Peter Truman Photography

Author: Chris Orwig
Publisher: New Riders
Date: 2009
ISBN-13: 978-0-321-63682-9
Price: £32.99

Books about photography that are not wholly about the technical aspects of taking photographs have to work hard to engage and be interesting. They also need to say something. Chris Orwig's book is not about the technical aspects of taking pictures, but much more about how to be creative and put more into the approach you take when creating pictures. Whilst I found the first third or so of the book a little disjointed and at times struggled to keep going, in the end I'm glad I did as I learnt a good deal from the book.

His subject matter is largely people, so if you are a landscape photographer and have no aspirations to do anything else, then you probably shouldn't read this book. Given that this book is much more about how to interact to make the subject work with you and create interesting and engaging pictures, a landscaper may find this a little frustrating as it is difficult to get a tree to smile or to be entertained by the photographer. That aside, if you are prepared to think outside your normal comfort zone then this book does have something to offer any photographer.

I'm very much of the view that to create great pictures it is essential to truly engage and become part of the scene. In a landscape or garden setting I try to make a picture that encourages the viewer to jump right into the picture (note the emphasis on try - I've a long way to go). This book discusses ways of interacting with people to get them to be interested and interesting in photographs. It is full of great ideas that I will most certainly use, although adapting them to a landscape or a garden may stretch the point at times. Clearly his approach works well and his photographs in the book are engaging and say something about the subjects without any narrative.

When reading the book I had several "lightbulb" moments, those moments when something struck a chord with my own thinking and approach. Not always because he wrote something particularly profound, but the way his words made me think about my approach to picture making. At one point I got quite excited, not for anything earth shattering but the way he expressed the view that it is not one thing alone that will make your pictures better, but the way all those things you do come together. No single thing from composition, rule of thirds, lighting, subject, colour or any of the myriad of variables that goes into a picture - but they way they come together and play together makes the picture. Of course, we all know that anyway, but I bet we do not think about it when making a picture? And, of course, we cannot normally do so as the moment would vanish.

There are several exercises proposed in the book that are really worth doing (or at the very least working through the ideas) and discussing in the Flickr group established for the book. A theme that repeats through the book is what makes a picture good? The answer, I learn, is in the photographer. Being enthusiastic, interested, knowledgeable, inquisitive and trying are the techniques that work best, not worrying about the equipment. No surprises, but it needs constantly repeating and learning! So gear enthusiasts are not completely forgotten, but if you want a book about lenses, histograms, megapixels and post-processing, click somewhere else.

An interesting source of ideas are the one or two page opinions from other photographers. These include their thoughts on some of the topics discussed in the book and are relevant and bolster some of the suggestions in the book. However, in my opinion they do not add enormously and I would have been happy without them - but I'm sure the marketing machine finds them useful!

Despite the fact I found the book a little difficult to start with by the time I was halfway through I was hooked. A fascinating read, a source of plenty of great ideas and encouragement. Highly recommended.