Image Makers, Image Takers

This essential guide draws on in-depth interviews with established photographers from the fields of fashion, art, portraiture, documentary photography, and advertising as well as comments from picture editors,
curators, agency directors, and publishers who reveal what they look for when choosing an image.

The book first focuses on photographers’ working practices. What made the photographer start taking pictures? How did he or she develop a signature style? What is the process involved in going from concept to shoot? How important is postproduction? Then the book turns to selection.
How does a picture editor decide which photographer to commission for the next fashion spread? What kind of photograph is worthy of being hung in a gallery? What advice would an art book publisher give a budding photographer? Whether it is the question of what to look for in an image,
views on cropping, or the pros and cons of color versus black and white,
the shapers of taste give acute and useful accounts of their methods.

This updated edition includes five new interviews: Pascal Dangin, who pioneered a revolutionary digital scanning technique; Fabrice Dall’Anese,
a celebrated French portrait photographer for Vanity Fair, GQ, Elle, and others; Jörg Colberg, creator of the photography blog, Conscientious; Jehad Nga, a self-taught photographer whose focus has recently shifted from photojournalism to fine art photography; and Tim Barber, who launched tinyvices.com in 2005, an online gallery and image archive.

For professionals and beginners alike: a behind-the-
scenes look at how photographers of world stature approach their work, and what it is that makes them succeed.

Debora Miller - Library Journal

Seeking to understand how photographers get their ideas and inspiration and how images are selected for exhibition and publication, journalist/critic Jaeger has gathered interviews with an impressive international assortment of 20 photographers and eight curators, editors, and agency directors into one very interesting resource. She groups the photographers-e.g., Mary Ellen Mark, David LaChapelle, and Tina Barney-into five groups: art, documentary, fashion and advertising, portraiture, and next generation. Her straightforward questions, such as "Do you think it is important to have a philosophy?" and "What advice would you give to a budding photographer?" reveal her subjects' depth and range of practices and ideas. Likewise, those selecting photography for exhibition and publication-e.g., Rudolf Kicken (Gallery Kicken, Berlin) and Kathy Ryan (New York Times Magazine)-respond to questions like, "What do you look for in an image?" and "Where do you think photography is going?" Photographs accompany each interview. This is exciting stuff, spotlighting the inner workings of high-profile photography, and there is no single definitive answer to any given query. The result is a book full of informative ideas and suited for a varied audience. Recommended as an affordable addition to large public and academic photography collections.

Anne-Celine Jaeger has written for many publications, including the Sunday Times [London] and Wallpaper*, and is author of Fashion Makers, Fashion Shapers and Image Makers, Image Takers.