Photography Books that keep on inspiring me

4 min readJan 31, 2020

Photography books are wonderful source of inspiration. It is so relaxing to flip through the colorful pages of these books and get blown away by the magical World that surrounds us.

Every year many great photo books get published in several different categories such as street photography, photo journalism, nature, portraits, black and white or collections of individual photographers. There is something out there for everyone.

Keep your favourite photo book on the coffee table of your living room or in your study and you will never get bored of looking at those amazing shots. It is a great idea for amateur photographers to keep a photo book from ones favourite photographer in the suitcase while traveling. It is always the best way of staying motivated.

1. Life: A Journey Through Time by Frans Lanting

One of the most inspiring Photography books is by the world renowned wildlife photographer, Frans Lanting takes us on an amazing journey of the evolution from the beginnings of time until today. The book is a collection of 175 color photographs, captured around the globe from remote Western Australia, through the Amazon rain forests to fascinating micro shots.

Click here to read more or to buy.

2. London Street Photography

A great collection of photographs of more than 70 photographers. Some of them well-known like Humphrey Spender, Paul Martin or John Thomson, while other contributors are remain unknown. The book takes us through the streets of London starting in the years of 1860 up until today.

Buy the book from Amazon

3. South & South East Asia by Steve McCurry

Steve McCurry world-renowned, award winning photo journalist finds inspiration in South and Southeast Asia. The book is his portfolio with some of his well-known images such as the ‘Afghan Girl‘, powerful portraits and classical images. Click here to order.

4. Fish Face by David Doubilet

The collection of 30 years career of David Doubilet, one of the greatest underwater photographers. Doubilet brings us closer to the fascinating marine life with his close ups of colorful coral reefs, manta rays, great white sharks and other beautiful underwater creatures. Click here to order.

5. Famous: Life Through the Lens of the Paparazzi

A collection of stunning black and white images of celebrities, movie stars, models, rock stars and royalty. The bookincludes photos of such icons as Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Michael Jackson, and Kate Moss.

6. World Without Men by Helmut Newton

World renowned German-Australian photographer, Helmut Newton known for provocative shots focused on female nude as a photographic subject. For many years he was working and living in Paris working for French Vogue, and later Playboy and Elle. This inspiring photography book has the best of his work, including his texts and anecdotes.

7. Magnum Magnum by Magnum Photographers - One of the most popular Photography books

A Photography book from the most legendary photography agency, Magnum Photos with its iconic images from the past 60 years. With over 400 color and duotone photographs it is an outstanding collection from the world’s most renowned photographers as they see the world, through their critical eyes. Click here to buy one of the most inspiring photography books ever.

Bonus: Buy the Last Copy: Magnum Magnum - 1st Edition Signed by 31 Photographers for 1149$ 😊

8. Robert Capa: The Definitive Collection

Robert Capa the Hungarian-born legendary documentary photographer of the 20th century was the founder of Magnum Photos besides Henri Cartier-Bresson.

He was documenting some of the most catastrophic and dramatic events of the century, and also he was photographing some of the greatest artists like Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway. This photo book is a collection of 937 photographs selected by his brother Cornell Capa.

9. OBAMA: An Intimate Portrait by Pete Souza

The way Pete portraits Barak Obama and his family during the presidency is incomparable by any other White House photographer before him. His take on biographical photography is simply ground breaking.

Pete is not only documenting Obama’s eight years in office day by day, he is connecting the viewer with the president’s personal life and showing us who he really was.