Are you a photographer looking for a book to help you create? In this blog post, I’ll discuss 3 creativity books all photographers should read.
If you’re new around here, I love reading and photography.
I used to love to see my photography on clients’ walls and social media profiles but now I get excited when I inspire others to pick up their cameras and work on their photography.
And I know picking up your camera and taking pictures can sometimes be challenging. I’ve had highs and lows in my photography journey. The books included in this post helped kick me in the butt and pushed me to work on my photography. They’re not necessarily photography books but they all deal with problems creators face!
3 Creativity Books for Photographers:
1. The War on Art by Steven Pressfield
This book is #1 on the list for a reason. It is soooo dang good. Like, read it in one day good.
Stephen uniquely discusses creativity and wrote this book in easy-to-digest chapters.
If you’re struggling to create and continuously convincing yourself not to… then this book might be just what you need.
For YEARS, I wanted to become a better photographer but I didn’t work on it. And for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why. Well, in this book, Steven introduced me to the concept of resistance. A nasty thing a lot of creators (writers, photographers, artists, etc.) face when trying to do their creative work.
Having never heard of this before, I was SHOCKED. I finally had a name for what I was experiencing. And I realized that I WASN’T alone in this experience. What a relief.
If you read any book from this post, please read this one.
You can find The War of Art here on Amazon.
2. Show your work by Austin Kleon
This book is super simple yet again, profound.
Another hurdle creatives may face is putting their work out there.
Have you created something but the idea of sharing it scares the sh*t out of you?
Well, you should check out this book. This book helped me understand the importance of putting “your work” out there. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the beginning stages or advanced. You should show your work.
It took me a few years to implement what Austin talks about in this book. Because I was afraid to put my work out there. However, when I finally did, I felt a sense of relief.
When I decided to create my own photo challenge, one of my goals for my 365-day photo challenge was to show my work. Because I remembered what Austin talked about. I shared the good, the bad, and everything in between.
You can read about what I learned 200 days into a 365-day photo challenge here!
If you’re struggling to put your work out there, check out this short and simple book.
You can find Show Your Work here on Amazon.
Additional creativity books by Austin Kleon to check out on Amazon:
- Steal like an Artist: 10 Things nobody told you about being Creative
- Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad
3. Creative Calling by Chase Jarvis
This is the longest book in this post, the only book written by a photographer, and the only book that I listened to on audible!
In this book, Chase talks about his journey to becoming a photographer, which is similar to mine, and maybe even yours. Maybe you have spent a long time pursuing a goal because the idea of it sounded good on paper. And maybe you have ignored your calling to keep pursuing it. If so, I recommend this book. To help show you there is another way.
Chase talks about many things, some of which include listening to your creative calling, how to stand out, failing to succeed, and finding YOUR people.
You can find Creative Calling here on Amazon.
Summary: 3 Creativity Books for Photographers
Well, there you have it.
A short list of short creativity books to inspire your photography.
If you’re looking for a way to overcome a barrier to creating, read The War on Art by Steven Pressfield.
Looking for a way to motivate yourself to share your photography, check out Show Your Work by Austin Kleon. If you’re hooked after reading his first book, check out Austin’s other books Steal Like an Artist and Keep Going.
If you’re looking for an inspiring story of someone’s journey to following his creative calling and advice on how you can too, check out Creative Calling by Chase Jarvis.
Looking for more good books to read? You can check out a list of my favorite books here!
