This is a great piece of storytelling that includes flawless world-building, complex characters, and excellent writing.
3. The Woman in the Photograph
The setting for this historical novel is Paris in the 1920s. It dramatizes the real-life relationship between a famous photographer and his beautiful apprentice. Lee Miller is an American socialite and model who moves to Paris, where she looks for Man Ray, a charming and charismatic artist.
She hopes to become Man Ray's assistant. Later, she finds herself as her mentor's creative muse, model, and lover. It didn't take long for Miller to fall in love with photography and pursue her own vision instead of following her mentor blindly.
Although this is a fictional story, the relationship between the model and her mentor was a real one. If you want to learn more about the two photographers, this novel can be your jumping point.
Writing essays on books
Apart from reading, you can also write an essay about an inspiring book or author. For instance, read the book 11/22/63 by Stephen King, a writer who has created many novels that have inspired different kinds of artists.
After reading this book, take things one step further by reading essay examples on writers. There are many free essay samples for students for you to go through on https://samplius.com/free-essay-examples/writers/. When it's time for you to write an essay, you will feel more inspired as you already know what to write about.
4. Eight Girls Taking Pictures
Written by Whitney Otto, this is an intricate narrative that weaves together the story of 8 photographers who worked to bring balance between their personal lives and photography careers.
The author combined elements of historical fiction where she spun the narratives through the decades. One of the characters captures color photographs of WWI, while another captures images of the French countryside after WWII.
A bestselling novel, this novel offers different characters based on real-life people. The author gives a sweeping and powerful novel inspired by female photographers by writing a deeply moving portrayal of their lives.
5. The Race for Paris
After the success of her New York Times Bestselling novel, Meg Waite Clayton returned with The Race for Paris, a powerfully dynamic and moving novel set in WWII. This is the story of an Englishman and two journalists from America who raced together for the scoop of their lives.
This is one of the best books for vacation if you plan to take a break from your hectic life to bring back inspiration for your craft. The story is about the exploits of real-life reporters on the front of history, like Lee Miller, Martha Gellhorn, and Margaret Bourke-White, plus cameos by other popular personalities of that time. This novel is extremely absorbing with an atmospheric saga that's full of adventure, passion, and drama. The author's combination of superb literary craftsmanship, thorough research, and riveting storytelling has produced a resonant and compelling read.
6. Moments Captured: A Novel
Written by Robert J Seidman, Moments Captured: A Novel is a fictionalized account of the life of Edward Muybridge, the famous photographer. The author here narrates a journey into the personal life with Holly Hughes, a dancer, and his artistic development.
If you aren't familiar with Muybridge yet, he became famous in the middle of the 19th century for his development of new technologies that could capture motion pictures.
In this novel, Seidman depicted a narrative from the controversial and eventful life of the famous photographer, including Muybridge's brain surgery and the murder of his wife's lover. Seidman's woven prose intricately shows us an era of nation-building on a massive scale. He even added elements of greed, seduction, and the politics of wile. The main plot of the novel involves the love affair and the true-to-life events of technology and art. He cleverly brought to life one of American history's most picaresque settings using his words.
7. The Only True Genius in the Family
Making a career in photography is already challenging enough. Doing this in the shadow of one's family makes things a lot harder. This is the plot of The Only True Genius in the Family, by Jennie Nash.
This story follows the life of Claire, a commercial photographer who uses her work to pay the rent. But her work is often overshadowed by her father, who is a legendary landscape photographer.
After the death of her father, Claire loses her faith in her work. Instead, she chose to devote her life to her daughter. However, when her daughter becomes a success, she starts to feel jealous.
In the course of preparing a retrospective of her father's famous photographs, she discovers revelations about him that changes everything she knows.
The keen insight of the author into how creative obsessions can affect unresolved family issues has made this novel a compelling and thoughtful meditation on how people can deal with doubt, failure, and envy.
Conclusion
Many successful photographers today all began the same way. Whether photographing portraits, nature, and so on, you can draw inspiration from novels written about people who have chosen the same path as you. So pick up one of these books now.
Author Bio
Paul Calderon works as a writer and editor for a media house in the digital magazine domain, where he manages sports, politics, science, and education niches. He's a brilliant blogger, article writer, and academic essay writer. In his free time, he likes to read novels, care for his pets, and to go for long walks.
