Here’s a list of useful Art of Photography Books you may find helpful in your art practice. The list was collated by my former photography tutor from London Metropolitan University, Merlin Hendy back in 2005 www.merlinhendy.com
| Historical & Contextual Useful Photography Books Art Photography Books | |||
| Author | Published | Title | Publisher |
| Adams, Robert | 1996 | Why People Photograph | Aperture |
| Adams, Robert | 1981 | Beauty in Photography | Aperture |
| Ades, Dawn | 1986 | Photomontage | Thames and Hudson |
| Andriesse, P | 1996 | Art Gallery Exhibiting | Uitgeverij de Balie |
| Baatz, Willfried | 1999 | Photography – A Concise History | Laurence King |
| Bachelard, Gaston | 1958/1994 | The Poetics of Space | Beacon Press |
| Barthes, Roland | 1982/1993 | Camera Lucida | Vintage |
| Barthes, Roland | 1957/1993 | Mythologies | Vintage |
| Barthes, Roland | 1977 | Image, Music, Text | Fontana Press |
| Bate, David | 2016 | Photography, The Key Concepts | Bloomsbury |
| Bavister, S | 2001 | Photographing People: Portraits, Fashion, Glamour | RotoVision |
| Belsey, Catherine | 2002 | Poststructuralism – a very short introduction | Oxford University Press |
| Berger, J | 1992 | About Looking | Peter Smith Publishing |
| Berger, John & Mohr, Mohr | 1969 | Fortunate Man: Story of a Country Doctor | Penguin |
| Berger, John | 1972 | Ways of Seeing | Penguin/BBC |
| Berger, John & Mohr, Jean | 1987 | Another Way of Telling | Granta/Pluto Press Ltd |
| Berger, W. | 2001 | Advertising Today | Phaidon (London) |
| Berger, John X & Richon, Olivier | 1989 | Other Than Itself | Cornerhouse |
| Brittain, David (Ed.) | 1999 | Creative Camera – 30 Years of Writing | Manchester University Press |
| Burgin, Victor | 1982 | Thinking Photography | MacMillan Press |
| Campany, David | 2003 | Art and Photography (Themes and Movements) | Phaidon |
| Chambers, E & Northedge, A. | 1997 | The Arts Good Study Guide | The Open University |
| Clarke, Graham | 1997 | The Photograph: A Visual and Cultural History | Oxford |
| Cobley, Paul & Jansz, Litza | 1999 | Introducing Semiotics | Icon |
| Cole, Peter | 2002 | The Theory of Knowledge | Hodder & Stoughton |
| Cotton, C | 2000 | Imperfect Beauty: The Making of Contemporary Fashion Photographs | VA Publications |
| Cotton, Charlotte | 2004 | The Photograph as Contemporary Art | Thames & Hudson |
| Creative & Commercial Communications Ltd | 1993 | The Best Ads Never Seen | West Sussex/Open Eye Publishing |
| Derrick, R | 2004 | People in Vogue: A Century of Portrait Photography | Little, Brown andCompany |
| Docherty, Thomas | 1993 | Postmodernism – a reader | Harvester Wheatsheaf |
| Evans, Harold | 1978/1997 | Pictures On A Page (Photojournalism, Graphics and Picture Editing). | Pimlico |
| Ewing, William A. | ???? | The Fugitive Gesture | ??? |
| Ewing, William A. | ???? | The Body | ??? |
| Flusser, Vilem | 2000/2005 | Towards a Philosophy of Photography | Reaktion Books Ltd |
| Friday, Jonathan | 2002 | Aesthetics & Photography | Ashgate Publishing Ltd |
| Frizot, Michel | 1994 | A New History of Photography | Konemann |
| Gebhardt, Volker | 1998 | Painting – A Concise History | Laurence King |
| Gernsheim, Helmut & Gernsheim, Alison | 1965/1971 | A Concise History of Photography | Thames & Hudson |
| Greenberg, R, Ferguson, B W and Nairne, S (editors) | 1996 | Thinking about Exhibitions | Routledge |
| Golden, R | 2001 | 20th Century Photography: A Complete Guide to the Greatest Artists of the Photographic Age | Carlton Books |
| Gombrich, E. H. | 1950/1993 | The Story of Art | Phaidon |
| Gronemeyer, Andrea | 1999 | Film – A Concise History | Laurence King |
| Hawkes, T. | 1977 | Structuralism & Semiotics | Routledge (London) |
| Hill, Paul & Cooper, Thomas | 1979/1992 | Dialogue with Photography | Cornerhouse |
| Hollis, Martin | 1985/1997 | Invitation to Philosophy | Blackwell |
| Jager, Gottfried | 2002 | The Art of Abstract Photography | Arnoldsche |
| Jacobson, Colin,edited by | 200? | Underexposed – Pictures can lie and liars use pictures (ISBN:1-903399-21-1) | Vision On Publishing |
| Jeffrey, Ian | 1981 | Photography: A Concise History | Thames & Hudson (World of Art) |
| Jones, G, Cardinal, D & Hayward, J | 2003 | Existentialism and Humanism; Jean-Paul Sartre | John Murray |
| Jones, T | 2001 | Smile ID: Fashion and Style | Taschen, |
| Jussim, Estelle | 1989 | The Eternal Moment – Essays on the Photographic Image | Aperture Foundation Inc |
| Jussim, Estelle, with Lindquist-Cock, Elizabeth | ???? | Landscape as Photograph | ? |
| Jussim, Estelle | ???? | Stopping Time – The Photographs of Harold Edgerton | ? |
| Kopelow, G | 1997 | The Focal Handbook of Commercial Photography | Butterworth-Heinemann |
| La Grange, Ashley | 2005 | Basic Critical Theory for Photographers | Focal Press |
| Langford, Michael | 19?? | The Story of Photography | Focal Press |
| Life Magazine | 2003 | Life Magazine — 100 Photographs that Changed the World | Time Warner International |
| Lister, Martin | 1995 | The Photographic Image in Digital Culture | Routledge |
| Lord, B G | 1997 | Manual of Museum Management | The Stationery Office |
| Marien, Mary Warner | 2002 | Photography – A Cultural History | Laurence King |
| Martin, R | 2001 | The Fashion Book | Phaidon Press Limited,) |
| Miles, M | 1997 | Art, Space and the City | Routledge |
| Morris, Wright | ???? | Time Pieces: Photography, Writing & Memory | Aperture Foundation Inc |
| Newhall, Beaumont | 1982 | The History of Photography | MOMA, N.Y. |
| Newhall, Nancy | ???? | From Adams to Stieglitz: Pioneers of Modern Photography | Aperture Foundation Inc |
| O’Doherty, B | 1986 | Inside the White Cube | Lapis Press |
| Parr, Martin, Badger, Gerry | 2004 | The Photobook: A History: v. 1 | Phaidon |
| Pedro Lorente, J | 1998 | Cathedrals of Urban Modernity | Ashgate |
| Pfeifer, K. | 1992 | Compact Disk Packaging & Graphics | Rockport Publishing Inc. (London) |
| Powers, A. | 2001 | Great Book Jacket & Cover Design | Octopus (London) |
| Protzman, Ferdinand | 2003 | Landscape – Photographs of Time & Space | National Geographic |
| Pultz, John | 1995 | The Body in Photography | Orion |
| Read, Herbert, edited by | 1988 | Dictionary of Art & Artists | Thames & Hudson (World of Art). |
| Reuters | 2004 | The Art of Seeing: The Best of ‘Reuters’ Photography | Reuters |
| Roberts, John | 1998 | The Art of Interruption | Manchester University Press |
| Robinson, Dave & Groves, Judy | 2004 | Introducing Philosophy | Icon |
| Rose, Gillian | 2001 | Visual Methodologies | Sage |
| Rosenblum, Naomi | 1984 | A World History of Photography | Abbeville |
| Rosenblum, Naomi | 1994 | A History of Women Photographers | Abbeville |
| Scharf, Aaron | 1968/1986 | Art and Photography | Penguin |
| Selwood, S | 1994 | Benefits of Public Art in Britain | Policy Studies Institute |
| Sheridan, Alan | 1980/1994 | Michel Foucault – The Will To Truth | Routledge |
| Sontag, Susan | 1979/2002 | On Photography | Penguin Classics. |
| Spence, Jo & Holland, Patricia | 1991 | Family Snaps | Virago Pres |
| Steichen, Edward, created by | 1955/2000 | The Family of Man | MOMA, N.Y |
| Stevens, Anthony | 1994 | Jung – a very short introduction | Oxford University Press |
| Storr, Anthony | 1989 | Freud – a very short introduction | Oxford University Press |
| Tagg, John | 1988 | The Burden of Representation | MacMillan |
| Taylor, John | 1998 | Body Horror (Photojournalism, catastrophe and war) | Manchester University Press |
| Thody, Philip & Course, Ann | 1999 | Introducing Barthes | Icon |
| Timmers, M. | 1998 | The Power Of The Poster | V&A Publications (London) |
| Turley, R. M | 2000 | Writing Essays. | Routledge |
| Vergo, P (editor) | 1989 | The New Museology | Reaktion Books,) |
| Verlag, Florian K | 1967 | Painting, Photography & Film: Maholy Nagy | Lund Humphries |
| Weaver, M | 1989 | The Art of Photography (1839-1989) | Yale University Press |
| Wells, Liz,edited by | 2002(2nd Ed) | Photography: A Critical Introduction | Routledge |
| Wells, Liz,edited by | 2003 | The Photography Reader | Routledge |
| Westerbeck, Colin & Meyerowitz, Joel | ? | Bystander – a History of Street Photography | Little, Brown & Co. |
| Williamson, J. | 1978/1994 | Decoding Advertisements, Ideology and Meaning in Advertising | Marion Boyars (London) |
| Wilson, Rhonda | 1993 | Seeing the Light – Contemporary Survival Strategies for the Individual Image Maker | Nottingham Trent University |
| Winship, J | Inside Women’s Magazines | Rivers Dram Press | |
| Woods, Tim | 1999 | Beginning Postmodernism | Manchester University Press |
| Zakia, R | 2001 | Perception and Imaging | Focal Press |
| The AOP | 1997, etc | The Fuji/Association of Photographers Assistants’ Awards | Elfande Ltd (the AOP) |
| The AOP | 2005, etc | The Association of Photographers Awards | Elfande Ltd (the AOP) |
| The AOP | 2003 | Beyond The Lens (invaluable guide to the business aspects of Photography)3rd|Edition | AOP |
| Magazines | Art and Design | ||
| Art Forum | |||
| Art in America | |||
| Art Monthly | |||
| Art Review | |||
| Artist’s Newsletter | |||
| Contemporary Art | |||
| Frieze | |||
| Modern Painters | |||
| Technical Text Books | |||
| Author | Published | Title | Publisher |
| Adams, A | 1995 | The Camera | Little, Brown and Co. |
| Adams, A | 1995 | The Negative | Little, Brown and Co. |
| Adams, A | 1995 | The Print | Little, Brown and Co. |
| Blaker, A A | 1986 | Applied Depth of Field | Focal Press |
| Blaker, A A | 1989 | Handbook of Scientific Photography Second Edition | Focal Press |
| BPIF | Theory of the Printing Process | BPIF publication (Print Graphics andCommunications NTO, Bedford Row, London WC1) | |
| Calder, Julian & Garrett,John | 1979 | The 35mm Photographer’s Handbook, | Pan |
| Charter, M | 1992 | Greener Marketing | Greenleaf Publishing |
| Coote, J H and Jack, H | 1996 | Ilford Monochrome Darkroom Practice: A Manual of Black and White Processing and Printing | Focal Press |
| Crisp, M | 1993 | The Practical Director | Focal Press |
| Demaio, J | 1997 | The New Darkroom Handbook | Focal Press |
| DiZazzo, R | 1993 | Directing Corporate Video | Focal Press |
| Eastland, J | 1995 | Essential Darkroom Techniques | Cassell |
| Eastman Kodak Co. | 1978 | Professional Photographic Illustration Techniques | Eastman Kodak |
| Eastman Kodak Co. | 1995 | Kodak Black and White Darkroom Dataguide | Eastman Kodak |
| Eastman Kodak Co. | 1989 | Kodak Colour Darkroom Dataguide | Eastman Kodak |
| Eastman Kodak Co. | 1972 | Clinical Photography | Eastman Kodak |
| Eastman Kodak Co. | 1988 | Photography through the Microscope | Eastman Kodak |
| Ephraums, E | 1996 | Gradient Light: The Art and Craft Of Using Variable Contrast Paper | Amphoto Publishing |
| Fincher, Terry | 1980 | Creative Techniques in Photojournalism | Batsford |
| Freeman, Michael | 1992 | The Photographer’s Studio Manual | Harper Collins |
| Frost, L | 2001 | Night and Low-Light Photography: The Complete Guide | David & Charles |
| Graves, C | 1993 | The Elements of Black and White Printing | Focal Press |
| Hedgecoe, John | 1988 | The Photographer’s Handbook | Ebury Press |
| Hedgecoe, J | 1997 | John Hedgecoe’s Workbook of Darkroom Techniques | Mitchell Beazley |
| Hedgecoe, J | 2003 | The New Manual of Photography | Dorling Kindersley |
| Hicks, Roger & Shultz, Frances | 1996 | Pro Lighting – Portraits | Rotovision |
| Hinston, P | 2001 | Starting Your Business | Dorling Kindersley |
| Hirsch, Robert | 2004 | Exploring Colour Photography | Laurence King |
| Hope, T | 2002 | Photo-journalism (Black and White) | Rotovision |
| Horder, Alan, edited by | 1971 | The Ilford Manual of Photography | Focal Press |
| Hunt, R W G | 1996 | The Reproduction of Colour | Fisher Books |
| Hunter, Fil & Fuqua, Paul | 1997 | Light; Science & Magic | Butterworth-Heinemann (Elsevier) |
| Hurlburt, Allen | 1978 | The Grid | Van Norstrand Reinhold Company Inc |
| Hyzer, W G | 1962 | Engineering and Scientific High Speed Photography | Macmillan |
| I’Anson, Richard | 2004 | Travel Photography (excellent guide, of use to all, not just travellers). | Lonely Planet |
| Jacobson, Ray & Attridge | 1988 | The Manual of Photography | Focal Press |
| James, T H | 1977 | The Theory of the Photographic Process | MacMillan |
| Jarvis, P | 1993 | Production Handbook | Focal Press |
| Jhally, S | 1991 | The Codes of Advertising | Routledge |
| Johnson, C | 1999 | The Practical Zone System | Focal Press |
| Kapit, A | 2001 | The Anatomy Colouring Book | Addison Wesley |
| Keene, M | 1995 | Practical Photojournalism: A Professional Guide | Focal Press |
| Keller, Max | 1999 | Light Fantastic | ? |
| Kobre, Kenneth | 1996(3rd Ed) | Photojournalism – The Professionals approach | Focal Press (of Butterworth-Heinemann/ISBN:0-240-80240-30 |
| Laytin, Peter | 1996 | Creative Camera Controls | Focal Press |
| Langford, Michael | 1976/2002 | Starting Photography (3rd ed) | Focal Press |
| Langford, Michael | 1965/2001 | Basic Photography (7th ed) | Focal Press |
| Langford, Michael | 1998 | Advanced Photography (6th Ed) | Focal Press |
| Langford, Michael | 1969 | Professional Photography | Focal Press |
| Langford, Michael | 1988 | The Darkroom Handbook | Ebury Press |
| London, Barbara & Upton, John | 2002 | Photography (6th edition) | Harper Collins |
| Mezey, P | 1988 | Multi-Image Design and Production | Focal Press |
| Millerson, G | 1992 | Video Production Handbook | Focal Press |
| O’Quinn, D | 2001 | Print Publishing | Que Paperback |
| Pipes, Alan | 1992/1997 | Production for Graphic Designers (2nd Edition) | Laurence King |
| Proulx, Matt | 2000 | The Photographer’s Assistant handbook | Focal Press |
| Rabiger, M | 1997 | Directing the Documentary | Butterworth-Heinemann |
| Ray, S | 1997 | High Speed Photography and Photonics | Focal Press |
| Ray, S | 1999 | Scientific Photography and Applied Imaging | Focal Press |
| Rogak, L | 1999 | Smart Guides to Starting a Small Business | John Wiley & Sons Limited |
| Rogak, L | 2001 | Starting Your Business | Dorling Kindersley |
| Saine, P and Tyler, M | 1996 | Ophthalmic Photography | Focal Press |
| Simpson, R | 1996 | Effective Audio Visual, Third Edition | Focal Press |
| Stroebel, Leslie | 1988/1995 | Large Format Photography (2nd Ed.) | Kodak |
| Stroebel, L | 1993 | View Camera Technique | Focal Press |
| Stroebel, L | 1990 | Basic Photographic Materials and Processes | Focal Press |
| Stroebel, L | 1995 | Stroebel’s View Camera Basics | Focal Press |
| Swann, Alan | 1989 | How to Design Grids and Use Them Effectively | Phaidon/Oxford |
| Tarrant, J | 1998 | Professional Press, Editorial and PR Photography | Focal Press |
| Thornton, Barry | 2000 | Edge of Darkness – The art, craft and power of the high-definition monochrome photograph. | Argentum Press |
| Towse, M | 2001 | The Complete Guide to Digital Photography | Sanctuary Publishing |
| Vetter, J P | 1992 | Biomedical Photography | Focal Press |
| Vogl, W | 2004 | Gray’s Student Anatomy | Churchill Livingstone |
| Ward, Dick | 198? | Photography for Advertising | MacDonald Illustrated |
| White, W (editor) | 1987 | Photomacrography: An Introduction | Focal Press,) |
| Williams, Nancy | 1995 | The Potential of Paper in Graphic Design | Phaidon Press Ltd |
| Worobiec, Tony & Spence, Ray | 2003 | Photo Art (In Camera, Darkroom, Digital & Mixed Media) | Collins & Brown |
| Digital Photography & Photoshop Text books | |||
| Author | Published | Title | Publisher |
| Ang, Tom | 1999 | Digital Photography | Octopus |
| Bird, T et al. | 2001 | New Masters of Photoshop | Underground Friends of ED |
| Blatner, D & Taub, E | The QuarkXpress Book | ||
| Caplan, Steve | 2002 | How to Cheat in Photoshop | Focal Press |
| Cope, Peter | 2002 | Digital Photographer’s A-Z | Thames & Hudson |
| Daly, Tim | 2002 | Digital Printing Handbook | Argentum |
| Davies, Adrian & Fennessy, Phil | 1996(2nd Ed) | Electronic Imaging for Photographers | Focal Press |
| Davies, A | 1997 | The Digital Imaging A-Z | Focal Press |
| Druckry, T & Stone, A. R. (eds) | 1997 | Electronic Culture: Technology and Visual Representation | Aperture |
| Evening, Martin | 2004 | Adobe Photoshop CS for Photographers. | Focal Press |
| Freeman, Michael | 2001 | Complete Guide to Digital Photography | Thames & Hudson |
| Friends of Ed | 2001 | New Masters of Photoshop | New Riders |
| Goto, John | 2003 | Ukadia | Djanogly Art Gallery |
| Haynes, B &Crumpler, W | 1999 | Photoshop 5.5 Artistry | New Riders |
| Heller, T & Drennan, D | The Digital Designer: The Graphics Arts Guide to new Media | Watson Gruptil Publications | |
| Kelby, S | 2003 | The PhotoShop Book for Digital Photographers | New Riders, |
| Lister, Martin | 1995 | The Photographic Image in Digital Culture | Routledge |
| Michael, Candra | 2001 | IDEA 2001 (International Digital Exhibition and Awards) | The AOP |
| Monroy , | 1999 | Photorealistic Techniques with Photoshop & Illustrator | New Riders |
| Nolan, M J and LeWinter, R | 1998 | Fine Art Lessons in PhotoShop: Digital Drawing | New Riders |
| Popper, F. | 1997 | Art of the Electronic Age | Thames & Hudson |
| Smith, C; Ward, A; Loader, V; Oliver, M; Bhangal, S | 2001 | Foundation Photoshop 3 | Friend of ED |
| Towse M | 2001 | The Complete Guide to Digital Photography | Sanctuary Publishing |
| Monographs – Photographers | |||
| Photographer / Author | Published | Title | Publisher |
| Adams, Robert | 1990? | To Make It Home | Aperture |
| Brodovitch, Alexey / Purcell, K. W. | 2004? | Brodovitch, Alexey | Phaidon Press |
| Cartier-Bresson, Henri | 1998 | Tete a Tete | Thames & Hudson |
| Dunbar, Andrew & Dean Lahn | 1998 | Body Piercing | St. Martin’s Griffin |
| Greenfield, Lois | 19?? | Breaking Bounds, etc | ? |
| Hutchinson, John (Ed) | 2000 | Anthony Gormley | Phaidon Press |
| Munoz, Isabel | ???? | Books on Flamenco, Tango & Arabian Dances plus Shaolin Monks | ? |
| Muybridge, Eadward | ???? | Books on Human and Animal Locomotion | ? |
| Nash, Chris | ???? | A Glance At The Toes | ? |
| Nash, Chris | 2000 | Assemblage | Royal Opera House |
| Nash, Chris | 2001 | Retrospective Exhibition Catalogue | Fiat Lux |
| Richards, Eugene | 1989 | Death (Emergency Room photo essay) | Granta |