134 ☼ Why You Should Make A Photo Book
GIVEAWAY: $150 gift certificate for the Moment shop
Dear friends,
In this week's letter, I talk about the why of making photo books and the value it brings to both the photographer and the audience. Plus an announcement I’ve been working on for weeks, about my new NOTICE Journal series I will publish. Ah!
Also in this issue, a fantastic Process Giveaway with my friends at Moment who made available a $150 gift certificate to their online photography shop.
☀️ Shout out to my friends at Squarespace for helping make this issue possible ☀️
Housekeeping
The current exhibition at WIHH Gallery, featuring Eelco Wortman's compelling series "Life On Hold," is the third installment of the Process Projected series. The exhibit will be on display until March 11th, shows Ukrainian family life in the Netherlands and their longing to return to their homeland whenever it may be possible again. For additional details on Eelco, his work, exhibition opening hours, and more, go here.
The Why of Making A Photo Book
Today, I wanted to talk about why I believe making a photo book can be a profound experience for both the photographer and the audience. For simplicity, I will use the term “photo book” throughout this issue, but all of this also applies to making a zine, a journal, and to an extent even an exhibition.
There's something almost magical about translating your visual stories into a tangible, bound collection. When photos become more than pixels on a screen, our storytelling can take on a richer and more nuanced tone. A photo book demands patience, both in the making and in the appreciation, offering us the opportunity to slow down in a world that often moves too quickly.
Five Reasons To Make A Photobook
Let's start by digging into five reasons why you should create your own photo book:
Tangible Storytelling — Photo books are a tangible platform for storytelling. In our digital age, holding a well-crafted book allows people to physically engage with your story. The act of turning pages creates an immersive and intentional experience, making the storytelling process memorable and impactful.
A Considered Narrative — Crafting a photo book involves picking a sequence of images. This intentional arrangement allows you to guide the viewer through a visual journey, showcasing the narrative cohesion of your work. It's an opportunity to shape the story you want to tell, providing a deeper understanding of your perspective.
Reflection — The process of selecting, printing, and organizing images for a photo book encourages reflection on your body of work. It's a chance to revisit and assess your photographs with a critical eye, gaining insights into your evolving style, themes, and subjects. This reflection contributes to personal growth and helps you refine your voice as a photographer and storyteller.
Shareable Art — Photo books are a shareable form of art. Unlike digital images that can easily get lost in the vastness of the internet, a physical book is a shareable, tangible object. It becomes a gift, a conversation starter. Sharing your work in this format allows you to connect with your audience on a more personal level. It’s also a great memento to leave behind after a meeting.
Collaborative Endeavor — For as lonely as photography can be as a craft, creating a photo book usually involves collaboration with designers, printers, and other professionals. This collaborative aspect adds a layer of richness to the creative process. Working with others brings fresh perspectives, expertise, and insights, increasing the quality of the final product. And it’s also just plain fun.
My Most Recent Book Project
As someone responsible for producing and curating more than one hundred museum and gallery exhibitions, and having worked on various book projects, I have gotten to enjoy this process many times. I’ve learned something every time, which is humbling and, honestly, very exciting. Making books has made me love the craft of photography even more and helped me push my work to greater heights.
A particularly special milestone was the release of my photo book NOTICE. Previously, I had worked on other people’s books and published a few smaller book projects of my own, but with NOTICE I was finally able to put all my experience into producing my dream book using my dream materials.
This body of work was created during the first few months of the pandemic when I was stuck in a very calm Vancouver with all my jobs canceled and no ability to travel. To keep myself sane I kept up a routine of a daily three-hour long photo walk. Instead of my usual running around a busy city center and finding interesting people, I now had to walk slowly through a quiet suburb with not a soul on the street.
NOTICE as a book object is full of details that correspond with the theme of the work, which was to slow down and pay attention to the small bits of hidden beauty and wonder we might usually rush right past.
I spent weeks searching for linen to wrap the book in so that it would perfectly color-match the flowers I saw on my notice photo walks. The special edition was wrapped in a red that perfectly matched the poppy flowers in the book. The title of the book is blind debossed, meaning it is pressed into the cover without adding a layer of ink. So that one has to pay close attention to even…well…notice the title NOTICE.
The process of turning this work into a book was exhilarating. I collaborated most closely with my friend and brilliant designer (and photographer!), Dan Rubin, on the book design and sequence. The spectacular lettering artist Jessica Hische worked her magic on the logo, while the talented writer Craig Mod contributed an insightful essay, and illustrator Jeff Phillips drew a beautiful map of my walks.
To bring it all to life on paper and ink, I worked with the exceptional printer, Wilco Books, and an outside lithographer and producer. Leading the effort to make a book with so many talented people who want nothing more than to make something great was pure joy. Bookmaking is where photography shifts from a solo effort to a team effort, and that, my friends, is how we can lift our work to another level.
Making this book was so much work but it also gave me so much. NOTICE was very well received, even getting a few full-page reviews in magazines and newspapers. It’s now in its second printing. (You can order a copy directly from me on my website.)
My Next Book Project(s)
Now it’s time for the next print project and I am so excited to start. In some ways, it is a natural continuation of my work as seen in NOTICE. The main difference though is that it will be a book series rather than just one.
For the longest time, I’ve daydreamed about releasing an ongoing series of books and I’m taking the leap now. Each volume will spotlight a distinct body of work, while maintaining the same size and shape, so they’ll look great side by side on a bookshelf.
Each volume, with a different unique color binding, will combine a new body of work with an essay and a Process Photo Club* community challenge. I have planned out the first two volumes and plan to release them both over the next twelve months.
NOTICE Journal Vol. 1 will feature a new series of meditative observations shot on the Olympus Pen-F half-frame camera, very much in the tradition of NOTICE itself.
NOTICE Journal Vol. 2 will be a collection of my favorite portraits taken all over the world over the last few years. It’ll be my first portrait book, ten years in the making.
Format wise, the Journals will be a bit larger in size than NOTICE but have fewer pages and a different feel. Less linen hardcover, more limited edition art journal.
Why A Book Series?
The decision to release two volumes in the next twelve months is driven by a desire to share work more frequently, in a calmer format that can make a bigger impact. A second reason is that I hope to encourage more of you to create your own book or zine and share them with the Process community.
The book-making process involves many steps and it can seem overwhelming, but I promise it’s also one of the most fun and fulfilling aspects of being a photographer. I wish for each of you to have an experience like that. Even if you make only one copy for yourself and show it to friends and family it will be worth it.
To help make that happen I will de-mystify as much of it as possible throughout the process of making the NOTICE Journal series.
Stay tuned for more updates on NOTICE Journal, including the fantastic team I'll be working with. I'm excited to document every step of this process and share it with you.
That’s it for this week! If you enjoyed this issue I’d love for you to share it with friends.
* What is the Process Photo Club?? More on this soon.
Next Week: A new portrait project and a 50mm f1.0 lens.
Keep shooting and take good care of yourselves and others. <3
Wesley
PS Don’t forget to sign up for the Process Projected newsletter—work by inspiring contemporary photographers twice a month.
Gear & Tools Used
Camera: The digital images were shot on the Fujifilm X100F and Fujifilm XT-3. The analog ones were shot on the Pentax LX and Pentax 67ii.
Shout out to MPB.com, my go-to place to buy, sell, and trade used cameras and lenses. I love their service and am a paying customer. MPB caters to over 625,000 visual storytellers and provides a 6-month warranty. Thanks for the support, MPB! <3
Lab: All my analog work is developed and scanned by my friends at Carmencita Film Lab. They’re my favorite lab in the world. Use code “PROCESS” to get a free upgrade.
Website: Shout out to Squarespace for supporting Process. If you need a website, I highly recommend using Squarespace. I’ve been a paying customer for over 10 years (!!?). It’s an easy, professional, and affordable way to have a beautiful portfolio website and webshop. Use the code PROCESS10 for 10% off your first order.
Process Giveaway
My pals over at Moment are back for a generous giveaway! One winner will receive a $150 gift card to buy whatever you wish including film, bags, a course, and more.
To enter this week’s giveaway answer the following question in the comments:
Q: What is something you’re currently struggling with as a creative person?
Note: Your answer can be small or big, creative or administrative, emotional or practical. Everything goes! So many of you already shared a specific struggle in the comments of last week’s issue, and I highly recommend reading through those to see we are not alone! Thank you for being vulnerable and sharing so we can all work on these things together.
ENTER THIS WEEK’S GIVEAWAY before 11 a.m. EST on March 9th.
The winner will be randomly drawn. This giveaway is for Process subscribers only.
Sounds like a great project Wesley. Looking forward to see it come to life
Great article! I always love reading a little bit about how the sausage is made in regard to photo books. My largest struggle creatively has always been being able to make the time to practice the craft. I’m a full time engineer first, amateur photographer second. It’s rare I’m able to get the time for a long, contemplative photo walk.